Keri Lighthouse Restaurant — Restaurant in Zakynthos Municipality

I hardly éver write a negative review. Even with abstemious experiences I tend to be reasonable. The simpler the place, the less you bother about ‘loose stitches’.

At Keri restaurant though… the entrance was highly disappointing.

Going through reservation process 2,5 weeks ago (July 20th), i was summoned to had better be there, otherwise you pay a fine for not showing up…. You have to hand over your credit card details. I have never seen such control in advance, “a minimum of €35 per person has to be spent!”.so expectations are high.

And we hoped for a great evening, as we were celebrating my daughter’s 13th birthday. I had informed the morning before, which is part of the extra confirmation e-mail requested in your boeking system, that it is a birthday reservation. We were there 21:05 because of traffic and my daughter instantly mentioned we had a reservation at 21:00.. First thing we heard was ‘your table will be ready in 5 minutes’. Which is fine, sitting in the chairs at the entrance (a dog of the house claiming 2 of the 4 seats?). I couldn’t be bothered.

Groups of 6, 5, 4, multiple 3 and 2 came in… and were accompanied into the restaurant. I asked twice, ‘yes we’re preparing the table…’ 21:37 I asked what was going on, as this was rude and not hospitable. ‘You were 10 minutes late’ was the argument and ‘if we had a reservation’ the man with broken arm told me. ‘Yes, 2,5 weeks ago the reservation was made’ and I asked why other people were let in? ‘“They have a reservation… uhm they were larger groups…”. No theu weren’t there were ‘two’ and ‘three’ people coming in.

We were 5 minutes late because of a traffic delay, our ETA on a 15 minutes trip was 5 minutes before nine.

It is rude to have guests wait this long, not explaining anything and treat them this way. At least have them order a drink (in other areas an apparatus is offered, but I certainly am not seeking for a ‘free drink’.

In your reservation/confirmation you ask whether it is a special occasion, you even ask for a picture, so you can ‘be personal’ in welcoming guests. I mentioned the birthday. Even asked if you do desert with a birthday fire sparkle or anything?

Never saw the picture. The birthday special occasion was never mentioned. I mentioned it to the front man too.

The telephone number in Google maps is not working. I tried to call about the traffic delay and got ‘no signal’. We decided to enjoy the dinner despite the fact this disappointing entrance and and ordered drinks and a starter (very nice tasting fried cheese balls). That was the first and last drink to order. The rest of the evening ordering another drink nor a desert was part of the service. We set there again 35-40 minutes without any of the waiters paying attention to a hand held up. (Walking by a table ‘if anything else is needed, all is well?’ Is not only service, it is the way to increase orders).

We felt like aliens. feeling not welcome at all.

“Dad why are they ignoring us?’ My daughter asked when a waiter passed ignoring as another time. Extra surprising taking in consideration that one of the waiters that brought drinks/starters mentioned ‘you truly seem a very nice family’ us replying politely. We got up at 23:45 and walked to the entrance/departure hall, disappointed not having been able to having a desert nor an extra drink.

Upon ‘was everything alright?’ I shared the experience and a short ‘sorry’ was the comment. Even then he could have concluded to asking whether a desert was an option? ‘Oh, sorry’ was all the resources that seemed available.

Food was nice. **

The atmosphere, not so good. It seems cocky and over self-assured.

We had great experience in restaurants on the island, coast to coast that were less ‘hip and cool’ but with nice ambience, spontaneous, good food and friendly people, without waiting 30 mins twice...

I am absolutely appalled by the experience we had at this restaurant. From start to finish, it was a complete disaster – and frankly, an embarrassment for any venue that claims to offer a premium dining experience.

Despite clearly stating in our reservation AND again when confirming the booking that we were celebrating my friend's engagement, not a single thing was done to acknowledge this special occasion. I even pulled our waiter aside after ordering and explicitly asked for a candle or some kind of decoration to be brought out with the dessert – something small, thoughtful, celebratory. He nodded, acknowledged, and then completely forgot. What came out? A sad, lifeless dessert. No candle. No recognition. Just total indifference. We planned this evening around a milestone moment and you managed to absolutely ruin it. I could not have been more clear.

Now to the food – and what a joke that was.

Half the menu wasn’t available. What we did get was by far the worst food we had during our entire trip to Greece – and that’s saying something.

The shrimp pasta? Bland, overcooked, mushy pasta, prawns that had no flavor whatsoever, and small shrimp that hadn’t even been deveined. Completely inedible.

The pork dish? Overcooked, dry, chewy, and the sauce might as well have been water. We didn’t even bother finishing it.

The chicken pasta? A disgrace. Massive hunks of rubbery, chewy chicken tossed in what tasted like absolutely nothing. No seasoning. No flavor. No effort.

The service? Atrocious. Waitstaff walked past us like we were invisible. We had to constantly wave and flag people down just to be acknowledged. It was as if once we ordered, we were forgotten.

The dessert? A stale, dry piece of cake that tasted like it had been sitting out for days. It was barely edible – and again, no candle, no gesture, nothing.

To top it all off – when we wanted to pay, it took over 30 minutes for someone to even acknowledge us. I walked into the main restaurant to try and sort it out myself, only to find a waiter glued to his phone. I asked him if I could pay and without even looking at me, he brushed me off and told me someone might come over. No eye contact. No basic courtesy. We could have walked out without paying – and honestly, I wish we had.

This restaurant is clearly banking on the view and absolutely nothing else. The food is garbage. The service is pathetic. The management is non-existent. If you want to enjoy the view, go to the nearby lookout point and do yourself a favor – eat literally anywhere else on the island.

I rarely leave reviews, but this experience was so shockingly bad, I felt compelled to...

Stunning view, average food, disappointing service

The view from Keri Lighthouse Restaurant is absolutely breathtaking — a true highlight of the visit. You can see the coastline and dramatic cliffs of Zakynthos, making it the perfect place for sunset dining. The location alone deserves five stars.

As for the food, the experience was mixed. I ordered the grilled shrimp with quinoa — the shrimp were delicious: large, well-grilled, and full of flavour. However, the quinoa was a letdown: it tasted bland and not freshly prepared. It came with a mustard-based sauce, which felt too heavy and didn’t pair well; a lighter, more refined sauce would’ve complemented the dish better.

My sister had a pasta dish, which was fine but nothing memorable — tasty, but very standard.

We were especially excited for dessert, as the menu descriptions sounded fantastic. I ordered the brownie with caramelised nuts, but received a dense, hard brownie with no nuts at all. When I asked the waiter, he vaguely said the nuts might be ground inside — which made no sense. Instead of nuts, there was caramelised strawberry on top. The brownie itself was dry and tough — definitely not recommended for brownie lovers expecting something rich and soft.

My sister ordered the profiteroles with pistachio ice cream. Unfortunately, they came with vanilla ice cream, and no one warned us. When we pointed it out, the waiter casually said, “Oh, maybe the pistachio ran out.” After we insisted they check, it took about 10 minutes — and I eventually had to approach a second waiter for an answer. He finally confirmed it was just a kitchen error, with no explanation or apology until we...