Three great authentic restaurants in Crete: sun, seafood and second helpings
Cretan food combines tasty Greek cooking with Ottoman and Venetian influences. We visit three restaurants on the island that showcase its super fresh produce, artisanal cheeses and amazing seafood, not forgetting the free desserts and raki
If you go to Greece and only eat gyros and souvlaki, then you really missed out.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a big pita loaded with grilled meat, tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips – it’s not Greek without the French fries – but there’s so much more to Hellenic fare. And we’re not talking about feta cheese, moussaka and spanakopita.
If you want to go beyond familiar staples, one of the country’s most distinctive regional cuisines is on the island of Crete. The southernmost Greek island and the largest in the Aegean Sea, it is best known from history classes as home of the Minoan civilisation and the place where, in mythology, Theseus killed the Minotaur in the labyrinth.
Today, islanders pride themselves on producing the best and freshest vegetables, herbs, cheeses and olive oil in Greece. The word organic might not be used much on Crete, but much of its produce is grown naturally on small family farms and sold in the nearest town. That’s one reason why not much of it is exported and hence why it is not well known.
You can still find all the best dishes from Athens, but in Crete they tend to have greater depth and more layered flavours. Cretans make more stews and soups, and cook with honey and cheese in combination with meats and carbohydrates. Like ancient treasures still buried and undiscovered in an archaeological site, Cretan cuisine continues to fly below the world’s gastronomic radar.