CRETE 2024

LASITHI REGION

IL BORRO TUSCAN BISTRO
EUROPEAN CUISINE

Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel, Elounda
+30 2841 068250
https://eloundapeninsula.com/en/il-borro-tusan-bistro
€75-100 per person
Open from April to October

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant by the sea, restaurant with its own parking or valet parking

One of the best Italian restaurants in the country is hosted at the luxury hotel in Elounda. Il Borro - of the Ferragamo family - originated in Tuscany and here, in its summer setting, is characterised by authenticity and excellence of execution whether you choose one of its impeccable pizzas or delectable pasta and risottos.

CHIONA
FISH RESTAURANT

Chiona Beach Sitia
+30 2843061228, +30 6948829057
€30-40 per person
Open from May to October, daily 12:00-23:00

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

A traditional fish tavern that sets tables on the rocks, literally where the waves crash, at one end of Chiona Beach, just 1 km from Palekastro. It is renowned for its traditional Cretan fisherman’s soup, and the remarkable fish catch it secures, as and when the weather permits.

OLD MILL
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Elounda Mare Hotel
10 Dimokratias - Elounda
+30 2841068200
http://www.eloundamare.com
€65-120 per person
Open from April to October, daily 19:00-22:30

Outdoor seating also available, seaside restaurant, with its own parking or valet service.

The hotel`s fine-dining restaurant is hosted on a beautiful terrace by the sea. Its tables are spread around an old millstone - to which it owes its name - and surrounded by a blooming garden. Chef Dimitris Vergakis presents a modern Cretan cuisine based on fresh, local raw materials and imaginatively incorporates tradition in compositions that are sometimes more complex than they need to be. The wine list curated by sommelier Babis Papadatos is also excellent.

VAI
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Provincial road Moni Toplou - Vai (Finikodasos), Sitia - Lassithi
+30 2843 061129
https://www.vai-restaurant.gr
€25-50 per person
Open from April To October

The restaurant of the Lilibakis family is literally "perched" on the rocks that protect the sandy beach of the famous Vai palm forest. The menu, curated by chef Christos Lappas, focuses mainly on fish. It`s worth trying his excellent crayfish cassava, lobster or roulade with celery cream. Still, if you prefer Cretan cuisine, the Cretan chondromas with snails and the lamb with steamed greens, potatoes and Sitia vinegar are good choices. For the unrepentant meat eaters, there is also a juicy burger, pork stallion, tagliata or black Angus ribeye.

HERAKLION REGION

APIRI GREEK EATERY
MODERN GREEK CUISINE

5 Kagiambi and Agion Deka, Heraklion
+30 2810342228
€ 25-40 per person
Open all year round, daily 10:00-24:00. Closed on Sundays

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

The restaurant is located on a quiet, paved pedestrian street next to Agios Minas. The chef-owner, Stefanos Lavrenidis, combines international and local ingredients, along with several homemade ones, to create dishes with a modern aesthetic. With his considerable knowledge and experience, the chef showcases contemporary Greek cuisine with his specialities, including dishes such as the grilled wild greens pie with carob and galena (Cretan cream cheese), smoked sea bass with lemon sauce, seaweed, and sea urchin, and the braised goat with oriental pilaf and almonds.

APHRODITE
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Kato Symi, Viannou - Heraklion
+30 2895031463, +30 6972178028
www.aphrodite-tavern.gr/
€25-35 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving outside.

To get to the traditional tavern Aphrodite, you must follow the road leading to Omalos of Viano and passing the mountainous settlement of Kato Symi. There, sitting on its terraces, you will enjoy the coolness of the plane trees, the sounds of the water of the natural springs and a well-prepared Cretan cuisine in its authentic version. Depending on the seasons, Mrs. Eleftheria may have made dolmadakia, zucchini meatballs, chlorokokukia with artichokes, goat with ascolumbus, stifado, spaghetti with myzithra.

