Taverna Maria — Restaurant in Municipality of Rhodes

One of the worst dinners I have ever had and I don’t like to speak negatively of business without a reason.

A guest from the same hotel where we stay in Rhodes recommended us Taverna Maria Hariki and taking advantage of renting a car so we went to have dinner.

The tables were half empty and from the ones occupied some were already being served.

The waiter taking and serving drinks was very nice and the “manager” taking food orders told us that we must wait 40 minutes because kitchen was overloaded. As I mentioned, half of the tables were empty and others were already served so we did not understand why needed to wait 40 minutes, but we decided to wait.

He did not allow us to briefly speak and order just olives.

I am just taking about facts since I do not want to add subjectivity to this review.

In the meantime, a couple that came later than us and were sit in a table that became empty after a couple that were still dining when we arrived left the restaurant, was served significantly sooner than us. Why? I have my own answer but I think it is not necessary to add it here.

Around 30 minutes after we arrived, he took the order: olives, pizza for our daughter (he canceled the order some minutes later due to being sold out), grilled eggplant, grilled octopus, grilled Red Snapper and fried anchovies.

The grilled Octopus was tough as old boots. When we finished eating and he asked us about the dinner and we mentioned the Octopus, he just said “it must be uncooked” and flew away without allowing us to say that the Red Snapper was one of the less fresh fish I have ever eaten in my whole life and it was tasteless.

The only dishes that we enjoyed were the eggplant and mainly the fried anchovies.

Even the pasta was very bad.

I have my own reasons to understand what happened and why we were treated that way but let’s leave the facts as objective as possible. I can understand that they could be facing a shortage of employees in the kitchen, also that they could have bought a Red Snapper that was not fresh enough and they did not realize, that although they cook Octopus every day a distraction can cause to stop the cooking process sooner, however the service and the care of your customers is something that no matter what has happened, it must be done because it could have avoided this review.

I feel that this person was extremely unprofessional and the quality...

Had an absolutely breathtaking lunch here, the scenery and atmosphere is incredible. It is right on the beach with plenty of shaded options. They have a good variety of vegetarian and vegan options for those who require them though be aware that some vegetarian options (as with most places in Greece) may include fish. However the staff spoke great English and were happy to clarify any concerns my wife had when she ordered. We ordered the 3 types of grilled cheese with olives, fresh baked pitta and hummus for an appetizer and then I had the black risotto with cuttlefish for the main and my wife got courgette fritters/balls. For dessert we had the filo with honey and the local wine suggested by our server was excellent. Overall the level of service was attentive and friendly without being overly formal. Prices were very reasonable, and I cannot recommend...

EDITED - one year ago I left a good review for this place, tonight we were really disappointed and will not be going back. We booked a table earlier in the day but when we arrived the same waiter had no idea who we were and no table had been reserved. While the service was friendly enough, I was being constantly bumped into by the waiters, and other tables with locals were definitely treated better than us. The food was very poor, my grilled prawns were over cooked and my chips and salad on the same plate were swimming in oil/vinegar so I could not eat them. My partner’s vegetarian pasta smelt and tasted of fish. We did complain and were given a complimentary pudding, but overall it was so bad I cannot honestly give it more...