Ifestioni Restaurant

My boyfriend and I chose to eat here as a final celebration meal of my birthday holiday in Santorini. With a slightly pricier menu, glamorous photos and good rating on Google, we had high expectations of something special. Turning up to the hotel restaurant, there was no parking and our table was not ready, even though we’d arrived 10 minutes late (after struggling to park). We were one of only 3 tables dining this night. To start with, our waitress was very kind and smiley and chatted. Once we’d ordered, things went downhill. I’ve had Octopus a few times on this holiday, and this was the smallest, priciest and least tasty time. Our main was a deconstructed moussaka which had potato bubbles resembling rice crispies. To their credit, the meat was melt in your mouth and it was an interesting dish, but not what we’d call moussaka and a little disappointing on that front for a Greek dinner. Our waitress cleared my starter before my boyfriend had finished eating, subsequently asking “are you done?” and clattering the plates as she cleared them. Mains were cleared in much the same way without asking how they were. I’d barely finished my first glass of wine, and I was willing to have another, but dinner was almost over and we felt like we were being rushed. The waitress took something off the table every time she visited. Catching onto this intuition, we felt the need to leave before dessert and ended up having more fun, better value for money and a more authentic experience at the local 24hr bakery where we bought one of each pastry for the price of 1 dessert at Ifestioni. We enjoyed what we had of this place, but didn’t want to let it spoil our night.

🧿 Excellent restaurant situated inside the Aressana Spa Hotel . It does not offer good views of the Caldera but within steps to enjoy the spectacular sunset views! (less than a minute walk) Vegan and vegetarian dishes are available in the menu. Food and Cocktails both delicious and good quality like fine dining, reasonable price, perfect location, enjoyable atmosphere, very friendly staff and attentive service. Strongly recommend this place if you are in town, walking distance to the station, shops and restaurants.

Excellent food with a lovely view (although not of the caldera side). We had the octopus salami, which was really creative and delicate as a starter. The scallop risotto was amazing and delicious. The monkfish was also very delicate and perfectly cooked. I would highly recommend the textures of chocolate dessert, it was very rich but so yummy. Overall we really enjoyed the dinner here although it was on the pricey side. The food was great, the service was attentive and kind, and the plating was excellent.

Outstanding food!!!!! We watched a pink full moonrise, the hotel view to the east during dusk is so lovely. We had a lady server who was a bit bleh and without a pulse. Thankfully a young gentleman took over who saved our night - he was way more hospitable and excited to tell other tables it was the restaurant’s 5 year anniversary and that the dishes on this menu were the award winning ones for that particular year - we overheard this bit which made our dining experience way more fun!! They come to the table side and poured sauces over our mouthwatering dishes. Thank you executive chef Kostas!!!!!! Master of his craft!!!!