Got back yesterday and beyond depressed!!

[Silverstar]

Hi all

Arrived back yesterday from a glorious fortnight in SS.

Stayed at Mihalis house (owned by Vagelis) with all my family and we had the most amazing time.  We spent most days either by the pool at the Nafsika (if you were there, can only apologise for the loudness of my little boy...!) or at either St Georges or SS beach.

My 40th birthday was a brill day, we went out to Kassiopi for the day with lunch at Trilogia and some lovely time on the beach there.    My god though, couldn’t believe how many businesses have closed in Kassiopi since I was there in 2009.  The restaurant Strofilia has closed down and that was rammo every night in 2009, also the main hotel on the harbour the Kassimi has also closed its doors as well as the Sconto supermarket!!

Anyway back to SS and my thoughts after four years away:

FoodOverall I thought the food was not quite as good as previous years.  I had a very disappointing meal at Zorba (terrible moussaka) and the Greek night food at the Tereza was not as good as the last time that we were there.  Also the chef from the Nafsika has moved up to Fantasea and the new chef does like to use a bit of salt......!

I thought that the Beachcomber was fantastic, ate there three times and was amazing every time, also my husband had some amazing Sea Bass and Bream at the Nafsika and their grilled chicken fillet at lunchtime was to die for. 

Fantasea was also really really good and we had a great meal at Ozzy Oil.

Delfino Blu really needs to sort its self out.  I will write a separate post on our experience there......!

People and business

We saw a lot of our regular friends including Speros (Nafsika) and Spiros (bikes), Vagelis, George and Stefanos (Thomas Bay, Mediterraneo and now 2 Stars – the guy gets around!).

They all seem to be in good spirits but I get the impression that businesses in SS are struggling on the whole (especially the bars on the main street).  The Condor seemed to be only quarter full on most nights and Acabar and El Greco were also fairly quiet.  Bar 38 and Athens Bar seemed to be doing the most business.  We were told that generally business is roughly 20% down on last year and I definitely think that Acabar for example will be closed by next year.

Tereza has had a face lift in the bar area and was looking really good and is obviously upping its game with Delfino Blu across the road.  The Greek night there was brilliant but the main food course was not quite as good as I remembered it from previous years.   Leo, Captain Nikos and Fanis were all well and Fanis little boy is beautiful.  Tereza, Leo’s wife is due to give birth to a little girl next month.

Speros has a new waiter since I was last there and it is Stefanos who had the Paradise restaurant on the road out to Arillas.   Absolutely amazing guy and we all just love him – superb addition to the Nafsika team and one of the nicest guy’s you will ever meet.   Feel so sorry that he had to close his restaurant a couple of season’s ago but hopefully the economy will pick up shortly and he can reopen again one day

Had my nails done at the new beauty salon Patricia’s (opposite the Olive Press) and Maria did a fantastic job – just lovely sitting there looking out onto the ocean and the beach.   The locals seem to use it quite a bit so hopefully it will fare better than other salon’s have.

It was quite busy but for the middle of August it was nowhere as near busy as it should be – they are still having issues with the Donut man who is apparently paying the fines and selling his wares on the beach again.  The locals are not happy!

I just love the place so much and today being my first day back at work is just horrible.  I am yearning to go back to SS already and will look to book next year’s holiday very soon. 

[Rod]

Great review Silverstar.  It will not be long until the next one comes around.   

[Jules]

Lovely review Silverstar

[Gavlah1973]

Great review!!!!

Know what you mean about the quality of food to a certain extent. I do think some places have cut back slightly on quality of food in order to keep the prices down.
The steaks were a bit of a let down in my opinion but I guess the price reflects it. I got two decent pieces of steak from Sainsburys the other day and it was £11 so I suppose a main course for 9 - 10 euros in San Stef including steak is good value?!

[Jimbo]

I have never had a really good steak in Greece. Beef (in my opinion) is usually tough - perhaps because it's not hung long enough. On the other hand, I usually upset my American relatives by saying that I've never had a really good steak in the USA - usually too soft and not tasting of much. A good steak is like a good woman - rare, special and very difficult to find. Such is life.

[Gavlah1973]

Agree Jimbo

On our first visit to Kefalonia 5 years ago we had a glorious steak in Peppercorn sauce. One of the best I've had.
Never ever been able to reach those heights again!!

Thought the cuts this year were some of the worst I've ever had!

[Bristle Boy]

I agree with Jimbo's steak comment.
In 20+ years of visiting the Med i've rarely had a decent steak (as we know it in the UK).
My wife's father was a butcher by trade and he lived in Spain for 10 years and when we visited back then he'd always say avoid steak - the cuts are cheap and not what we're used to in the UK.
The only place i've had a decent steak is in a restaurant in the Algarve we use each September - the owner and chef is a Scot (his wife Portuguse) and he can source ribeye which is usually pretty good in their restaurant.

[Jimbo]

As Bristle Boy rightly points out - it's all about ingredients. I can walk 20 yards to my local butcher and get fillet steak from 20 miles north of here. This is a farming region. We can get better meat than you'll ever get in a supermarket, at reasonable prices.

Greece is generally mountainous, and goat and roaming sheep territory. It's not a beef region, really. The food is the food of shepherds, goat-herders and fishermen. It's not "fine dining" - it's essentially simple peasant food cooked (we hope) well.

If you want other things, talk to Spiros at Nafsika. He loves and understands food. In July I had liver cooked to perfection after just a few words. 

[debra]

Ah Jimbo - the gorgeous liver at the Nafsika....................mmmmm

[Silverstar]

In fairness we had two very different steak meals.   One night a number of our group had the Jack Daniels steak at Zorba's with some loving it and some hating it.

However, we nearly all had either fillet or sirloin steak at the Beachcomber and it was cooked to perfection and totally fabulous.

On the whole though, I usually avoid steak in SS but can definitely recommend the beachcomber if you fancy a steak fix! 

[Jimbo]

Trouble is, I love the mussels at Beachcomber too much to order steak!

[Silverstar]

oooh my hubby had those and loved them too!

I also had the fish curry which was immense 

[tonyco1]

Always difficult to choose at the Beachcomber - - all so nice - - Fantasea the same - brilliant!!
good review Silverstar - -