Ta Halkina – Chania Old Town – Harbour Front – an excellent choice for traditional Cretan food, intelligently “tweaked”. Meat is their specialty and their lamb with pilaf is excellent as is their “Antichrist” lamb cooked on the barbecue (think crispy skin, salty, fatty, yummy, huge). Cretan salads with crumbled rusks, snails with rosemary, dakos are also very good.
Pork to Beef Wild – Chania Old Town – very convenient (3 min walk) and tasty fast-food place. Not as fast as McD but a lot better – things like freshly made ribeye or chicken thigh sandwiches with interesting sauces.
Tamam Taverna – Chania Old Town – Topanas – The older section (there is an unattractive annex), set in an old Turkish bath house, is perhaps Chania’s most atmospheric place to eat, though in summer you may prefer to eat on tables laid along the narrow street. Though getting a table anywhere in high season can be tough – best to book. The food tends towards Turkish/Middle East and is interesting and good. Minced lamb kebabs, grilled peppers with yoghurt, excellent salads, etc, etc.
Kariatis Restaurant – Chania Old Town – near Harbour Front – one of Chania’s smartest restaurants, the Italian style Kariatis generally gets excellent reviews. Service is attentive and quick. Elegant and tasty food – if you fancy somewhere formal, this is a good choice.
Maridaki – Old Town – Splanzia – Some of the best seafood in town – they know how to grill fish and squid and their fish soup is very good indeed. Pre-prepared dishes on display are not so good. A pleasant, informal atmosphere.
Ta Neoria – Old Town – Harbour Front – a competent, pleasant and traditional Greek fish taverna. No surprises, except their free deserts which are delicious and generous.
Chrisostomos – Old Town – Just beyond East end of harbor – Highly rated and awarded restaurant serving mainly meat cooked in traditional wood fired ovens. One of the best options for specifically Cretan food in the Old Town. Ingredients are traditional and of high quality. Try the slow braised lamb/goat and the bitter greens cooked with oyster mushrooms.
Pallas – Seafront – Chania Old Town – Pallas is one of the places where locals go to be seen. A class act. This restaurant is always busy and well worth visiting if you can reserve a good table on the roof terrace with a view of the old harbour. Food is well presented and can perhaps be described as Greek-International-modern – competent and tasty. A testament to its popularity is the unusual, in Greece, system of two fixed sittings per evening.
Oinoa – Chania Old Town – West side – rather unusual in Crete is a restaurant making an excellent job of preparing Western dishes (fillet steak with wine sauce, confit of chicken, foie gras, etc). Fried potatoes are delicious too, as are their desserts. And on request they will bring an excellent burger from their bistro, downstairs… Quality ingredients, extensive wine list, good service, fairly expensive for Crete.
Salis – Seafront – Chania Old Town – Greek cuisine does not lend itself easily to innovation but Salis makes a brave, largely successful and in places delicious try. Extensive wine list from very decent Greek table wine all the way up to the astronomical. Staff are well presented and efficient. A good choice for a special occasion.
Oinopiio – Local food with the occasional twist is tasty – excellent Cretan salad, Sfakia pie with grilled vegetables and honey dressing, delicious rabbit stewed with oregano, etc. A great Greek all-rounder.
Ginger Concept fresh, modern flavours in a pretty square in Splanzia – great for a salad or lighter meal – Brazilian and other influences.
Maiami – Koum Kapi – A gentle stroll east along the seafront brings you to the Maiami, a magical restaurant with different approach. Rather than following any specific cuisine, the menu offers up a mix of exciting dishes from everywhere – what pulls them together is that they are intertesting and zingy: lightly spiced lentil dal, shirazi salad with lemon dressing and mizithra cheese, pulled pork sandwich, spaghetti aglio olio, steak frites with pepper sauce, etc. A short list of everyone’s tasty favourites from around the world, and all good. A fun and fresh interior filled with the owners art and pottery. Plus the sea…. When the dog bites, when the bee stings…
Oasis – New Town – This tiny outlet is one of Chania’s most loved institutions. The menu is not long: gyros with pita. No chips, no salads, no tables. High quality, lean pork seasoned and wrapped in warm pitta with tomato, onion and yoghurt, eaten standing, cheap, delicious.