BONY FISH SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
FISH RESTAURANT

Abaton Island Resort & Spa Hotel, Themistokleous Avenue, Hersonissos
+30 28970 26410
€45-65 per person
Open from April to October, lunch-dinner

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors, seaside restaurant, with its own parking or valet service

On a beautiful terrace by the sea, executive chef Giorgos Chronakis and his sous chef Konstantinos Papadopoulos present the seafood aspect of the island`s cuisine, making the most of the fresh fish and seafood sourced daily. They also offer some fusion dishes, especially raw ones. A must-try is the fried mullet with sorrel, barley rusks, smoked taramasalata (fish roe), and bourdeto (spicy fish stew) sauce. However, do not miss the opportunity to taste non-seafood dishes as well, such as the spinach pie tart with fresh herbs, trahana (special Greek pasta), and galeni cheese (Cretan cream cheese), or the rice croquettes with seasonal mushrooms, black garlic puree, lime, and hazelnut sabayon.

CREMNOS
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Acro Suites Hotel, Agia Pelagia
+30 2810 812240
https://acrosuites.com/nutrition/
€75-100 per person
Open from April to October

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant with its own parking or valet parking

In the hotel`s elegant restaurant, chef Yannis Rokanas proposes combining creativity and comfort food. He draws inspiration from Greece and the rest of the world. His cuisine is characterised by excellent execution and well-chosen local ingredients.

ELEMES CRETAN CUISINE
MODERN GREEK CUISINE

Abaton Island Resort & Spa Hotel, Themistokleous Avenue
Hersonissos
+30 28970 26410
€40-60 per person
Open from April to October, lunch dinner

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors, on the seaside, with its own parking or valet service.

Elemes, the hotel`s Cretan restaurant, serves breakfast until late and then dinner, which is particularly interesting. The culinary tradition of Crete inspires the dinner`s contemporary cuisine. Chef Giorgos Chronakis "tweaks" the traditional Cretan cuisine a little and respectfully without ever "chattering" about the taste or moving away from the essence. The result is deeply delicious dishes, some of the best you can taste on the island! All ingredients used come directly from local farmers and ranchers.

GALEA
CONTEMPORARY GREEK KOYZINA

Castello Infinity Hotel, Agia Pelagia
+30 2813021840
https://castelloinfinity.com/gastronomy/galea-restaurant-bar
€50-75 per person
Open from April to October

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant with its own parking or valet parking

On the beautiful first-floor terrace, with a view of the entire bay of Agia Pelagia, chef Kostas Assariotakis offers us one of the most pleasant surprises in Crete. His cuisine has clear Cretan influences but is simultaneously cosmopolitan and exciting. It has inspiration, originality, tension and deliciousness. His version of Horiatiki salad- a "wreath" of pickled onions, tomatoes, vegetables, and feta - is perhaps one of his most distinctive and exciting creations.

KRITAMON
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

4 Vathypetrou, Central Square - Archanes
+30 2810753092, +30 6977618266
€20-25 per person
Open from June to mid-September, Tuesday - Sunday 19:00 - 24:00. Weekends from 13:00 onwards.

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

Located on the central square of Archanes, Kritamon features a beautiful, cobblestone courtyard with a well, where the fragrance of aromatic herbs fills the air. Here, chef Dimitris Mavrakis presents a creative cuisine based on old recipes, local produce, organic vegetables from their garden, and herbs from the slopes of Mount Juktas. Among the dishes on their menu, titled "Cretan Gastronomy," standout options include magiri pasta with staka (a type of clarified butter), sour coarse bulgur with eggplant, mixed legume casserole, "Minoan" pork, and plakountes pastry with dried fruits, pumpkin, and honey.

