Bostani Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Sifnos

Short story: food ok/good, service bad and arrogant, ambiente great, a place for instagram people…

Long story: We booked a table online, and due to the short notice, confirmation via WhatsApp was fast. We added in the field „dietary restrictions“ that one of us doesn‘t eat fish. We got a great table with a beautiful view and were approached by a young waiter(1) handing us the menu and asking for allergies. We confirmed that one of the guests did not eat fish. It was not an allergy but personal preference. Other than expected, the „a la carte“ menu was different than the one in their website. Instead of waiter 1 showing up again, it took ages and waiter 2 showed up and explained that the menu online was from last year. Anyway. We ordered inter alia bread and butter. Waiter 3 brought the starters, while waiter 4 collected the plates afterwards. While finishing the bread I wondered what “Bottarga” was, googled it, and found out it is fish roe. It was the orange stuff on the butter. I confronted waiter 4 who started to argue a bit but also wanted to double check it with her colleagues. Waiter 1 arrived again to ask again if it’s a personal preference or allergy and then told us they only remove things if it’s an allergy. We once again pointed out it was also written in the dietary restriciton with our reservation. Waiter 1 then tried to explain that fish roe (Bottarga) is not fish, just a product from the fish and we are wrong. We’re still shocked that a waiter tries to explain to a lawyer that something that is cut out of the fish’s belly is not fish.

Bostani waiters should check how bottarga is made. It’s the roe string extracted from the fish’s belly. For me, it still counts as fish if someone says he doesn’t like fish!

Mistakes happen, but the question is how you deal with it. The waiter 4 preferred to argue, telling us that “Bottarga” was written in the menu and did not give any sign of being sorry or that it was a mistake. Since we wanted to enjoy the evening together, we did not google every word on the menu prior ordering and kept our phones in the pockets and relied on the waiter to guide and help. But the waiters at Bostani are rather a faceless dinner-plate-shuttle than professional and hospitable.

Waiter 5 served the main course, the pork was ok (overpriced), the fish was very good to be honest.

Many waiters walked by, no waiter asked how the food tasted in between, no waiter filled the glasses and when we finished no waiter felt responsible to take care of the finished plates.

Waiter 3 which we hadn’t really talked to so far, showed up and cleaned the table. We also asked for the bill.

Waiter 2 showed up with the bill which had 2 drinks on it which we never ordered nor consumed and walked away. After some minutes waiter 2 showed up again, took the bill and came back with a new bill, this time corrected.

In crowd control and conflict solving, the option “face change” is sometimes used to solve problems between two people or parties. Bostani uses the option “face change” to create problems and conflicts.

During the payment process I gave the advice that with only one face this problem would not have arisen, but once again, I was wrong and waiter 2 told me this is not the concept of the restaurant.

If waiter 1 would’ve served the food, she could’ve known that there is Fish on the butter which one doesn’t like. If waiter 1 would’ve brought the bill, she would’ve known that these drinks did not belong to our bill. If waiter 1 would’ve taken care of us this evening she would’ve deserved tip, if 5 waiters show up, I don’t tip since I don’t know who to tip.

What we expected? 1 friendly and professional waiter good food a manager that shows up to take responsibility for mistakes that happens

What we enjoyed the most? the way home to Stamna Hotel with the knowledge that we’re going to have a great breakfast the morning after.

Perhaps we were not „fancy“ enough to fit in this concept and also to know what “Bottarga” is by heart… but the attitude of the waiters is...

The restaurant has a beautiful view and a lovely ambience, but the experience fell far short of expectations. From the minute we arrived, the service was off. We’d arrived on time and after passing the bar with a staff member on his phone we went down to the restaurant area but stood around as other guests were seated from upstairs. It then became apparent we were meant to wait upstairs before coming down unbeknownst to us. There were several waiters standing around not doing anything so unsure why having us wait around was more preferable to having a staff member seat us. This may seem like a small thing but it was noticeably odd. Throughout the evening it was consistently poor and we didn’t have a consistent waiter — we waited more than 25 minutes after being given the dessert and cocktail menus. In the end, we gave up, asked for the bill, and skipped what should have been another round of cocktails and dessert. The overall experience was not what one would expect from a restaurant that markets itself as upmarket — arguably the most upmarket on the island.

They also knew we were coming with a baby but failed to mention they don’t have a baby chair. Had we been told, we would have brought a pram and avoided the uncomfortable situation of trying to enjoy dinner while holding a baby. One can claim we should have asked, however everywhere else on the island we’ve not had a problem by simply letting them know we had a baby.

The pricing makes the shortcomings even harder to overlook. €7 per person for stale, dry, cold “homemade” bread set the wrong tone from the start. While some dishes were enjoyable (the fish and the goat), others missed the mark completely and generally the dishes were overpriced — the truffle salad tasted of nothing but lettuce, and we’ve had far better ceviche at other restaurants on the island (Omega 3 and Alyelo).

Overall, the combination of poor service, uneven food, and inflated pricing made this a disappointing experience. I cannot recommend it, and regret spending the evening — and the money — here.

We also missed the guidance of a sommelier — the waiter didn’t quite know how to handle a table that was undecided across wines, and while the poor choice was ultimately ours (and it was a VERY poor choice), a sommelier would have enhanced...

Bostani was the restaurant that I was the most excited about and yet the most disapointed by in Sifnos. I was there for dinner with my partner in early septembre. Let’s start with the positiv points of my experience. First of all, the place is absolutely stunning, decorated and architectured with taste and gives an amazing view on the sea and the nature. The staff was also very friendly and caring. And last, my good surprise was the cocktails, I had the one with a Mizithra foam in it and I Will definitely remember it as one of the best cocktails I ever had. That being send I ended up with a bill of 187€ and an unpleasent feeling. Let’s talk about the food, we started with 2 cold dishes. The tomato salad with broth, it was the best dish from our night, 20€ but at least we found it tasty and complex. Then we had the beetroot salad with cheese (again around 20€), it was nice but nothing spectacular or that you would not get in a good tavernas for 8€. The massive first disapointement came from the main dishes. The fish of the day was honestly to me, a joke. 38€ for a grilled fish (that felt overcooked), with 4 cherry tomatoes on top and 3 greens. The « beurre blanc » was not thick enough nor tasty, and seemed like the sea urchins had just been throwned there at the end. Again, it would have been better and less expensive in a good tavern. We also had the Lobster Mac&Cheese (40€)it was nice and conforting like you would expect by the name of the dish but nothing surprising in the tastes and just a few tiny bits of lobsters. The overall felt a bit like « let’s just mix good things together ». Also I was chocked that for the supposed standard and the price they don’t offer you anything, we paid our bread 7€, they don’t even offer a try at the flavors of their gardens or herbs they mention so much. Even in tiny restaurant they offer you a shot of their local alcohol or house made dessert.

The promise was « a simple unpretentious, tasty dishes made into a newer version that uses the technique and order of fine dining » and honestly it was to me the exact opposite. I’ve paid that price to 1 star Michelin restaurant with better food...