Taverna Spilios — Restaurant in Municipality of Kissamos

First I have to say that I spend months in Crete every year, for 10 years and I ate in hundreds of restaurants. I always avoided this restaurant cause it seemed very touristic and I already tried some restaurants on the same road, and everything seemed about the view, the food being average so I thought it would be the same here. I ate on the last day of the season, the restaurant was not full, so I think the comments I read, saying the service is very quick to free tables for new customers, are wrong. The service was very very quick and efficient, but obviously not to free my table, but for my satisfaction. From the moment I came in the parking, when a waiter waved me to show me a free parking space, I felt taken cared of like never in a restaurant of this size(and not in a small taverna) in Crete. At the moment I took out my tobacco out from my pocket, a waiter disposed an ashtray on my table. More and more often in Crete, unfortunately, the service is, more than bad, unfriendly, very cold, which is the exact opposite of the Cretan culture and spirit. Here I found more than an efficient service, people working with their heart, doing the best they can for my satisfaction, obviously loving what they do, and very friendly. About the food, I can't say much, cause I ate only once there, but the salad I had, was exactly what I was waiting for: big, good, original creative salad. A small appetizer and desert and raki(grappa) were on the house. In this area (Kissamos/Falassarna), the Cretan spirit is dying, killed by massive tourism, people are often cold, not friendly, prices are higher than in the rest of Crete, close to french or even swiss prices(!), cause tourists aren't invited guests anymore, but wallets with feet, so it was a real big bowl of Cretan oxygen to eat in this restaurant. I had a fantastic day and they made it another perfect day in Crete, and I warmly thank them for it. Μπράβο και...

Update: My wife and I came back to the area after a year of visiting and that includes revisiting Spilios. Our first time here, we truly enjoyed everything from the food, to the service, to the atmosphere. This time around - bit of a different story, unfortunately. First, we still feel that the food, at least particular dishes that we get such as the Rabbit Stifado and the snails for example, are really good and well priced. Now for the difference this time around - the service was awful. Once we had placed our order, not once did any one come by to check to see if we needed anything (we would've liked more than one drink each...) and once we had finished and our table was cleared we waited legitimately 30 min before I had to wave someone down to get the bill. People were all busy and such but we were right in the middle of the room... People either noticed and didn't care or they were super disorganized. Either way, not a good experience overall. Such a huge disappointment.

Get the rabbit Stifado if it's available. The calamari is also excellent. Basically, all the food and drink we had was great, the atmosphere is top notch ( stunning view and a great buzz) and the service is good. This is the...

This restaurant's strength is its location and setting. However, the mood and ambience was ruined by the staff's passive aggressive efforts to get you in, and out for the second sitting, the 'post sunset' crowd. We really did feel pressured to hurry our dining experience. The main course arrived while we were still enjoying our appetisers. In hindsight, I wish I'd been more assertive and requested they slowed the service down. The icing on the cake was the waiter placing the bill on the table while I was still trying to enjoy my desert. No offers of coffee or extra drinks. He might as welll have said 'time to go!". I know enough about hospitality that I understand there has to be business model , and time is money. In the UK you generally get a table for 2 hrs if they use a reservation system. This restaurant doesn't use a reservation system for less than 8 persons and the sitting wasn't as long as I expected for a Greek restaurant with such good reviews. I've never experienced such a hurried meal on the continent before. My advice, the setting isn't worth it if you aren't given the opportunity to enjoy it to its fullest. If you do go and start to experience what I did, request...