Fine Dining at La Maison Santorini

Fine dining at La Maison Santorini is an absolute must destination for any ‘foodie’ who is visiting Santorini. Just a 30 minute stroll from Fira, you will find La Maison in Imerovigli. Imerovigli is a peaceful area known for luxury accommodation and fine dining. The restaurant has a rather simplistic fit out but boasts a spectacular view of the caldera. 

The view may be impressive but here you will find the food rivals this view. The cuisine at La Maison is modern French with a local Greek Mediterranean influence. The chef who presides over this restaurant is very talented and testament to this is the calibre of dishes on offer. The restaurant is a rather intimate space, it’s not a place for the masses, which ensures each meal is executed with precision and passion. The wait staff are as what you would expect from a fine dining establishment, formal but with the genuine warmth you come to expect at any Greek restaurant. Greeks want you to be happy in their restaurants and that’s what I love about the Greeks – their passion. 

My experience

I wandered past this restaurant many times throughout my stay and on my last night in Santorini, I decided that I would go in and see if they had a free table. One thing I have learnt about Santorini is that if you don’t have a booking, then you go in early and try and get a first sitting. Many places that boast views of the sunset will be booked out for the night, and La Maison was no exception. 

As luck would have it, I was able to secure a table after one of the staff members kindly checked with the manager and they squeezed me in before a late booking. Others waiting outside behind me weren’t so lucky and left disappointed. 

Once I was seated, I ordered a glass of wine and perused the menu. There were some great choices on this menu and I found myself a little tied on what I should get. I ended up settling for the pork belly as my choice of main. 

Being a solo diner, you tend to really take note of the surroundings and more importantly what type of meals are being served. I was amazed at the level of creativity of some of the dishes and I began wishing I’d ordered this, or ordered that as they were sailing right past me. 

Not long after sitting down, I was brought a complimentary welcome dish served on a stone. Each element of the dish was explained by the knowledgeable wait staff in detail.  I’ll point out now that the wait staff are equally as enthusiastic about the dish as the person they are serving. 

Main Course

After sitting for a little bit taking in the gorgeous scenery and trying to avoid the ‘food envy’ of looking at others plates, my main arrived. The pork belly was of generous size and I will say it was simply outstanding! The dish was well presented and once again the staff explained each element of the dish. The pork belly was served with a peach sauce, potatoes with spearmint, chorizo cream and grilled peach, an interesting flavour combination but they all worked together perfectly.  The pork belly was tender and the skin crispy, I couldn’t fault this dish.  

Dessert

Since I did not have an entree, I knew I would be looking at the dessert menu. I had spied on the table next to me a chocolate dessert that looked just divine. It looked as though it had a decent dose of chocolate, and well, I felt the chocolate cravings coming on – so I had to have this dessert! I ended up saying to the waitress when she came to take my order – ‘I’ll have what she’s having’. Yes, I did just say that and yes we (the waitress & I) both had a chuckle at my use of the line from a famous movie scene. 

The dessert was a chocolate tart served with caramel sauce, hazelnut powder, cocoa caviar and vinsanto wine ice-cream. It was eye catching, decadent and oh so delicious. All I can say is that I had died and gone to heaven, with this dessert – oh it was that good. 

La Maison is full of visual surprises and something that intrigued me at various times of the evening, was these little bottles of white explosions. These little or rather ‘big’ white explosions were actually fairly floss or cotton candy, these were delivered to the table, alongside the bill. It was interesting to watch peoples faces as they were delivered this unexpected treat. What a fun way to end a superb evening at La Maison.

Overall this was a fantastic experience and even though I didn’t check out every restaurant in Santorini, I will say that this restaurant is up there with a lot of fine dining establishments that I have visited around the world. If you ever find yourself in Santorini, make sure you book yourself a table at La Maison, it really is a wonderful restaurant. 

Where to find La Maison

La Maison

Imerovigli, Thíra, Kikladhes, Greece

(On the main pedestrian only thoroughfare) 

Tele: +30 2286 025649

Facebook Page: La Maison Restaurant