The Windmill Restaurant Skiathos — Restaurant in Skiathos Municipality

Having read previous reviews, the owner doesn’t take well to any criticism but today’s experience was worth leaving a review in the worst possible way.

I had a table booked for my girlfriend’s birthday. When we arrived we were ignored for 5 mins where nobody acknowledged us. A waitress then asked for the name of the booking and asked us to move to the bar area while we wait for our table. We sat there for a further ten minutes until our table was ready. I requested a table with a good view for the occasion, instead we were given possibly the worst table with no view from one side and a part view of the other, and in between 2 other tables when multiple tables around us were free. We were asked by our waitress if we wanted any wine, we don’t drink so we politely declined. Since the restaurant is up a hill and we’d waited a while we poured ourselves a glass of the bottle of water we had with us. Another waiter came over and told us ‘the tax police would fine them if we drink this water because they don’t sell it so we need to remove it’ - he could’ve simply said we can’t drink our own water and asked if we wanted to order some. When the water finally came- I asked for a bottle of water which never arrived. At this point we had been there for 30 mins. We had planned on getting a starter each, main course and 2 desserts but at this point we only wanted to order a main and get out as soon as possible. We ordered 2 fillet beef steaks and were told they can only be cooked rare and above. I usually have my steak bleu but went with rare since bleu wasn’t an option. The waiter didn’t speak very good English so it was hard to explain things to him. We waited a further 20 mins and at this point we had been at the restaurant for an hour. When the food finally arrived both our steaks were medium/ well done and the outside was burned.

The food was mediocre at best and very salty. We wanted to leave so we asked for the bill and waited a further 10 mins. In that time the next table received a birthday dessert - mind you it was my partner’s birthday and we didn’t get any of this which further annoyed us.

Given the poor experience I didn’t leave a tip, the waitress huffed and walked away- when we left no one even said goodbye.

The service was inconsistent with some tables receiving fantastic service and others being left out as we were.

We had looked forward to this meal all week and the experience was completely ruined.

Even with the food being mediocre this could’ve been a good experience if we had got to see the views and received the right level of service, and the occasion we were celebrating but it was an opportunity missed.

Had much better service and food at every other restaurant we had dined at.

Edit:

Since there is no option to respond to the owner’s comments.

We didnt bring our own water to the restaurant to drink, we had bought the water before for the walk up to the restaurant. The only reason we drunk some was because we had already been waiting for ages before we were seated and anyone came over to our table. Had you been attentive, we wouldn’t have had to drink our own water.

We were asked if we wanted wine- not water. When the waiter first came to take our order I asked them for a bottle of water which never arrived.

At no point did I say I wanted a free dessert either, please don’t assume -I would’ve happily ordered and paid for a dessert had the service been good and our request for a good table been accommodated. ( as a side note many high end restaurants do in fact offer free desserts for someone’s birthday because they care about their customers)

Lastly, I’m not sure what they get away with in Italy and I wouldn’t know because we’re from London and British - not Italian, but had you paid any attention to our table what so ever you would’ve known that.

If you paid more attention to your guests, actually acknowledged their feedback and listened without making assumptions then maybe you’d stop receiving 1* star reviews.

From other comments the owner really lives up to the name Karen....

Overpriced for average food. Unfortunately, they managed to make a sous vide steak as dry as a well done steak, even made the outside burnt and crispy, absolutely criminal to steak lovers the world over. I was also told you couldn’t cook it any other way (rare, medium/r, medium etc.) because of the way it’s cooked?!?!?!? WHAT, this is the ultimate way to cook a steak with absolute precision. Even a £13 sous vide steak in central London (Flat Iron’s) would teach them how to do one. Other half thought hers was ok but again ok for that price is not good enough. She had some thick beef cut with dehydrated carrot and sorry looking roast potato. I’m happy to pay £100-200 for 2 people if the food is excellent; however, to pay £100-£200 for ‘ok’ food is not appropriate. I was taken here 20 years ago with my parents and after a quick message, they reminded me that I had the incredible dry swordfish there as well. So, I suppose they’ve at least they’ve kept the same traditions. Starter was alright nothing bad there but it’s hard to get 2 shrimp with 2 bits of bread and some stuffed mushrooms wrong….. View from the restaurant is fantastic, possibly one of the main things that keeps it going. Overall, I’ll not bother walking up that hill again, there are many nicer, proper Greek restaurants around the area and the...

To the Management or Owners of This Establishment

Please take a moment to consider my feedback. Just a few minutes ago, my friend and I stopped by to see the view from your venue. We simply wanted to have a quick look before deciding whether to stay for dinner or not.

Unfortunately, that decision was made for us. A waiter abruptly told me, “My friend, you can only take photos from here” - pointing at the entrance. This kind of unwelcoming and dismissive attitude felt extremely unprofessional and off-putting.

I would not recommend visiting this restaurant, as the very first impression we got was one of greed rather than hospitality.

For comparison, earlier today I visited one of the most luxurious places on the island —Elivi. I wasn’t even a customer there, yet they warmly invited me to look around and take photos. That is what true hospitality and professionalism look like.

The difference between these two places is like night and day. Tourism thrives on kindness and respect, because you never know who the guest standing in front of...