Kallitechniko kafenio — Restaurant in Paros Municipality

We booked to have dinner at 8:00pm on August 5th for 6 people. One person in our group felt unwell after the beach and went to his hotel with his partner since he had flu-like symptoms. We called the restaurant to notify that we were running a bit late, and made our way there between 8:15-8:20. .

Upon arrival we were informed by the owner that given we were now 4 instead of 6 people, they would move us into a different table for 4 people to which of course we agreed. We patiently waited at the table for 6 people while the other table for four people would get ready for us.

As the time was passing without being moved to a different table, and as we could not see another table even being available, we asked the owner if we could at least order some starters and some drinks to quench our thirst. We were told to wait and that our table was getting ready. The problem was that no other tables were available. Hence we felt that the owner was trying to make a point by penalizing us for being 15 minutes late and showing up with two fewer people than what we had indicated in our reservation. We asked to order yet another time and we were again informed that our table would be ready soon (it wasn't). At 8:50 after over 30 minutes of waiting at the table without being served, and after watching several other customers arriving after our group and placing their orders, I asked the owner one last time if she planned to move us to another table and serve us food. Again, she protested that we were late, we showed up with two fewer people, and that our table was being prepared. At that point we decided to leave since we felt that we were being played by the unfriendly owner.

We do appreciate that a small business like Kallitexniko Kafeneio needs to maximize their tables and sittings, and the fact that we showed up with two fewer people than our reservation was problematic. However, this is not a reason to treat customers disrespectfully. In a restaurant with more professionalism, we would have been provided with some starters and water while we waited for the other table to become available.

Fortunately Kalitexniko Kafeneio does not have a monopoly on restaurants in Paros so we left and had a lovely...

Great atmosphere – stay away. And I will explain. Charmed by the location and the smiles of the owner and her daughter, you are mentally prepared for the most ideal evening of your holidays. You really want to love this place. Very soon you realise that behind these smiles there is an I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude and, that’s-how-we-do-it-here behavior. You are in a tiny village on the mainland, you shouldn’t expect 5* service of course, but there is really something wrong there. Food: Are you kidding me guys?! 10€ for Greek salad? At this establishment? Very nice fava (not easy to screw it up with fava though) Meatballs that lack spices and are full in bread. Meat with lemon sauce which is literally 5 tiny pieces of meat and the sauce is…. I mean… COME ON GUYS… As a Greek I am really pissed from the whole experience. I saw elderly people sitting more than 20 minutes, without even water on their table. I saw people standing patiently in order to pay their bill and treated like they are transparent. Not to mention that it was the only place in Paros that I didn’t receive receipt. I cannot tolerate, in the middle of the high touristic season, seeing businesses behaving like this. You better go to a tavern next to the sea and pay the same amount of money but with sea food and great service....

Rip off for no reason Just a rip off. The portions are half. Got the smallest “dakos salad” I have ever seen but also the most expensive one (10euros for half a salad almost without tomatoes) I have seen in Greece. Then we tried the pork dish “tigania” (12 euros) and we received a plate of a few fries with literally a spoon of meat. We mentioned this to the owner and her comment was that these are the portions and that we haven’t ordered enough to get full. we have never paid 6 euros for literally half a portion of fries and 10 euros for a very small salad in Greece. Apart from the prices VERY RUDE !!! The traditional narrow streets are beautiful but we regret going there. Never again.

P.S. looking forward to receiving the owners comments, as she has done to other visitors, which prove her bad attitude!! Well done!

Not surprised to see that the owner has replied to my comment. The truth is that as we saw your ridiculous portions and attitude we should have returned all the dishes and have not even given you our 50 euros. Just a kind reminder to people from other countries visiting Greece: in case you get any problems with the lady you have every right to return the dishes and go. It’s accepted...