This is our official first night’s dinner on the island which was on the second day of our holiday.
We were walking on the Nydri Harbour, the place to be in the evening in town and enjoying the touristy and lively atmosphere on the boulevard. We decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants on the harbour facing the promenade so we can, among other things, people watch and just really soak ourselves in the holiday and festive mood of our surroundings.
It was not an easy decision to choose which restaurant to eat at here in Nydri harbour. I did not check Tripadvisor ahead of time. I also wanted to see it for myself which restaurant has the best ambiance and with a great venue for people watching. Well, almost all the restaurants on the harbour have a great venue, however, you need to secure a table in front or at street level for the ultimate seat. Now you really need to have good timing to do this because during peak dinner hours it would be nearly impossible.
So if you are like me during situations like these, you would always choose a restaurant on the basis of appearance and if there are a good amount of people eating in it. It is a simple formula: People want to eat in a nice place and people do not want to eat alone. Then act quick. Grab a free table or spot those diners who are finishing up.
On the aesthetics, the Panorama Restaurant Taverna really outshines the rest of the tavernas on the harbour. They have a lot of lights, the restaurant’s design and colours were bright and very welcoming, and they adorn the place with a lot of pink bougainvillas and red petunias. Face value, it sure is a very attractive restaurant from the street, a real eye candy so to speak. Secondly, it was full with patrons. All tables were taken and eager would-be diners were queuing up to be seated. That easily sealed the deal for me.
When I ushered Dutchman and the Dutch mother to the restaurant, the Dutchman grimaced upon seeing the bright colour scheme and flowers but did not contest, “Oh dear me, you have brought us to a circus restaurant.†Haha! The Dutchman has sometimes a sarcastic sense of humour.
We had to wait for 5-10 minutes for our table, and we were given one right on street level, which we were quite happy about. Afterall, we want to people watch while we eat dinner.
So we are totally going Greek cuisine for this evening’s first dinner. Dutchman and Dutch mother ordered the same thing – the classic Gyros. While I chose for Grilled Octopus, my very own quintessential favourite Greek dish.
They both found the gyros quite good and even managed to wipe their plates clean. It is the first dinner so I can understand =)
As for my dish, I thought the grilled octopus was flavoured well and very tasty. You see, there is a proper preparation to cook this special Greek dish. In order to make the octopus suitable for eating, the meat must be tender enough to chew. The locals in the Greek islands have a traditional way of tenderising the meat by beating it and then drying. Afterwards, the octopus is braised in water for half an hour to an hour adding some vinegar, wine and spices of choice. When this is done, the octopus is then ready to be grilled. Somehow, I was expecting the grilled octopus I ordered to be grilled longer. I should have asked for a ‘well done’? My fault as I like them really cooked and a bit crunchy.
On a different subject matter such as service, which I might add that we are not really the types to demand proper customer service, well, in this restaurant it is rather slow. It did not bothered us but we could not help overhear a Dutch couple sitting behind us complaining that everything took a long time including paying their bill.
The fact is, the restaurant is perhaps the only restaurant on the boulevard that was always full and with a queue of customers waiting. There were not enough tables and waiters, and I am sure the cooks were multi-tasking and cooking up a real storm in the kitchen to service the demand. It is understandable. This restaurant surely makes a lot of money during the holiday high season compared to the others!
Overall, we enjoyed the ambiance and strategic venue of Panorama Taverna Restaurant on the boulevard of Nydri harbour. The food was something secondary that needs improvement, as well as the fastness of the service. But we do not really mind for a first night’s dinner. We have the next 13 nights to eat out and pick our choices anyway =)
Travel Period: June 2016
Destination: Nydri, Ellomenos (Lefkada – Ionian Islands), Greece
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)