The 10 best restaurants in Crete
Don’t come to Crete expecting Michelin stars. In Crete (as every restaurant owner will proudly tell you) the ingredients for your dinner sprang fresh from the soil under your feet. Some of the best restaurants are rustic tavernas with rusting signs, where you’ll listen to the click of komboloi worry beads as you (according to season) taste meze portions of stuffed snails, wild greens or lemon-drizzled artichokes, served with cretan rusk ntakos twice-baked in the village oven. No stars, perhaps, but dazzling all the same – and you won't pay a fortune, either.
For further Crete inspiration, see our guides to the island's best hotels, nightlife, beaches and things to do. For further inspiration plan the perfect Greek island-hopping holiday with our itinerary.
Kritamon
A cluster of tree-shaded wooden tables grouped around ancient trees are the humble backdrop for a dazzling display of dishes (many that you won’t find elsewhere): delicate handmade skoufichta pasta (with mushroom); maggiri, a dish of fresh pasta (part fried, part boiled) in a meaty broth scattered with shavings of white cheese; and hilopites egg noodles with chicken chunks in a rich, dark sauce. Owner Dimitris Mavrakis learnt his trade from Alain Ducasse and other top chefs, before settling here, with his wife Maria, in the busy little village of Archanes 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Heraklion.
Contact: kritamon.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: There’s more elbow room outside on the tree-shaded terrace
La Bouillabaisse
A short drive from Agios Nikolaos’ tavern-surrounded lake and labyrinth of shopping lanes, the latest venture of celebrity chef Yiannis Baxevanis – reached via a sculpture-dotted path at the heart of the stylish Minos Art Beach hotel – stands on a deck overlooking the wide mirrored curve of Mirabello Bay The menu changes according to the season, but Baxevanis’( known locally as the ‘aroma magician’), creative take on Mediterranean and Cretan cuisine translates as a series of standout dishes - including meltingly tender kleftiko lamb marinated in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil and slow-cooked in parchment – which are paired with a series of spicy reds and crisp whites from some of Crete’s best wineries.
Contact: minosbeach.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡￡
Best table: Closest to the edge of the terrace for the best views over Mirabello Bay
Ferryman Taverna
This as close to Cretan fine dining as you’re likely to get. Overseen by celebrity chef Yiannis Baxevanis, known locally as the ‘aroma magician’, this waterside tavern which has been open since the 1970s attracts the likes of Leonardo di Caprio and Lady Gaga who come here to sink their teeth into Dounetas’ crusty home-baked carob bread, kleftiko baked lamb, seafood paella and other dishes, sprinkled with sea salt gathered from the local shoreline and served with an elegant choice of local wines. Reserve well in advance if you want a seafront table.
Contact: 00 30 28410 41230
Opening times: Opening times and days vary. Phone in advance to check
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡￡
Best table: As close to the sea as possible
Leventis
The best restaurants are often in the hardest-to-find places – Leventis, a hole-in-the wall taverna in the backstreets of pano (upper) Stalos is no exception. Owners Giorgos and Panagiotis Chatzimanolakis have (justly) received countless awards for their hearty traditional Cretan cuisine: dishes like xoirino me selino (pork with celery) and the wine drenched kouneli stifado (rabbit stew) are the best you’re likely to taste on this side of the Aegean.
Contact: 00 30 28210 68155; facebook.com/Leventis-Taverna
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 4pm-12.30am, Sat-Sun, 12.30pm-12.30am. Opening times and days vary. Phone in advance to check.
Reservations: Advised
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: Arrive early and bag a seat on the terrace with views of the surrounding olive-grove-furred mountains
I Strofi tis Gefseis
Vyzari is some 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Rethymnon, but it’s well worth making a detour to meet papa (priest) Manolis Stavroulaki, and energetic wife Eleni who probably cooks the best deep-fried, honey-doused, doughnut-like loukoumades in Crete. The tiny tavern, sheltered beneath fat-leaved mulberry trees, is on a bend in the road, hence the name, which literally means ‘the bend of flavours’. Manoli greets you with a tumbler of raki, whilst Eleni heads for the garden to pick vegetables to make crisp courgette fritters (kolokokithedes), creamy pasta, béchamel and minced beef dish (pastítsio), and other home-cooked treats.
