Apella Taverna — Restaurant in Municipality of Karpathos

I do not usually give reviews on local businesses - I know these matters are usually bound to subjectivity - however it is the first time I will strongly advise any fellow traveler and visitor of this amazing beach to STAY AWAY OF THIS TAVERN. We arrived at Apella early afternoon, while (unfortunately), for the first time in our lives, we forgot to carry any water supplies. So we were really happy to realize there was a tavern there. "Why not give it a try, we said, "let's go buy some water, perhaps a couple of coffees and if the place looks nice, make a reservation for an early, after-beach dinner." Thank god we did not proceed with the whole plan, since the lady waitress confirmed what a little boy that served us the water implied: 5€ FOR TWO BIG BOTTLES OF WATER. EXCUSE ME?? Not only that, but when I honestly inquired by the waitress to confirm if this is some kind of mistake (since Greek policy dictates that water is not supposed to be sold over a maximum amount which is of course waaaayyy lower - more than 3 times lower - than the one we were charged for), she arrogantly chose to make fun of me by literally saying "You have to consider yourselves lucky that you even managed to buy any water at all at this secluded place...". No comments dear friends. I have never faced such a crude behavior and lack of respect by any businessman ever. Sorry for the long text. I will wrap this up. I strongly recommend that you avoid this and any similar places that do not hesitate to vulture on you at any time you find yourselvs in need. I will never set foot there again and I am seriously considering informing the authorities about the...

It's a bit difficult to review this place objectively and without getting influenced by the terrible attitude of the owner, but let's try:

The food itself was good and with big, almost huge portions. But it's not the food that is where the problems of this restaurant lie. ✔

First of all the owner could be charged with child labour, if not outright child abuse. He had his son (I presume) serving and it was obvious the child was unhappy. He was even telling the boy to change his face (not to look sad) and then even threatened him that he wouldn't take him for football later that day because of the boy's "attitude". ❌

It is a shame because the rest of the people serving, especially the woman, was extremely nice and polite. If it were not for him, the service here would get 6 stars out of 5! ✔

As mentioned in other reviews, he doesn't take credit cards, citing issues with his POS. Since I saw a review from last year mentioning the same thing, I guess this is his way of avoiding paying taxes. On the "plus" side, they let you know about it before you sit. In fact we heard him quite a few times instructing (not in a very nice way) the rest of the staff when people were arriving to tell them that the POS isn't working. ❌

Additional notes:

The toilets were clean, no complaints there. ✔ They gave us water melon as dessert for free. ✔ Other people are complaining about the prices. While not cheap, I wouldn't say it's expensive either. Typical island prices I would say. ✔ They don't have 500ml bottled water. For the record, in Greece you cannot charge more than 50 cents for...

I'm truly furious about the experience I had on the island of Karpathos. The owner of this place was an absolute nightmare. He was shouting at his staff like a dictator, and what's worse, they seemed to be his family members. The whole scene was just unbelievably uncomfortable and left me seething with anger.

But that's not all. Can you believe they had the audacity to charge me for a flimsy plastic to-go cup for the beer I bought? I was absolutely livid. And then, I asked for the WiFi, and guess what? They fed me a lie, claiming it wasn't working. I was fuming at being misled like that.

As if my frustration wasn't already at its peak, the food tasted like some reheated, leftover mess. It was a slap in the face after having high hopes for a decent meal. And don't even get me started on the owner's attitude. He acted like a big shot, taking advantage of the fact that he's the only taverna around that remote beach.

Seriously, shame on this guy for his atrocious management skills and complete lack of respect. My blood is still boiling just thinking about it. The whole experience was an infuriating mess, and I can't believe I wasted my time and money on...