Apokoronas Grill – New Town – Apokoronou Street – this is just a short walk from the covered market and the Old Town. It feels like eating in a butcher’s and does not look terribly appealing but their lamb chops are delicious, especially in spring – Greek style which are well cooked, salty, and eaten with fingers.
Achilleas Fish Taverna – Nea Chora (Town Beach) – Fifteen minutes’ walk to the West of la Maison Ottomane you find Chania’s Town Beach, lined with restaurants and cafes. The last one, Achilleas, is the best of them – and fine by any standards. It is a traditional place that does simple things very well, and where locals go for good seafood. Their grilled octopus, though toughish, is wonderful and a lunch of that, or perhaps grilled or fried squid and a portion of boiled greens is summer holiday on a plate (or just the best of living on Crete for those who are lucky enough…). Also very excellent taramosalata.
Evgonia Restaurant – New Town – Milonogianni Street – A short excursion into the new town, perhaps 20 minutes’ walk, brings you to this wonderful, family-run restaurant. Evgonia enters our quide on the strength of recommendations and two very satisfying visits (heavenly braised lamb, excellent pastitsio, mixed salad); it also has a good reputation for seafood. A recent review was less ecstatic so we will be monitoring. Certainly great at its best.
To Thalassino Ageri – Halepa – a half hour walk or short drive down the coast to the East is this respected fish restaurant – a wonderfully romantic spot right on the seashore with magnificent sunsets
Marmaritsakis – New Town – just off 1866 Square – Marmaritsakis is a “mageirio”, the Greek equivalent of a trattoria: a simple restaurant, primarily catering to locals at lunchtime and offering classical Greek dishes such as moussaka, veal in tomato sauce, stuffed cabbage leaves, etc. The presence of locals, many of them, shows that Marmaritsakis is at the top of its game. The food is good, the choice is comprehensive, service is efficient, prices are low. One to enjoy, support, cherish, revisit…
Red Jane Bakery – New Town – Kidonias Street – Blink and you will pass this treasure trove as from a distance it looks like an abandoned workshop. That would be a shame as it is the top bakery in town offering some of the best sandwiches that the writer has tasted anywhere… plus wonderful breads, pastries, croissants and coffees – no seating, except for a short bench inside and another outside.
Pantos Kairou – Leoforos Karamanli – This popular taverna is just off the road towards Souda and is something of a local institution. Popular for its meat dishes including slow braised lamb, pork with celery and veal in tomato sauce with mushrooms; plus grills of all sorts including naughty, oversalted slices of belly of pork… Usually very good, though standards can slip, maybe because the owner, who cooks, is fond of sharing a few glasses of wine or raki with this guests, be warned.
Argentina Restaurant – Kolymbari (20 minutes drive West on motorway) – Kolymbari is famous for its fish taverns and Argentina is worth the drive for a dinner of lobster spaghetti (needs a prior phone call to order), generally excellent seafood and their unusual and very good salads.
Amalia’s Taverna – Zourva village – minimum 30 minutes drive – worth including on an excursion down Therisso Gorge, Amalia’s at its best has the finest braised lamb and home made sausages you can imagine, heavenly food with a wonderful view of mountains. Quality has been a little variable but we are told it has stabilized recently. Our advice would be to take the risk and go if you are in the area.
Almiriki – Stavros Beach – 25 minutes’ drive – unusually elegant and exciting food for a Cretan seaside restaurant; wonderful location; excellent. Lots of wonderful things including a memorable taramasalata (fish roe dip) covered with squid ink.
Dounias – Drakona Village – 30 minutes’ drive – something of a local institution, Dounias produces traditional food from their home grown produce, cooked on wood fires. In winter a log fire is fed with live coals carried precariously by the owner between seated guests. A few examples of their excellent fare: beetroot salad mixed with mizithra (local version of ricotta) and garlic; tender lamb cooked in paper in a wood oven; broccoli and cauliflower cooked with sour ground wheat…. a lovely excursion. Can get crowded, particularly on weekends, and service suffers very badly. When it is crowded it is best to drive past – there is another restaurant in the village that gets excellent reviews.
