Restaurants you need to try in Crete!

Crete is the largest Greek island, famous for its ancient culture and traditional cuisine based on olive oil, dairy products, citrus fruits, fresh tomatoes, goat meat and fish.

It’s packed on every street corner with tavernas, terraces and restaurants, everywhere I’ve been on the island.

Cretans certainly have a charm all their own and know how to lure you in, and if they’re good enough, keep you coming back for more.

I had a pretty hard time choosing where to stop and eat, as they all looked appetizing right from the entrance and crowded.

Thank goodness for the internet! After checking out other tourists’ impressions for various places, I decided to stop at a few restaurants, which I want to tell you about!

Where did I eat in Crete?

Restaurants I recommend in Chania

 Tholos Restaurant

Set on a narrow street, covered with flowers and greenery, the restaurant is located in an old villa with a terrace, in an extremely romantic and traditional Greek setting.

I was hooked as soon as I walked through the gate and chose a table on the upstairs terrace. The menu is varied and includes both traditional and modern cuisine.

The prices are not very high, but not low either. For a portion of tzatziki, shrimp saganaki, lamb with baked vegetables, musaca, a small carafe of wine and a bottle of water we paid €56.8. Dessert and a bottle of raki were on the house.

I loved it at this restaurant and recommend it without hesitation.

Kaiki Restaurant

On my last day in Chania, with a bit of luck after a few rainy days the sun came out and I headed to the first beach near the Venetian port, where I chose to eat at a highly praised and rightly so Mediterranean restaurant.

When we got there, there was only one table left, after which there was a huge queue of tourists who wanted to eat there and were waiting minutes for a table.

At first glance, the restaurant didn’t particularly impress me, but without a doubt, it’s the best restaurant I’ve eaten at in Chania.

We ordered Greek salad, grilled octopus and seafood pasta. All extremely good. At the end we received a generous dessert and two bottles, one of raki and one of traditional liqueur. All delicious for 41 euros.

You really must try it if you end up in Chania, worth every penny.

Veneto Restaurant

Located in the old centre of Chania, on an extremely narrow street with only a few tables is the best pizza on the hearth we tried in our few days there.

The delicious pizza, the extremely generous portions of pasta, were the perfect choice for a sunny afternoon and a 10km walk around the area. Cost for a pizza, tomato soup and 2 beers – 26 euros.

Gyros & Grill

For gyros lovers, at a price of only €3.8, we had the best pita gyros in Chania. The terrace is located on the harbour promenade, where you can find not only gyros, but also salads, steaks and other not very fancy but very tasty dishes.

Sol Dini Restaurant from Rethymnos

This restaurant is in the harbour of Rethymnos, with fish and seafood specialities and was the perfect retreat for the day I chose to visit this little town. Just then the rain caught me and the terrace of this restaurant was the best place to take shelter and at the same time relax.

Both the lamb chops were delicious and the seafood pasta. My portion of pasta was easily filled by two people.

What did I drink good in Crete?

For delicious cocktails, try the Apothhiki terrace, located right on the harbour, where you can sample both delicious desserts and smoke hookahs for €20. One cocktail I recommend and it’s very good is called Zombye, at €12.

Another place with very good and cheap drinks at 6 euros a cocktail is Narkissos terrace. The bartender there really knows how to make drinks, and the pina colada I had there was made by the book, with lots of pineapple, coconut and good rum. On top of that, he always brought fresh fruit or hazelnut mix on the house next to a plate.

The funniest drinks I’ve seen were at a family-owned restaurant called Gallini. Beer in boots, cocktails in extremely large glasses with equally large straws, where for sports fans it’s the ideal place, with 5 screens from which you can watch the football match, by the sea.

 

The drink that remains the top drink in Crete is their traditional drink, raki, similar to our own brandy, a drink with many degrees and which is usually served to you from them at every meal.

For sweet lovers, you should not leave Crete without trying the ice cream. It’s found everywhere and is extremely good. A special treat is the cataif ice cream, which is the only one I found here.

Another magical place that appeals to young and old alike is Hensel & Gretel. The smell draws you in from the street, and the place is so cute, colorful and full of goodies.

For waffle lovers, you’ll find a little place called Chillbox, where they cut your waffle into bite-sized pieces, over which you can add various ice cream toppings, fresh fruit, peanuts or cream.

What didn’t I like?

The restaurants I don’t recommend are Taverna Volakas in Chania and another tiny place, right in the harbor where it says at the entrance as the best gyros in Chania, voted No.1 by Trip Advisor – it’s extremely small, full of rests and the predominant taste is oregano. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch its name.

At this Tavern, the food was good but quite expensive, the staff very rude, annoying even, but I was looking for a place to smoke hookah and I saw it exposed, it had started raining and I went in, although the owner of the place didn’t inspire confidence from the beginning.

We were told the hookah was 15 euros and we paid 25 euros for it, the surprise promised from the start from the house was completely lacking and for a fish and a suflaki, we paid 50 euros. The most expensive restaurant and the worst, as well as the overall experience.

You don’t call yourself a tourist if you don’t burn yourself once on holiday in choosing where to eat!

Conclusion

All in all, I really enjoyed the food in Crete, varied, colorful, fresh and appetizing.

Whether you want to taste traditional, international, italian or any other cuisine, I’m sure you’ll find something good to try here for any picky or craving. It’s definitely a place I want to return to.

Until then…travel, live, love…in the yamasss spirit!

p.s. If you’ve been to Crete, what restaurants would you recommend to try in the future?