Nikos & Maria Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades

I visited Nikos & Maria Restaurant after reading many glowing reviews online and doing quite a bit of research, as it was often mentioned as one of the “must-try” tavernas in Naxos. We travelled a long way from Naxos Town by bus to get there, so expectations were high.

We arrived in the afternoon (around 3–4 PM) and the place was not busy. Despite that, service was surprisingly slow and inattentive. There were several waiters, but they seemed indifferent, and we had to call their attention multiple times. It took about 10 minutes to have our order taken, 20 minutes for the Greek salad to arrive, and around 30 minutes for the grilled meat platter, even though the taverna was far from full.

The portions were generous, but the food itself was underwhelming. The grilled meats were basic, lacking seasoning and flavour. The pork was quite fatty, the chicken bland, the lamb mostly bones, and the sausages and chips overly greasy. The Greek salad was very standard and nothing memorable.

Getting the bill also took a long time, and unlike many other tavernas in Greece, nothing was offered “on the house” at the end. Overall, the experience felt disappointing – the food, service, and atmosphere did not match the hype.

In my opinion, this is closer to a tourist trap than a local gem. If you happen to be in the Plaka Camping area and have no other options, it’s fine for a quick meal, but it’s definitely not worth making a special trip here. I personally wouldn’t recommend it as one of the top...

We had a dinner once while we were in Naxos. We started with the shrimp and bread which had a really interesting sauce. We then had two courses of the Kleftiko (lamb and potatoes stewed in a pot), which was by far my favourite. We also had the Kalogeros (aubergine stuffed with lamb), which was quite good as well, and the grilled calamari which was good but not my favourite, having had this dish elsewhere around the world.

For desert we had a somewhat traditional Greek almond cake which was pretty tasty but nothing to write home about. We were also offered (at no charge) four glasses of a liqueur to finish off the meal, which was a nice touch.

Atmosphere of the restaurant was great, lovely outside space to enjoy a cool September evening. Service was quite effective considering there were only three waiters for the whole space.

Do not recommend the house wine - not to my liking.

Overall good experience and decent value for money. We had to wait about 20 min for a table as we made no reservation, which I think is acceptable given you’re likely to visit this place while...

We chose this place based on reviews and driving past it was the busiest out of the restaurants along the beach. We ate at the tables positioned on the beach which was nice, albeit on the sand dunes not flat sand so it was a challenge for some lol

Service was attentive however not friendly over the top Greek hospitality that we’ve become used to at great restaurants in Naxos. Just enough to get your order taken and served in timely fashion. Not chatty or anything.

Food was a bit 50/50. The entree was nice, zucchini balls, however our mains were a let down. Both my wife and I meat mains were tough and over cooked. My souvlaki to the point of being so chewy it was inedible. Unfortunate because the chips were amazing and the sauce was a great compliment to the meat, however the pork was a real let down

Overall it was ok but we’ve had much better at places all over Naxos. Maybe other have better experiences with other dishes but I’d...