Tis Litsas Ta Kamomata – Afrata village – 30 minutes’ drive – a very relaxing little family-run restaurant. The food is traditional but still imaginative: for instance, black-eyed beans are served cold with bits of smoked mackerel and the fava (a mush of yellow split peas) comes with bits of gherkin and sun-dried tomato. A nice selection of main courses such as rabbit with beer and orange sauce, slow braised goat, fried salt cod with garlic paste… The location is lovely (in a small village overlooking countryside and the sea in the distance). Arrive early or call to book.
Milia Mountain Retreat – this is included due to glowing reviews by our guests who have visited or stayed at Milia. We have not been as the drive is reportedly more challenging than we care for… Most of their produce is home grown and the menu is a list of mouthwatering combinations of Cretan produce. One day we may visit.
O Mantas – Souda – Very much a locals’ haunt, o Mantas is a solid fish taverna – no frills, good quality, few tourists, good prices. Go for grilled bogue (γόπα) and a salad and you will leave happy – perhaps stuffed courgette flowers too, if you are hungry (portions are generous). And please do not tell your friends…
Crete is dangerously full of good food and a few places outside Chania Province have stuck in our consciousness – worth making a note if you are heading East:
Boiled Greens (usually stamnagathi & vlita): the thought of boiled greens is not so very inspiring but the reality is very different; stamnagathi is a variety of dandelion with a slightly bitter taste while vlita (leafy amarinth for the curious) is gentle and aromatic; both are excellent with salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil; usually served warm in Crete they are perhaps better eaten cold (certainly in summer) though you may need to ask for them not to be heated up.
Kaltsounia: these are small pastries, usually savoury and filled with local greens and herbs, or with a mixture of greens and cheese, or with just cheese, occasionally with onions. A great finger snack for mid-morning. Similar delicacies, but flatter, are fennel pies and Sfakia pies – the former with fennel and other herbs/greens and the latter stuffed with soft cheese and drizzled with honey.
Fava: made not from fava beans but from dried yellow split peas; sounds about as appetising as boiled greens but is just as delicious: a yellow paste usually served with lemon, oil and chopped onion.
Tisghariasto: very simply lamb or goat slowly braised with olive oil. Delicious.
Gigantes: translates as “giants” – these are large, flat white beans cooked in the oven with a herby tomato sauce.
Koutsomoures & barbounia: varieties of red mullet, sadly not in season during the high summer months – simply dusted in flour and fried in olive oil.
Gopes: translates unappetisingly to “bogue” (the Latin name “boops boops” is so much more charming) – little known, underrated, inexpensive and very tasty. These lovely little fish cost a fraction of other caught fish (as opposed to farmed, which gilt-head bream and bass almost always are) and are just as good. Usually fried but a special treat grilled if they are a big enough.
Grilled squid: healthier than fried squid, lighter on the stomach and delicious with or without a squeeze of lemon.
Staka: peculiar to Crete, this cholestorol bomb is a glutinous mass of the richest part of the butter making process; served warm on its own or sometimes with fried potatoes; not for the faint hearted.
Dakos: a bowl-shaped Cretan risk topped with chopped tomatoes, mizithra cream cheese and a drizzle of olive; the result will depend very much on the quality of ingredients; an excellent light lunch.
Pansetes: from the Italian pancetta, these are strips of belly of pork generously seasoned and grilled; simple, calorific, tasty.
Tsikoudia, or Raki: this is the potent local spirit that will usually be served to you chilled and on the house at the end of any meal. Strong and supposedly good for the digestion, it is an acquired taste and is similar to grappa.
Paidhakia: paidhakia are humble lamb chops but it is important to understand the difference between the local variety and what would be served in Western Europe, North America, Australia, etc. The most prized lamb chop in Greece is fairly fatty and chewy and grilled with oregano and lemon to very well done. The result is surprisingly delicious and likely to have you gnawing bones.
Snails (Chochloi): not only the French eat snails – here they are sadly much smaller but still delicious cooked up in olive oil, sometimes with rosemary.
Pilaf with lamb: always served at weddings and available in only a few restaurants; the pilaf is rich and cooked in a flavoursome broth of lamb or goat with staka butter (see above); the lamb is traditionally simply boiled but is sometimes served with a tasty sauce). The pilaf is usually memorable, the lamb sometimes…
Cheese: a few words on some local cheeses which are not well known outside Greece and often delicious:
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