Review: Restaurant Minos

We were walking around the new Kamppi center yesterday when we got hungry and decided to try one of the new restaurants there. The first one that caught our attention was Ravintola Minos, a Greek place which has apparently moved to Kamppi from Vuorimiehenkatu (where I never visited) and that from the looks of the staff is run by native Greeks or thereabouts; always a good sign.

The dining room looks nice enough and the fully glass-covered and warm semi-terrace is a nice touch. The chairs were a bit uncomfortable, lacking back support in the only section they need support. But that minor detail aside, it’s not a bad-looking restaurant with nice tablecloths and all. Like a peaceful oasis that allows one to escape the hectic shopping area. This, it turns out, was a false impression.

As a main course, I chose grilled giant prawns on a skewer (€19.90) and Sarita took the Moussaka (€15.60). The prawns were quite okay and the salad that came with them was fresh with a good, light and simple dressing. However, at almost 20 euros “okay” is not really good enough – I was expecting better. I hear the Moussaka on the other side of the table shared a similar verdict – it was ok but nothing to write home about. The price/quality-ratio of the main courses was pretty poor. Desserts fared a little bit better; my Parfait (€6.60) was very good and I didn’t hear too many complaints about the Halva (€3.60) either. As with the main courses, presentation was good. The wine list was a bit limited in selection, but still sufficient.

In addition to the ho-hum main courses, the service was shoddy. Things started out okay, with us being shown our table relatively quickly and efficiently. But by the time we were done, we had endured and witnessed the following:

• Turning down several dishes that were apparently missing their owner; While I didn’t see our dishes wandering around, we witnessed several dishes looking for their owners with the waiters and waitresses going from table to table asking if it was theirs. By the time one set of starters found its owner they had gone around the restaurant for at least 5 minutes.
• Dessert order seemed to go okay, only for the waitress to come back shortly to announce that the dessert I ordered was not available. In fact, only three desserts were available. Missing menu items a) shouldn’t happen and if they do, b) waitresses should know the menu deficiencies by heart.
• The table next to us ordered white wine – and got red wine. And they also had to turn down more than one course being offered to them (as it wasn’t theirs) and repeat their order a few times.
• Waiting for someone to bring us the check for close to half an hour after asking for it twice.
• Being served by at least five different waiters / waitresses, making things very confusing.
• After being there for an hour, the restaurant started to fill up; there were vacant-looking tables which were reserved. So when people started moving towards them, some staff member would emerge and practically yell at them “All of these are reserved! There is no room!” and showing them the door. I could’ve imagined more than one nicer way to put it.

Some of the bad and chaotic service can be explained by the relatively recent opening; maybe they were still practicing. The unescapable fact, however, is that Minos was a definitive disappointment and the price-quality/experience ratio was downright poor. Considering the city has other Greek restaurants with much better price-quality ratios (like Grecia), it’s unlikely we’ll ever go back here.

(Sorry for the small cameraphone photos)