Here we are at Ostria, a restaurant overlooking the sea in Porto Heli, Greece. There are many tavernas and places dotted around these parts, and you could say that it is my responsibility to find the good ones, saving you from wasting your precious holiday time and money. The problem with that here, is there are hardly any restaurants with websites or information, so you either have to turn up and hope for the best or try to figure it all out. The last resort is an instagram page. (But we all know this can often be hit and miss and not the real reality) I have noticed that Facebook is popular here, there is always a link to Facebook! It bugs me, please put some effort into your website, (I doesn’t have to be fancy) I am believer that this is a major part when running any kind of business. Without one, it leaves people in the dark.
The views are majestic at Ostria, (I came for a lunch, but I am sure it would be just as great at night) The bright blue sea completely in your vision whilst you are eating is priceless. And I sat right on the edge, looking out at various boats in front of me. The location is clearly the backbone of this restaurant. So, what about the food? I always say that you can often tell that a restaurant is ok by the size of their menu (Not always though, there have been times where this has burned my judgement) However 9 times out of 10 this basic rule will see you through. You don’t want to be paying tourist prices for a frozen squid! Make sure that the menu in your choice of taverna (or anywhere) is not too large, because if it is, you are potentially setting yourself up for failure.
Here I found the size of the menu acceptable. My fish had a crisp skin and was cooked perfectly, I noticed they had slashed it, showing some skill. The chickpeas were exceedingly generous (Making the fish look so small in the bowl) They were tasty, I just couldn’t eat them all. Portion sizes are large in Greece. I took some fried cheese with honey drizzled over, with sesame on the top. The pastry was crispy. Don’t order these if you are watching your waistline! I am a sucker for them, I know they are not the healthiest, but I always order them, along with the courgette fritters! (One of my favourites)
‘Fried potatoes’ here are a mystery to me. They are not chips and they are not completely crispy either, they are what they say they are and that is fried potatoes. Don’t expect chips! You will see what I mean when you order some. The salad bowl had a pleasing dressing, and it was prepared how a salad should be. Again, it was huge (At least we were sharing). I would come back here, especially on an evening to see how it fares. The food was at a standard I would say is ok, and that is all you would like from a local restaurant.
