Papaioannou Restaurant Vouliagmeni — Restaurant in Municipality of Vari - Voula - Vouliagmeni

I had made a reservation well ahead to ensure we will get a nice sea-front table and had also asked for one of those tables when I called for the reservation. The lady said that she cannot guarantee the outside area will be open, depending on the weather conditions. Obviously I would not insist on sitting outside if it would be raining, but if weather conditions are good, I would like one of the sea-front tables. We arrived on time and were given a table literally in the last-row of the outside area, rather inside area. When we said we asked for a table at the front, they said that the outside area is going to close at 7PM (it was 6PM) and they would need to bring us back inside. We insisted and were given a different table, which again was not front-row but rather in the middle as they said nothing was free, although there was one party paying and they left two minutes later. We insisted on getting that table and the waiter was kind enough to re-seat us again. It was not the waiter's fault but clearly none of the employees being responsible for reservations and seating was caring. We ordered two salads, fried calamari (got two pieces of calamari, paid EUR 25-29!), shrimp saganaki (which had no more than 4 small shrimps!) and the orzo with langustines. On the menu, the orzo was priced at EUR 145/kg and obviously two persons would not eat 1kg of Orzo so we were expecting them to either ask or - as you would expect from a fine dining restaurant - make a recommendation. But definitely you would not expect them to bring you 1kg of Orzo for two persons, which they did. We ended up paying EUR 290 for two persons, including a 10% tip as the waiters were friendly (although nothing extraordinary either), excluding alcohol apart from one drink. Overall the experience was very bad, by far the lowest service level I have ever experienced in a restaurant at the riviera and clearly not what you would expect from a Papaioannou restaurant. On top of that, we stayed till approx. 8.30PM and they did not close the outside area as they were telling us at the beginning (probably to avoid the little extra-mile they would do to re-seat us). The whole experience made me wonder what type of customers they want, as we stayed friendly all the time, were well-dressed, no rude tourists but Greeks from Switzerland who wanted to enjoy a tasty...

We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Papaioannou and had a table reserved for 8 PM. The restaurant was busy but not full – which is why we would have appreciated a nicer table for such a special occasion.

The service was mixed: our first waiter was very friendly and attentive, but later we were served by a waitress who unfortunately came across as quite arrogant and without any warmth. That was disappointing and took away a bit from the overall experience. On the positive side, we were very happy to see Denisa, whom we know from another restaurant of the group. She welcomed us so kindly, even brought us Masticha liqueur on the house, without knowing it was our anniversary. That really made our evening special.

The food, as we already know from this restaurant group, was excellent. • Starters: Carpaccio, the Papaioannou salad (fresh leafy salad, very delicious) and tuna tartare – all of outstanding quality. • Main course: We shared a grilled gilt-head bream (1 kg), perfectly cooked and expertly filleted at the table. It was served with broccoli and pepperoncini – very tasty.

The atmosphere is also worth mentioning: the slightly louder music creates a lively, almost club-like vibe, which gives the evening a unique touch.

Another highlight is the convenient valet parking service. Since parking in the area is difficult, it is great to simply drop the car off at the entrance and have it returned when leaving.

Conclusion: • Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ • Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (stylish, vibrant, with a club vibe) • Service: ⭐⭐⭐ (points deducted for the unfriendly waitress, but special praise for Denisa) • Overall: A wonderful restaurant with excellent food and a great atmosphere, with just a little room for improvement in service.

We would definitely come back, hoping for consistently friendlier service – then it would be a...

The setting, style and ambience is lovely however the restaurant falls short when it came to the food and service.

My cousin ( an amazing fish cook) went to Pick our fish to share for 4 people as the main course. We picked a grouper and the a waitress came along and grabbed it from our waiter saying it was already allocated to another diner. There was no apology , it was very unprofessional and clumsy for a restaurant of this stature. They had no more grouper and very little options of choice after that. The waiter insistently tried to convince us to take a fish type that both my cousin and I don’t like, and he told us ‘come on you will like this’ . We did pick a red snapper.

The salad starter was delish as was the tarama. We also had shrimps as a starter and they were mediocre. There are no choices of side dishes , the main course fish is served with boiled vegetables and Horta. The fish is cleaned and served at the table, but the deboning of the fish was messy and scrappy,

The waiting staff while professional were impersonal.

In general we found the dining out experience enjoyable even if the food can only be described as good. Very expensive restaurant for ‘good’ unexciting, bland menu and service.

I will say the manager was open to our feedback, and very pleasant.

It was disappointing, if the food and service matched the setting and ambiance it could have an amazing dining...