Sunset Michali's Taverna — Restaurant in Zakynthos Municipality

We made a reservation one day before, which they confirmed. We arrived there on time. The place looks nice at a first impression. Many people come there for the view, not necessarily to stay at the restaurant and this is why it is very crowded and you can barely find a parking spot. We parked at 500 m in a separate parking. We arrived there at 8 pm and the first dish came at 10:30 pm even though we had little children with us. The staff is under prepared and most of them don't speak English and the service was a disgrace (very late and only came once in our 3 hours stay). Most of the dishes arrived close to 11pm, and they messed up the order and didn't bring some of the dishes. Not to mention that they started to pack the tables while we didn't receive all dishes and we felt like being rushed to leave. The 2 people plateaus were incomplete, but on the bill they were written. Food is not great and it is not worth the road to that place. I asked for the bill in English and the guy laughing said it is not possible and he sent a waiter to translate it for us. Very rude Manager and he knew they messed up the entire evening. He just said he wants to cut off 50 euro from the total bill and said we should be satisfied. Overall a disaster dinner. We recommend avoiding this restaurant. I highly recommend the other taverna which is close by (Stavros or the...

Hier zahlst du ausschließlich für die Aussicht. Leider verdient der Service eine glatte 6 mit einem traurigen Smiley. Kaum angekommen, wirst du praktisch von einem Kellner überrannt und bedrängt. Du wirst zu deinem Platz gebracht, und eine Wasserflasche wird dir hingeknallt—nach der du nicht gefragt hast, die du aber selbstverständlich bezahlen musst. Nach einer gefühlten Ewigkeit kommt die Bedienung endlich an den Tisch und fragt, was wir wollen. Eine Begrüßung gibt es natürlich nicht, stattdessen wirkt sie fast schon verärgert darüber, dass wir nicht mehr bestellen. Vorher hatte uns ein anderer Kellner gefragt: „Are you finished?“, was sich darauf bezog, ob wir ausgesucht haben. Nachdem wir mit „Ja“ geantwortet hatten, kam nur ein knappes „Ok“ aus der Distanz. Diesen Kellner haben wir dann nicht mehr gesehen, bis irgendwann die besagte Dame auftauchte. Auch wenn du bezahlen möchtest, musst du dich selbst drum bemühen denn es kommt niemand zum Tisch um mal zu fragen ob alles ok ist oder ähnliches.

Also bin ich zum Tresen gegangen um zu zahlen. Das lächerlichste ist, dass du eine Service Pauschale von 3€ bezahlen musst. Die habe ich vehement verweigert, denn der Service war schlichtweg nicht vorhanden.

Alles in einem sehr enttäuschend Kleine Portionen Garkein Service bis unfreundlich und schnippisch Aber dafür richtig schön teuer. Würde ich mir zwei mal überlegen dort zu speisen Zumal man den Ausblick auch ohne Restaurant Besuch genießen kann. Ganz deutliche NICHT Empfehlung! ( bei meinem Bifteki waren übrigens 8 Pommes dabei, bei dem Hähnchen Souvlaki meiner Frau und unserem Sohn ganze 10 Pommes jeweils )

English Translation

Here, you’re paying solely for the view. Unfortunately, the service deserves a solid F with a sad face. As soon as you arrive, you’re practically ambushed and pressured by a waiter. You’re shown to your table, and a bottle of water is slammed down in front of you—something you didn’t ask for but, of course, have to pay for. After what feels like an eternity, the server finally comes to the table and asks what we want. There’s no greeting, and she seems almost annoyed that we’re not ordering more. Earlier, another waiter had asked us, "Are you finished?" referring to whether we had made our selection. When we answered "Yes," we got nothing but a distant "Ok." We never saw that waiter again until the mentioned lady eventually appeared.

Even when you want to pay, you have to take the initiative yourself because no one comes to the table to check if everything is okay or to ask if you need anything.

So, I went to the counter to pay. The most ridiculous part is that they charge you a service fee of 3€. I flatly refused to pay it because the service was simply nonexistent.

Overall, it was very disappointing: small portions, no service or, worse, rude and snappy service, but at least it’s really expensive. I would think twice before dining there, especially since you can enjoy the view without having to visit the restaurant. A very clear NOT recommended!

(By the way, my Bifteki came with 8 fries, and my wife’s and son’s chicken Souvlaki had just 10 fries each.)

*Greek Translation *

Εδώ πληρώνεις μόνο για τη θέα. Η εξυπηρέτηση αξίζει ένα μηδέν με λυπημένη φατσούλα. Μόλις φτάσαμε, μας πίεσε ένας σερβιτόρος και μας έφερε αμέσως μια μπουκάλα νερό που δεν ζητήσαμε, αλλά έπρεπε να πληρώσουμε. Η σερβιτόρα ήρθε μετά από πολύ ώρα, χωρίς χαιρετισμό και φαινόταν ενοχλημένη που δεν παραγγείλαμε περισσότερα. Όταν ζητήσαμε να πληρώσουμε, κανένας δεν ενδιαφέρθηκε, οπότε πήγαμε εμείς στον πάγκο. Το χειρότερο; Χρέωσαν 3€ για ανύπαρκτη εξυπηρέτηση, κάτι που αρνήθηκα να πληρώσω.

Συνολικά, πολύ απογοητευτικό: μικρές μερίδες, αγενής εξυπηρέτηση, και ακριβό. Μη το σκεφτείτε καν, ειδικά αφού η θέα είναι διαθέσιμη και χωρίς το εστιατόριο. Σίγουρα δεν το προτείνω!

(Παρεμπιπτόντως, το Bifteki μου είχε 8 πατάτες και το Σουβλάκι της γυναίκας μου και του γιου μου από 10...

A very average evening - especially by Greek standards.

It seems that if you want to enjoy the sunset on the western coast of Zante, you need to be in a restaurant. Sunset Michali’s Taverna was our choice after a couple of recommendations (from our host, etc).

When we arrived we were pleased we’d booked as there was a scramble for tables, but we were seated promptly. We were sat at the farthest end of the restaurant with glass barriers all around us. “Great!” we thought, until we realised that everyone behind us would file through to get their photos at the railing.

So our view of the sunset was through a queue, and with people constantly knocking our table, etc.

The food was distinctly average too. The starter portions were huge, but the mains fairly small. They were also inconsistent in size too. 3 of us had the same main (albeit 2 with chicken and 1 with pork) but they were massively different in size. There’s no way a chef looked at those and thought “yep, they’re good to go”.

So, overall a distinctly “fine” evening, hence a distinctly “fine” rating. Honestly, this was lining up to be a 2 star rating, but the kids loved seeing Hercules the Donkey, so star no...