Thalassa Greek Taverna — Restaurant in Goa

Our experience at this “Greek” restaurant was absolutely horrendous.

As soon as we entered, we were greeted by the manager, who, from the onset, was overbearing and pushy. He told us about the history of the restaurant and that the owners and chefs are Greeks who serve and cook authentic Greek cuisine. In hindsight, this little script that he entertained us with seemed like damage control to cover up for fake Greek food which this restaurant serves.

The manager insisted we ordered the food he recommended. And the food items he recommended were the most expensive food on the menu and he vehemently insisted that if we didn’t order those expensive dishes, we wouldn’t eat real Greek cuisine! Having lived in Greece for a year myself, I already knew the dishes I wanted to eat. We ordered fried feta in filo pastry for starters and a chicken casserole for the main course. To this, the manager shook his head in disappointment as neither of them were his 'greek food recommendations'.

When the food finally came, it was disappointing. The fried feta in filo pastry was dry and burnt. The feta cheese inside was extremely cold, almost frozen. We took a few bites but soon realised this is nothing like the feta pastries we’ve had in Greece.

The chicken casserole was a complete joke! There was an option to order it with a side of pasta/fries/rice and we ordered it with pasta. The manager literally forced us to order it with rice, which is really weird because you don’t eat chicken casserole with rice! But we gave in to his wishes because it was very annoying after a while. When the dish finally came, we realised why he forced us to order it with rice. It was not chicken casserole at all, but some basic version of chicken tikka masala curry (see photo).

We called the manager to send the food back and he started gaslighting us that we don’t know what Greek cuisine actually is. When I informed him that I have lived in Greece and I knew what I’m talking about, he first told us that it was their version of Greek food and then said that he will ask the kitchen to cook authentic Greek food for us. He immediately called the chef and started blaming him for serving us the wrong food. The chef was equally confused as us because he probably was just following orders regarding the recipes.

We also sent back the feta pastry because the filo pastry was raw in multiple places (see photo) and it is a HEALTH CODE VIOLATION to feed customers raw food! At that, he again started gaslighting us that it’s cooked and the white filo pastry is just feta cheese! You can obviously see in the pictures that it is layers of uncooked filo pastry.

By this point, our entire night was already ruined and all we wanted to do was leave. But the manager insisted we pay for the feta pastry because we took a few bites from it, completely ignoring the fact that it was uncooked!!

We only paid for the wine and left the restaurant deeply disappointed and shocked!

We highly recommend that you avoid this restaurant at all costs unless you want overpriced pasta, pizza and chicken curry! This is not a Greek restaurant and the manager is aware of it and does everything in his power to fool...

Disappointing experience for a restaurant that has been so highly recommended. The manager was overbearing and condescending in their description of the menu and their dish suggestions. It appeared as if they were following a comprehensive script on the USPs of the restaurant and the menu, which did little to add to the experience as it came unprompted. The rest of the staff was cordial.

We were consistently informed that the food is authentically Greek, and when asked what we wished to eat, each choice was scrutinised by the manager and explained to us as if we knew no better. Had we asked for an explanation of the dish, this may have made sense but it felt as if we were being judged for our choices. Perhaps this was not their intention but that is how it came across.

We ordered a Greek salad without tomatoes (as my mother cannot eat them for dietary reasons), chicken gyros and lamb kebab. Fairly standard fare one would expect to order at a Greek restaurant.

The manager was fairly overbearing and pushy in recommending moussaka for my mother as she is vegetarian, despite her insisting she wasn’t interested and would prefer the Greek salad (having had it before quite frequently during our trip to Greece and enjoying it). I was particularly disturbed by the way that the manager turned the conversation towards my father to ‘insist his wife try the moussaka’ as if a woman were unable to choose her lunch without the insistence and guidance of a man. The Greek salad that arrived had cucumbers which seemed to be coated in a brown seasoning and looked fairly unappetising. It was left mostly unfinished.

When the gyros arrived, they looked nothing like gyros at all. The chicken was marinated in a spicy, almost tandoori chicken-esque seasoning. We’ve been to Greece before, and we’ve had gyros all over the island of Crete from Rethymno to Chania and Heraklion. We are not unfamiliar with it. When the manager came over to ask how we found the food, we did let them know that we found the chicken gyros to be disappointing. Of course every dish has its own regional interpretations which we may be unfamiliar with however we were simply providing our feedback as we were asked. I did also specifically mention that preferences may differ from customer to customer, and this was simply our view.

The lamb kebab that my father had was fine, and the manager made a pointed remark to my father asking ‘was it up to your expectations’. A fairly innocuous sentence however it was spoken with a certain vexation which can be expected when receiving unfavourable feedback.

Additionally, there were flies everywhere (which can be expected for an open air restaurant), however no measures seemed to be in place to mitigate this (no citronella, or insect repellant).

Overall it was an unpleasant experience. Perhaps this approach to customer service appeals to others, absolutely no judgement there. But we did not appreciate being judged and...

Yes, The place was nice with a super energetic welcome by the manager. The staff is pretty smiling and courteous. It is bang opposite the Gymkhana club Panaji and they give you secured parking too if available. The manager shared the history of Thalassa and seemed pretty knowledgeable about the hospitality sector. He suggested few food options but was insisting on trying the Sea Food platter, which we did, but felt that it wasn't worth the praise as the so called King Size prawns were not there and it was not meant for 2-3 people as suggested. A piece of Fish, some calamari, 3 small sizes steamed prawns with lots of decorated salad, some rice, pieces of pita, vegetables and tuna salad for 2500/-😎 . It seemed overpriced with the reason of the touristy location and the product. The presentation was wonderful though. The lamb Seekh Kebab was ok but had less sauce and actually smelt like lamb😉. We asked for the extra sauce to cover the same to make it more edible. The beers were cold enough to be enjoyed but again the inhouse beer was suggested which was kinda not our taste. The restaurant also makes you taste 1 of their cocktails and again trying convincing you to try at least 1 alongwith other ordered drinks. The only thing noticeable here is the enthusiasm of the manager making the guest try 1 of the expensive dishes which though won't feel that if it was a proper restaurant and not a make shift arrangement. The place is worth 1 time try but do not just order the Sea Food platter with the suggestion of the infective smile manager unless you actually wish to eat that or spend that amount of money. As a genuine reviewer, I shared...