LOGARI
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Kato Gouves, Aposelemi, Heraklion - Crete
+30 695 554 1740
€25-35 per person
Open from April to October

In the Cretan dialect, logari means "hidden treasure" and, as you`ll find when you arrive at this old metochi that has been converted into a taverna, the name fits it perfectly. On the one hand, it is in the middle of nowhere, on the wooded shores of Aposelemi - one of the island`s largest rivers. The tables are set under the olive trees, and the cuisine is disarmingly simple and completely Cretan. Perfectly fried zucchini, delicious dolmades, eggplant salad, grilled ribs and other meats cooked perfectly. Special mention to the warm hospitality of the owners` family: the chef is Michalis Giannakakis, and his assistant is his brother, Nikos, while the third brother, Manos, is the soul of the service.

ONISIMOS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Dimokratias, Peza Pediadon
+30 2810741754
€20-25 per person
Open all year round, Monday-Friday 12:00-24:00, Saturday-Sunday 12:00-02:00

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

Here you will enjoy an authentic version of traditional Cretan cuisine, emphasising local ingredients and meats. Onisimos Saridakis is the master working the "fires," renowned for his excellent antikristo, a traditional Cretan meat dish that needs to be pre-ordered at least 2-3 hours in advance. Eleni Vardaki, a talented cook and his wife, is known for her delicious pies, dolmadakia (stuffed grape leaves), koukofava (fava bean puree), sizzled lamb, and slow-cooked goat in tomato sauce.

PESKESI
GASTRO TAVERN

6-8 Kapetan Haralampi, Heraklion
+30 2810288887
https://peskesicrete.gr/el
€25-30 per person
Open all year round, Monday-Friday 12:00-24:00, Saturday-Sunday 12:00-02:00

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors.

The restaurant is housed in the old, stone-built mansion of Captain Polyxigkis - which you may recall from Kazantzakis` book Captain Michalis. Its cuisine follows the farm-to-table philosophy, as the owner, Panagiotis Magganas, has created a farm in the village of Charaso for this purpose. Chef Christos Schoinarakis` dishes are based on the island`s culinary tradition. Depending on the season, you may find omelettes with wild asparagus, dishes with lesser-known legumes (manarolia and lupines), local meats cooked with wild greens, such as lamb with askolibrous. It is worth trying their cheeses (katsochiri and tyrozouli), as well as their exciting cocktails and Erontades, their bottled beverages.

SARADARI FISH RESTAURANT
FISH RESTAURANT

Agiou Georgiou, Hersonissos (Saradari area)
+30 2897025375
https://www.saradari.com
€30-40 per person
Open from March to November, Monday-Sunday: 10:00-00:00

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors.

The beautifully decorated, tasteful Saradari is an excellent choice for seafood cuisine in a quiet corner of Hersonissos. Chef Christos Lappas curates an exciting menu creatively, featuring multi-ethnic influences regarding raw dishes. However, they also recommend seafood cuisine with premium cuts that follow the nose-to-tail philosophy and are rooted in tradition.

SCALA PREMIUM SEAFOOD BAR
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Matala, Heraklion, Crete
+30 28920 45489, +30 698 138 8135
https://scala-fish-bar-restaurant.gr
€50–75 per person
Open from May to October

Restaurant serving outside

You probably wouldn`t guess that there is a restaurant in Matala that is worth the stop. And yet, climbing the stairs leading to its tasteful terrace, from where the view of the bay is stunning, you`ll be rewarded by what the cuisine of Hara Tsavolakis and Pavlos Dibiaka - curated by chef Christos Lapa - brings out. From the marinated anchovies with seasonal greens and the alitique tziladia, a thick fish paste that at Scala they make traditionally, but with shrimps, to the octopus in wine with parmesan cream, the various seafood pasta and the rabbit stew, everything is delicious.

