Minoa Restaurant — Restaurant in Paros Municipality

A disgraceful tourist trap – overpriced, careless, and borderline rude

We came to this central taverna in Paros to celebrate a special occasion and even ordered the most expensive bottle of champagne on the menu. What was meant to be a festive evening quickly turned into one of the worst dining experiences we’ve had in Greece.

To begin with, we waited over 30 minutes just to place our order. No welcome, no explanation – just neglect.

The fried feta with honey, usually a reliable classic, was a complete disappointment: greasy, soggy, and topped with what tasted like cheap syrup rather than real honey.

Then came the champagne. Although it was properly brought to the table unopened, the waiter didn’t offer a tasting, didn’t even ask – he simply opened the bottle and poured it straight into everyone’s glasses, without saying a word. The champagne was not cold enough, and the careless service completely ruined the moment.

When I asked if there were any vegetables available as a side dish, the response was a blunt “Only salad,” with zero willingness to offer an alternative or make a suggestion.

But the real low point was the main course. We had ordered three swordfish plates, supposedly identical. One arrived with a portion half the size of the others – visibly and embarrassingly different (we took a photo). We pointed this out to the first waiter, who said he would “look into it.” We waited five minutes with no further communication, while the food sat getting cold.

We called over a second waiter, who involved another staff member (possibly the manager). Instead of resolving the issue, he tried to justify the absurd portion difference by saying the fish comes in different cuts and “not all are the same.” We told him we understand that, but if a cut is half the size, you compensate with additional pieces. He then dismissively waved us off and said, “Fine, I’ll charge you half,” before walking away.

We raised our tone, explaining this was no way to treat paying customers – especially considering we’d ordered the most expensive bottle on the menu. At that point, the man even accused my friend of having already eaten a piece of the fish. This was not only untrue – the plate was clearly untouched – but deeply offensive. Only after we pointed that out did he agree to bring another piece.

It arrived 20 minutes later. Needless to say, the meal was ruined – and to top it off, the swordfish was dry, overcooked, and tasteless.

This place is the worst kind of tourist trap: overpriced, indifferent, and arrogant. The food is mediocre at best, the service is clumsy and rude, and the overall experience leaves a bad taste – literally and figuratively.

Paros has plenty of wonderful places to eat....

WOW! What a truly great, family run restaurant with delectable dishes and top notch service! Kind of reminds me of our old school family diner/restaurant back in Cleveland where my 91 year old elderly father-in-law still watches over things like a hawk (just like the elderly man we observed at Minoa supervising his employees) in order to insure great service and food. This is the way a small family restaurant should be run! The food here was some of the best we've ever had, across many cities and countries! The shrimp linguini pasta dish was 'next level' aromatic and tasty, and quite possibly the best seafood pasta dish these taste buds have sampled to date! I don't know what kind of herbs, spices, veggies etc were used, but the blended flavor was perfect in every way! Pricing was very fair as well. If you visit Paros, Minoa...

A 3 minute walk behind the busy center of Naousa on the island of Paros, Greece, is a wonderful restaurant that any and all visitors must visit. Minoa is a family owned restaurant with fabulous Greek dishes expertly prepared in their state of the art kitchen. Our family of 4 enjoyed various dishes in two visits - exquisite. Eleni, the wife and mother of the family, recommended wines and made suggestions when faced with wanting everything on the menu. Although inside dining is available, most choose to dine in their open-air dining with gentle balmy breezes from the Mediterranean add to the dining experience. Even though there were many very nice restaurants in the area, Minoa was absolutely our favorite. When we return to Paros, we too will...