Alos (by Ostria Inn) — Restaurant in Municipality of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades

We were a company of 8 who travelled one hour from Chora for a specific big fish (greater amberjack) in July 2021.

Our total bill was €355 and it was a disappointing experience hence why I am writing this review.

We ordered some starters some of which were a success (taramosalata and prawn orzo) and some were a fail (aubergine salad with nothing but big blunt aubergine pieces in yoghurt and a runny risotto which looked and tasted more like stuffed tomato filling and not like what we ordered.

The centre of attention was this expensive fish. When it arrived the following happened

1. we were not offered to have it cleaned but we had to ask and then wait as it was taken away and cleaned inside as the waiter didn’t know how.

2. the moment they brought the fish back it was obvious it was overcooked. We immediately asked for the chef or the restaurant manager to come and take a look and taste it. No one was immediately available and had to wait 20 minutes despite telling them repeatedly that we were in a rush as we had to catch a ferry. In the meantime we started eating hastily as we had to leave and had no time to order something else.

3)another person came to check for feedback and she started defending the way the fish was cooked and talking down on us as if we did not know what the flavour, texture of this fish was supposed to be. We told her this is a fish we have tasted several times before, that we travelled one hour for it and instead of trying to portray us like ignorant she can just take in the feedback and pass it on. She instead said “she cannot accept this feedback” and then commented on the fact that at the point we had eaten the fish (!!!) and asked why we did not order something else. We told her (once again) that we had been waiting for 1,5 hrs to eat and that we were already late to catch a ferry so no time to re-order.

4. then after further waiting time -and half of our group departing to catch the ferry-, the manager came. he was much more polite but he also started talking down on us about that particular fish and trying to justify that it was the fish and not how it had been cooked. I explained once again that we have tasted this fish several times before and it had never tasted like a dry chicken breast and he continued justifying the cooking. He of course never acknowledged that anything was subpar let alone offer to take the drinks off or offer a desert at no extra cost for ruining our expensive meal.

It seems they have not heard the phrase “the customer is always right” and instead they explain to their customers that it’s their ignorance and that they should instead miss a ferry and wait one more hour so that they order something else. Very poor customer service and overall attitude. Next time when your customer (especially when drive for 2 hrs back and forth to get to your restaurant...) offer your feedback and advice, just apologize, take it to get better and be more cordial to mitigate their negative experience. Don’t antagonize them and talk...

The setting is really beautiful in front of the sea. You can have a swim and then have lunch/dinner. As it is a hotel, they have very good amenities incuding a shower which was very clean and which they offered us to use. About the food: The starters were very tasty and we got served quite quickly. As a main course we had a two kilo fresh fish (μαγιατικο) which we had reserved earlier in the day and were looking forward to eat. The fish was fresh however we got disappointed by the way it was cooked. The fish is compared to other fish dry however this one was superdry due to its overcooking. It was indeed as if we were eating chicken. I dont argue that they dont know how to grill a fish as they were kind enough to grill a fish we had just caught (spearfishing) and it was made to perfection. We decided not to return the fish but eat it. However what was disappointing (except for the fish itself) was the response from the restaurant. They just didnt accept that the fish was overcooked. The first lady that spoke with us said that "we dont usually get such reviews, i dont accept the feedback as the fish is in general dry" without having tried it. Then the second person tried the fish and said that it was very well cooked and tasty. What is unacceptable for a good restaurant is not being able to handle a negative feedback. Mistakes can happen and the level of professionalism is shown in such situations. Needless to say that the price was 75euro per kilo which is on the high side as was the entire menu. I believe that the good reviews they had received are fair however we didnt enjoy our main course and we certainly didnt appreciate the response to our feedback. In such cases i would expect at least a "sorry" that you are not satisfied with the dinner...

One of the reasons we travelled all the way from Australia to stay here, is the food. It’s absolutely top quality. This has only been our second visit, but if we lived in Europe we’d go back every year. We’ll definitely be going back again a third time. The whole menu was great but here are some of the highlights: The homemade tomato sauce is out of this world and the smoked eggplant dip was amazing. Put it this way, we had something similar at the Grand Bretagne in Athens which cost a fortune, but at Alos it was better. The beef pappardelle was to die for. The pappardelle pasta was made fresh and cooked perfectly, and the beef with gravy was tender and delicious. Oh my God I could have eaten it every day. It took a lot of control to stop myself from licking the plate. I should also mention the meat balls which were light, fluffy and full of flavour. And the fish of the day with Almyra greens was always delicious and perfectly cooked. The service is just as wonderful. So attentive and friendly. Eirini and Konstantinos are such lovely people and amazing hosts. They can’t do enough to make sure your experience there is brilliant. They even prepared food for us that wasn’t on the menu. They’re the best. Oh, and they do very good cocktails too. We had their Negronis and Espresso Martinis almost every day. We love this place so much and can’t wait to go back, even though we have to fly over 15,000 km to get there. 10 out of...