RETHYMNO REGION

AVLI
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

22 Xanthoudidou and Radamanthios
+30 2831058250
www.avli.gr
€50-80 per person
Open all year round, daily 13:00-24:30

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

Located in a historic Venetian mansion dating from the 17th century, Avli is a fine dining restaurant in the old town of Rethymno. For over thirty years, Katerina Xekalou has been offering a creative interpretation of Cretan cuisine. Chef Vasilis Leonidou draws inspiration from traditional local recipes, sourcing local ingredients and placing particular emphasis on extra virgin olive oil. His version of modern Cretan cuisine is best exemplified through dishes such as confit squid with chickpeas, lamb patsa (tripe soup), coriander and tomato, or the rooster with askordoulaki (Cretan bulbs), kokari (muscari comosum), orange and corn, along with the exceptional dessert gastrin (baklava type pastry) with yogurt ice cream, carob, dried fruits, and molasses.

ELAIA
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Kapsaliana Village Hotel
Kapsaliana - Arkadi - Rethymno
+30 2831083400
www.kapsalianavillage.gr
€50–70 per person
Open from April to November, daily, lunch-dinner

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

The restaurant is located in the heart of a 16th-century stone-built settlement with a lush green courtyard that today houses the boutique hotel Kapsaliana Village. The farm-to-table menu - with local produce and raw materials from the three village bastions - was curated until last year by chef Nikos Thomas, who was succeeded by the excellent chef Pavlos Kyriakis this winter, which makes us confident that the restaurant will maintain its high level of quality

HASIKA
GASTRO TAVERN

11-13 Agias Barbaras, Megali Porta (Porta Guora), Rethymno
+30 2831021014
www.hasika.gr/el/
€30-50 per person
Open daily, 12:00-24:00

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

Chef-owner Michalis Hasikos has set up a contemporary Cretan gastrotavern on one of the pedestrianised streets in the old town of Rethymno. The menu focuses on meat and seafood. Dishes such as the open meatcake, charcoal-grilled cuttlefish, sizzled lamb with bulgur, rabbit croquette with ksinomizithra (whey cheese) sauce evoke memories of the island`s culinary tradition, masterfully building on it.

ILIOMANOLIS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Kanevos - Municipality of Finikas (On the road from Rethymno to Sfakia, just before Kotsifou Gorge)
+30 28320 51053
€20-30 per person
Open daily, 06:00-19:00

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

The tavern is located in Kanevos, just before Kotsifou Gorge. The setting is similar to an old cookhouse, where customers could see what the pots had to offer before placing their orders. The skilled cooks, mother and daughter, Maria and Chrysoula Iliaki, offer a purely Cretan cuisine. The meats they cook come from the family`s cattle, and the vegetables from their vegetable plots. They also make their galomizithra cheese. It is worth trying their hen with okra, dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves) and zucchini flowers, goat in tomato sauce with orzo, cuttlefish with fennel, and myzithrokalitsouna (fried cheese pastries).

CHANIA REGION

CHRISOSTOMOS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Dekalionos and Ikarou - Anatoliki Tafros Chania
+30 2821057035
www.chrisostomos.gr
€25-35 per person
Open daily 13:00-23:45 in summer, Wednesday-Sunday 13:00-23:45 in winter.

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

Located near the large warehouses of the port, just steps away from the Gate of Sand, Chrysostomos features a traditional wood-fired oven where they bake their homemade bread and meats daily. Owner Chrysostomos Orfanoudakis, along with Inga Karatsaousidi, use ingredients primarily sourced from Sfakia, which they cook in the best possible way. They excel in preparing the rabbit cooked in wine, hortokalitsouna (herb pies), eggs in staka (a type of clarified butter), roasted lamb with potatoes, lamb in the oven with wild greens, and a wonderful lamb in ladokolla (slow-roasted, wrapped in baking paper).

LEVENTIS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Ano Stalos, Chania
+30 2821068155
€25-35 per person
Open daily 16:00-24:30, Weekends: 12:30-24:30

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

At the beautiful and lush terrace of the Hatzimanolakis brothers in Ano Stalos, Chania, one can taste a cuisine that respects the culinary tradition of the region. Following in the footsteps of their mother, Eftychia, George Hatzimanolakis prepares delicious Cretan dishes, primarily using vegetables from their garden. They make their own sausages and smoked pork, and also produce their own xinohondro (sour pasta) and olives. The must-try dishes here are the octopus with avronia (local wild herbs) in spring, their meat pie, the slow-sautéed goat, and the roast rabbit.

