3 days ago
The 21 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 dakos twice-baked in the village oven. No stars, perhaps, but dazzling all the same – and you won't pay a fortune, either.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our resident destination expert to help you discover the best restaurants in Crete. Find out more below, or for more Crete inspiration, see our guides to the region's best hotels, bars, things to do and beaches.
Find restaurants by type:
Best all-rounders
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.
Area: Archanes
Website:
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Best table: There's more elbow room outside on the tree-shaded terrace
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 specialities 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.
