La Maison — Restaurant in Municipality of Thira

Short version of the story:

if you want good service and want to be appreciated, choose elsewhere. If you’d like to grab drinks and appetizers later in the night, choose elsewhere.

If you have time for it, here is the long story:

We got back to our hotel from Oia, after dinner, deciding that grabbing a few more drinks would round off the night. We were quite happy to see this restaurant buzzing with clients, and the good reviews prompted us to head there.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to tastes their food, nor their drink, but their poor customer service is why I’m investing my time on this review, hoping it would be beneficial to other world travelers.

Upon arriving, a cheerful waitress asks us if we are there for food. We were thinking mainly drinks and some appetizers, so we mentioned “for drinks mainly.”

Her facial expression changed. She then asked us to wait for a sec, ran and called another waiter, supposedly her manager, who proceeded by apologizing and telling us that the restaurant “is closed”. I decided not to point out that they sat a couple who just got there before us, while deciding to close on us after a few short minutes.

We knew how insincere the waiter was right away; why else would the waitress ask us what are we there for, why else would the restaurant be so busy at that time (tho not so late at the night). It’s as if they were printed to send customers away if they were there to grab drinks and appetizers, what a shame. We ended up having drinks at our own hotel, with some appetizers...

We arrived at La Maison and shown to our table which was in front of the terrace with an amazing view of the caldera. We ordered one entree, two portions of bread and two main courses. There were no salads in the menu and we were never warned that the portions would be as small as they turned out to be. The entree with the tomato was literally two very thin slices topped with sauce (admittedly very tasty) and the bread portions were 3-4 bites each. Upon receiving the bread and the entree I began to understand the pattern here and left the whole of the entree to my wife. When the main courses arrived (she had the rooster and I had a beef fillet) we realize that her portion was just three bites of rooster and a very small amount of potato (2 bites), all dry and tasteless (mine was OK though). When we brought the problem to the waiter's attention, they responded that the portions were designed so that they were balanced for the whole dinner and recommended that we get another portion of main course (paid of course). At that point we were so mad, that decided to leave immediately without even finishing our dinner. We have to say that the service was very good and the waiters were very polite though. After 30 or so years of eating abroad in the highest quality restaurants I have never encountered such small portions. My wife is 50kg and she left the restaurant hungry... Very...

A true, elegant Santorini experience - near Michelin fine dining, breathtaking views, and ineffable service where you are treated like a Greek god and goddess.

It’s no joke that the prices are on the costlier end. But for the quality, views, and service - we thought it was worth it.

It doesn’t get more romantic than this. Babies were made after the meal.

Food babies... what were you thinking? Gross. Nah, not really because the portions were moderate but you can reach the healthy fullness (or diet level for the gentlemen) with both the paid and complimentary dishes. Nonetheless, the quality and ambiance made up for it.

Do take your time to appreciate the food and the sunset. There is no better time than this to practice mindful eating.

Reservations are recommended. Request for outdoor seating. We booked a week in advance and secured the front row table. But who knows where the queue ends during peak season.

On the house: starters, bread & butter platter, coffee/tea, tangerine sorbet cream,...