Barbarossa Restaurant — Restaurant in Paros Municipality

Ambiance: Dull and depressing. The lighting was either too bright or non-existent, and the music was an unbearable mix of elevator tunes and loud clanging from the kitchen.

Beverages: The water tasted like it was straight from the tap—unfiltered and warm. My soda was flat, and the coffee was a sad excuse for brown water.

Cuisine: If you can call it that. The food was bland, overcooked, and tasteless. My steak was more like a piece of shoe leather, and the vegetables seemed like they'd been frozen for months before being microwaved.

Dessert: A catastrophe on a plate. The cake was dry, and the ice cream was already melted when it arrived, making for a soggy, unappetizing mess.

Employees: Rude, inattentive, and seemed like they would rather be anywhere else. Our server disappeared for long stretches, and when they did appear, they brought the wrong orders and then argued when we pointed it out.

Food Presentation: Non-existent. The dishes looked like they had been hastily thrown together by someone who was both blindfolded and in a hurry. Garnishes? Forget it.

Greeting: What greeting? We stood at the entrance for 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us, and when they did, it was with a grunt and a dismissive wave toward a dirty table.

Hygiene: Questionable at best. The floors were sticky, the table was covered in crumbs, and I’m pretty sure I saw a cockroach scurry by at one point.

Interior Design: A mishmash of outdated furniture and tacky decorations that looked like they were picked up from a garage sale. The chairs were uncomfortable, and the tables wobbled.

Justification for the price: None whatsoever. The prices were exorbitant considering the subpar quality of everything from the food to the service.

Kitchen: Judging by the food, I’m convinced the kitchen staff has no idea how to cook. Either that or they simply don’t care.

Location: Unfortunately, too close to where I live. I’ll be taking the long way home from now on to avoid even seeing this place.

Menu: A confusing and poorly organized list of uninspired dishes. Many of the items were unavailable, and the descriptions were vague and unappealing.

Noise Level: Deafening. Between the blaring music and the yelling from the kitchen, it was impossible to have a conversation.

Order Accuracy: What a joke. Not a single dish came out as ordered, and when we asked for corrections, we were met with rolling eyes and sighs.

Portions: Tiny. The only thing big about the portions was the bill that came afterward. I left feeling hungry and cheated.

Quality: Or rather, the lack thereof. Every ingredient tasted stale or processed. There was no freshness, no flavor, no care in preparation.

Restrooms: Disgusting. Filthy floors, no soap, and a smell that made me question the last time they were cleaned.

Service Speed: Slower than a snail in molasses. We waited nearly an hour for our food, and when it finally came, it wasn’t worth the wait.

Taste: An abomination. Each bite was worse than the last. I wouldn’t feed this food to my worst enemy.

Unbelievable Experience: And not in a good way. I still can’t believe how bad this place was.

Value for Money: Absolutely none. I regret every cent I spent.

Wait Time: Ridiculously long. We waited for everything—from being seated to getting our drinks to finally paying the bill. It felt like we spent an eternity there.

X-factor: Negative. If I could give this place a negative rating, I would.

Yearning to return? Not in a million years. Once was more than enough.

Zero stars: If I could give this place zero stars, I would. Avoid...

I have never had the misfortune of encountering the level of arrogance and rudeness that I was unfortunate to encounter from the staff a Barbarossa in Paros.

Four weeks ahead of my visit to Paros with my family, I contacted the restaurant to book a table for 7 people for my daughter’s birthday. I was told to send a message or call back closer to the time.

Over the next 4 weeks I called and messaged multiple times but received no response.

When I arrived in Paros, I went to the restaurant in person to make a booking. I explained the difficulties that I had trying to book, but the young hostess was disinterested and replied that “many people call so there’s nothing I can do about that”.

She offered me a table the day before the birthday at 7pm and a table after my departure date. I booked the table offered.

When I arrived at 7pm the next day, the restaurant was completely empty and there was absolutely no shade. It was impossible to sit for dinner in the hot evening sun, especially with children.

When I tried to explain to the (same) hostess, she was dismissive and said that if the table wasn’t suitable then we could leave” (her exact phrase actually included words included “I don’t care, go away”!). Despite the rudeness, and because of the special occasion (as well as no alternative to have dinner at) I tried to explain again the extent we had gone to over the past weeks to try and make a booking.

Again the response was defensive and dismissive and I was invited to leave if I didn’t want to avail of the table in the sun. She then turned her back on us and walked away.

All in all, I am not sure why the interactions and communication style needed to be that way, but it was shocking.

It’s no wonder the rating for this restaurant is so low, but never fear, there are some excellent alternatives within 100 metres’ walk.

———Reply to Barbarossa Response———

Your response below rings very hollow. It would be straightforward to implement an online booking system on your website or through a third party like all the top restaurants in the top tourism destinations do, complete with waiting lists to manage over-booking during high season. This would truly ensure fairness, instead of not answering your telephones and blaming the volume of people.

And what about the rudeness of your staff? Do you stand by that policy as well?

You may be able to trick some unsuspecting people into visiting your restaurant under the guise of a luxury premium experience, but it won’t work with those of use who have experienced true premium, luxury experiences around the world.

Some words of advice, regardless of the situation they find themselves in with patrons, your staff should be polite and empathetic - the basics of...

Avoid this place.

I travel a ton, and Barbarossa stands out for having truly the rudest hostess staff I’ve ever encountered. I highly recommend avoiding this place, especially if you’re counting on it for a special occasion.

My partner and I were on our honeymoon and had really hoped to have a nice dinner here toward the end of our three-week trip. It looked fun in the TikToks we had seen. We spent several days trying to make a reservation before arriving in Paros, calling the numbers listed on WhatsApp once a day during local business hours (with no answer) and eventually got through to someone who said they made a reservation for us.

When we arrived in Naousa, we stopped by in person in the afternoon (our house was right next door) just to confirm. The two hostesses at the front were extremely dismissive. They said they had no record of our reservation and claimed they don’t take reservations for two people anyway. After explaining the situation, they reluctantly agreed to take our name but spelled it completely wrong. When we gently corrected it, one of them waved us off and said, “It’s fine.”

It was not fine.

When we showed up for our reservation, dressed up and ready for a nice honeymoon dinner, we were told they had no record of it. I explained that we had confirmed it in person, and the hostess responded as if we were lying: “We don’t do waitlists, and we will not seat you if you don’t have a reservation.”

When I (politely) tried to clarify and explain the spelling issue, she cut me off mid-sentence and turned around to chat casually with someone behind her. We assumed she might be trying to help us—but she wasn’t. She proceeded to walk away and seat the group of two behind us instead.

No apology. No effort to help. No acknowledgment that anything had gone wrong. Just a flat-out refusal to assist us and a “nothing we can do."

In my opinion - the vibe around 11 p.m. was nothing like what we saw online. It felt to me more like a cringe, clout-chasing tourist trap than a lively or enjoyable experience.

If you’re considering Barbarossa for your trip, especially for a meaningful dinner, have a backup plan and lower your expectations. Even with a confirmed reservation, there’s a chance you won’t be seated. And if anything goes wrong, the hostess staff won’t be...