Avant Garden — Restaurant in Municipality of Syros and Ermoupoli

I am sad to say that this restaurant is exactly the tourist trap that I expected it to be. Forced to go here by the group I was with, I tried to quell my expectations and approach Avant Garden with an open mind. Although situated in a beautiful outdoor garden, lit wonderfully, and decadently adorned with mismatched wooden tables, this restaurant suffers from a lack of quality ingredients and attention to detail. After eating our way around the island multiple times on our second trip to Syros, I would happily suggest 10 or more local tavernas that surpass Avant Garden in quality of food and service. And while each plate may not be as exhaustingly manicured, you will walk out far richer and more satisfied.

To start at the beginning, the amuse bouche and “homemade bread,” which was meant to signal the flavors and experience of the meal, instead served to demonstrate the corners cut when too much focus is placed on appearance over quality. This bite from the chef was a mashed chicken that contained about equal amounts of cartilage and meat. When presented with a single bite, I find it incredibly careless that much of the bite was inedible and left a nasty taste in my mouth.

The appetizers we ordered were the Crispy Shrimps, the Cuttlefish, and the Smoked Salmon. Although accurately described as crispy, the allure of the shrimps ended with this description. Despite having some of the best shrimps of my life in this region, these were notably not those and lacked the luscious flavor that comes from a well-sourced shrimp. The cuttlefish was the best of the appetizers and presented flavors that were unique to the area, although thoroughly forgettable when compared to other local dishes. The smoked salmon was an excruciatingly average piece of fish, surrounded by vegetables that felt lifeless while adding nothing to the dish. The redeeming piece of this dish was the fennel root, but it could have been far more present instead of being relegated to a single slice in a medley of greenery.

My main course was the barracuda or “Loutsos.” In this dish, the fish should be the core piece that shines above all else. It should be cooked to perfection and bursting with the freshness imbued in it by the Aegean. Instead, a floppy piece of fish that tasted hardly better than store-bought tilapia sat on my plate dressed in the trappings of a far more regal fish. Once again, these trappings served solely as a thin veil protecting my tastebuds from a solemn experience. The sauce that accompanied the fish had almost no flavor. The greens that stood on a stale cracker alongside my fish must have begged the chef not to salt them for fear of dehydration. Perhaps the chef thought the taramasalata and thin cracker accompanying my meal would serve as enough fish for me. And while the taramasalata was objectively the most flavorful thing on the whole table this night, it could not make up for each plate being so devoid of flavor and quality.

When a restaurant cannot deliver on quality, I tend to be more content with it if it can at least deliver on quantity. When it can bring neither quality nor quantity to the table, it can save itself by having low prices. Avant Garden, unfortunately, lacks all three. With a hole burnt in your pocket, I suggest stopping at a nearby souvlaki place so that your night of Greek cuisine does not feel as though it has...

Good atmosphere, good service, bad management. While having dinner there my wife found a rubber band in her pasta while the other member of our group having the same plate ate all of hers and could have easily eaten hers without noticing. The underwhelming reaction of management was to comp my wife's plate and felt good about it also and presented it to us like she was doing us a favour not letting us pay for rubber band pasta... in a year like this at a restaurant that sells themselves as premium reaction to issues like these sould also be premium. On top of that their response was on her review that the rubber band was not big but small one!! I have worked in the industry for 10 years and accidents do happen but I have never responded to a customer that the rubber band was a small piece and not a big one... it is indicative of the attitude of the place. Too bad! Avoid at all costs!! All they care about is collecting your cash.

In regards to their response you can read below if we wanted to eat for free as he so eloquently put... we would have made a big deal then not wasting my valuable time writing online reviews. Filotimo is a Greek word and you should have known it but as I saw from your respond you don't have any. Your luck of professionalism is evident from your response and hopefully our reviews will stop many unsuspecting tourists from coming to your business, thankfully Syros has many good restaurants who do respect their customers. I am sure if our reviews don't persuade potential customers your...

Big rubber band in tagliatelle Very cosy place, friendly staff and interesting combination of flavors, however I got extremely dissapointed when I realised I was chewing a big rubber band that was blended in my tagliatelles.The person that came to our table to apologise said that I wouldn't have to pay for this specilific plate, which I found it quite self-explanatory and my minimum expectation, given that under other circimstances I would have to visit the closest hospital to deal with this.To be honest,I felt that the way they handled this "inconvenience" was quite disturbing in their effort to underestimate the fact that a customer was about to eat plastic. Moreover, especially due to the fact that we were the first table to be serve in a total of 7-8 tables last night.

The reply below from the Owner is a very good example of the treatment you get when you visit this place. I am still not clear whether it is still ok for customers to swallow small or medium size rubber bands. However what is obvious is that the problem here is not about delivering quality, it is "spreading the word". I am so sorry that as a customer I am indirectly asked to apologise because I stated what happened. If you cannot deal with customers feedback then you need to accept online only those comments that fit your purposes.

Tragic that your comment to my husband's feedback was that what we wanted is to dine for free. We live abroad and we have dined in better places than yours which is a local "restaurant"...