MATZENTA KUZINA DEL SOL
FUSION & ETHNIC

2 Elyrou and Polyrrhenias, Koubes, Chania
+30 697 2406469
http://www.matzentakuzinadelsol.gr
€30-40 per person
Open daily 18:00-01:00

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

The setting, with its vibrant colours and Latin American touches, resembles a Mexican hacienda. It is a pleasant space with a friendly courtyard. In one corner, there is an underground barbacoa oven made with Cretan clay bricks over 100 years old, where they slow-cook organic pork from Vavourakis’ farm, goat and lamb from the mountains of Crete, using olive tree wood as fuel. Sometimes they wrap them in fresh Cretan banana leaves, which give them a unique flavour. Chef-owner Dimitris Malandrenis proposes a Cretan-Mexican fusion cuisine, with dishes that may sound familiar but turn out to be innovative. From the rice with limpets and sea snails, sofrito of guajillo peppers, or fish soup and celery sauce, to the barbacoa-roasted lamb with carob tortilla, nut sauce, and pickled onion with hibiscus with the chef’s own hot sauce, everything is delicious.

NTOUNIAS
GASTRO TAVERN

Drakona - Keramia
+30 2821065083, +30 6974 989 248
https://www.ntounias.gr
€25-30 per person
Open all year round, daily 12:00-18:00 (except Tuesdays)

Restaurant serving indoors and outdoors.

In the unique gastro-tavern located in the mountainous village of Drakona, Keramies, Stelios Trilirakis has been implementing, for almost twenty years, practices that perfectly align with the philosophy of farm-to-table and Slow Food - something to consider if you are in a hurry to be served. His wife, Evmorfili, cooks in wood-fired stoves and clay pots, only using their own produce, organically cultivated from heirloom seeds, as well as meats and eggs from their farm. They raise chickens, turkeys, sheep, goats, and a native, small-sized breed of cattle that was on the verge of extinction. Stelios serves and takes care of the starters, which stand like small totems at the entrance of the restaurant, from where the perfect fried potatoes emerge. Depending on the season, try the eggplants or the cauliflower with Horta (wild greens), stuffed zucchini flowers with their own yoghurt and a sauce made from greengage plums, the slow-sautéed goat, the snails, and the pumpkin pie.

PANORAMA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Askyfou, Sfakia
+30 28250 95492
€20-25 per person
Open all year round, daily, 08:00-22:00

Restaurant serving also outdoors.

Panorama fully justifies its name, as it offers a unique panoramic view of the Askifou plateau from its terrace. Equally unique is Mrs. Eleni Lentari`s cuisine, which stands out with its exquisitely precise and delicate flavours. Although renowned for her slow-sautéed goat, rooster in red sauce, and pasta dishes with goat, Mrs Lentari also captivates patrons with her airy and finely crafted herb pies, where each herb stands out individually in the filling, or even with a dish of plain boiled greens, cooked to perfection.

VATALOS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Vatalos Beach - Frangokastello, Sfakia
+30 2825092263, +30 6974348071
http://vatalos.gr
€15-25 per person

Open daily, 12:30-22:00

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

The Geronymakis brothers` tavern is located in the western and most remote part of the endless beach of Frangokastello. The menu features all the meat meze dishes that Cretans love: fried pork, smoked sausages, meatballs, and grilled meats. However, the tavern`s reputation is built on its stews: goat cooked in tomato sauce, kid with myzithra cheese or Sfakian stew, and stifado with lamb liver or rabbit.

The arrow pointing up next to the awarded stars marks those restaurants that are moving towards the upper end of their rating and we think are more likely to move up to the next rating level in a subsequent review