Contact: 00 30 28330 41258
Opening times: Daily, 8am-9pm
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Prices: ￡
Best table: Anywhere in the shade
Dounias
Some of the best food in Crete is found away from the coast and Dounias is no exception. It’s in the foothills of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains): during the winding drive to get here your appetite is whetted by hot odours of thyme and oregano baked on rugged slopes. Owner Stelios Trilirakis learnt his trade in Chania’s restaurants, before taking over his parents' remote tavern. He scorns electricity and toils over big clay pots above a log fire to produce gardoumakia (sheep’s intestine meze), creamy rabbit casserole and other traditional dishes flavoured with pungent mountain herbs.
Contact: ntounias.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: As close to the cooking pot as possible
Agreco Farm
Owned by the local Grecotel luxury resort chain, this stone-hewn mock up of a 17th-century Venetian village surrounded by olive groves near Rethymnon aims to showcase Cretan cuisine and rural life – and it’s surprisingly authentic. Before sitting to eat at rough-hewn wooden benches, guests are led out to see the copper pot where the farm's raki is made, sample the home-produced organic olive oil, and meet the goats whose less fortunate fellows will later be on a set menu, which includes crispy fried quail, plump, wheat-stuffed zucchini flowers, and antikristo lamb cooked over a blazing fire.
Contact: agreco.gr
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡￡
Best table: At the end of one of the long trestle tables where everyone eats together
Karnagio
Tavernas dotted around Voulismeni, the so-called bottomless lake (it’s actually 64 meters deep) in Agios Nikolaos capital of the Lasithi region tend to be touristy, but local-loved Karnagio is definitely an exception. Seated at colourful tables clustered beneath the shade of a sprawling vine you can expect huge - and very affordable - portions served up with a big smile, and spectacular lake views. The young chef’s local dishes with a modern twist include meltingly tangy local goats cheese pan-seared and served with fresh fruit; patates tis yiayas – olive oil-fried potatoes topped with creamy xinomyzithra cheese. Mains include luscious astakomakaronada - lobster spaghetti; velvety fish moussaka and kid-pleasing salmon burgers; but also various meats which are grilled on a charcoal fire near your table, and several vegan dishes.
Contact: 00 30 2841 025968
Opening times: Every day 12.30pm-12pm. Summer and winter times vary. Call ahead to check
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: As close to the lake as possible
To Pigadi tou Tourkou
When you need a change from Cretan fare, The Well of the Turk – so-called because the building once housed a Turkish hammam – offers some tasty alternatives. Situated in Chania’s Splanzia area, the low-vaulted interior, painted in Van Gogh hues of yellow and blue, spills out onto a paved street overlooking the 13th-century church of Agia Irini. Middle Eastern specialties include meltingly tender lamb, slow cooked with preserved lemons, and Turkish pizza topped with minced beef or lamb. Make sure to leave room for their rosewater and orange cheesecake.
Contact: welloftheturk.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡￡
Best table: Opposite the church
Onisimos
Farm-to-table feeding is becoming increasingly popular in Cretan culinary circles, and this striking stone-clad restaurant where all the raw ingredients are sourced locally – or come from the owner’s organically run smallholding -offers some of the best. Along uneven paved streets of Peza, a cluster of flat-roofed houses south of the capital, Heraklion, surrounded by endless fields of furled green vines that produce two thirds of the island’s wines, this rustic taverna’s cosy plant-filled interior is a perfect backdrop for Crete’s hearty specialties, including feather-tender wine-simmered lamb dish, arni tsigariasto and rich beef and onion stew, stifado.
Contact: 00 30 28210 741754
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 12pm-12am, Sat-Sun 12pm-2am.
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: On chillier evenings near the wood-burning stove
How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller’s taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.