Cretan Food
Cretan Food
Eating Out in Crete
Crete has plenty of restaurants specializing in certain types of food and drink. Although the differences between them are slight, we have compiled a list for you to familiarise yourself with.
Psistaría is a place specializing in grilled dishes, with a relatively limited range of salads and mezédes. A tavern is a bit bigger, with several dishes, including mageireftá, but also grilled meat or fish and wine in carafes. Most of the taverns are family businesses. A psárotaverna offers mainly fish and seafood dishes.
Ouzo is a traditional Greek drink and it’s an acquired taste! Oúzo is usually served with pieces of octopus, olives, cheese or fried fish, but you can choose something else. Mezedopolío is a bit more elaborate than oúzeri because here, the emphasis is on food. Kafeníon is a typical Greek café, formerly exclusively for men, which is still valid in the traditional villages in the centre of the island. Simply furnished, with old tables and chairs, it is the place where political events are debated, and backgammon is played.
Greek Mealtimes
The resort taverns also offer European breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. In general, the Greeks do not eat breakfast – maybe just a coffee and friganiés (a kind of toast) or a pastry. Lunch is eaten between 14:30 and 16:00, followed by the sacred afternoon siesta before resuming work, from 17:30. Dinner is eaten late, starting at 21:00, with some restaurants open until midnight.
Cretan Specialities
Most restaurants have a varied menu. If you have the opportunity, try paximádia (a dry Cretan bread) or dákos (salted barley biscuits), which are served with a well-known salad called koukouvágía in the Réthymno region.
Mezédes or Appetizers
Appetizers, called mezédes, can even be eaten as a dish on its own in Crete.
The most famous Greek appetizers are: tzatzíki (yoghurt with garlic, cucumber and mint); dolmádes (sarmale in vine leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables – very rarely with meat) – served hot with avgolémono sauce made from eggs and lemon or cold with yoghurt; taramosaláta (cod caviar in breadcrumbs, olive oil and lemon juice); gígandes (beans with large grain, in tomato sauce); keftedákia (meatballs); fried squid; pleurotous mushrooms and tyrokafterí (a spicy cheese sauce).
Cretan Cheeses
Most cheeses on the island of Crete are made from cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s milk, often from a mixture of two types of milk. The most famous cheese is feta which appears in all Greek salads or served plain, with olive oil and oregano. Graviéra and kefalotýri are harder cheeses with a more intense flavour; there are also many types of soft cheese, such as manoúri and anthótyro. Stáka is a very thick cream made from goat’s milk.
Traditional Cretan Desserts
In a zaharoplastío (confectionery) you can taste the appetizing sweets, most of them inherited from the Ottomans: baklava with walnuts and honey syrup; kataïfi, with crushed almonds and honey; galaktoboúreko, a pie with cream and semolina or ravaní. If you prefer a lighter dessert, try yoghurt with honey or ryzógalo, rice with cold milk. You can find both at a galactopolío.
The fruit platter offered by the restaurants on the house as a dessert contains seasonal fruits: watermelon or muskmelon in summer, grapes and pears in autumn, apple slices with cinnamon all year round; citrus or strawberries in spring. Greece imports few varieties of fruit from Italy or Spain and has almost no tropical fruits.
What to drink in Crete
Wines of Crete
The Greeks have been making wine for millennia; the quality of the wine has increased a lot in the last decades. However, as production is low – many vineyards do not produce more than 20,000 bottles of wine a year – likely, you have not heard of even the best of them.
You can order red, white or rosé wine at the restaurant by hýma or varelísio, meaning by quarter, half or full carafes. The quality varies quite a lot on the island; if you are unsure, you can ask for a small quarter-litre carafe and some mineral water.
Cretan Spirits
Oúzo is served at the beginning of the meal, with ice and water; due to anise, when mixed with water, oúzo becomes whitish. Cretans prefer a local spirit, rakí, distilled like oúzo also from grapes, but without anise. The strength varies between 40% and 50% alcohol. It is the cheapest drink on the island, often even cheaper than water, and many restaurants offer it on the house at the end of the meal.
Cretan Beers
There are many craft beers produced in Greece, the well-known Greek brands being Fix, Vergina, Alfa and Mythos. Some brands you may find when out for a drink in Crete are Cretan Brewery, Solo Beer or Charma. See what Ioannis has at the tavern, 5 minutes’ walk from the villa.
Greek Coffee
The coffee is ellínikós or “Greek coffee “, strong and served in small cups. It is served sweetened (glykós) unless you specify that you want it métrios (medium) or skétos (without sugar). Don’t slug it all back in one shot as it has coffee grounds remaining. Instant (nes) coffee is very popular in Greece, try it Freddo – cold nes with milk.
Cretan Mountain Tea
Also known as Shepherd’s Tea. This is because shepherds drinks this whilst tending their flock in the mountains. Perhaps they go for a beer after work.
Real Cretan mountain tea is made from ironwort. This plant has many beneficial properties. The Greeks use iron tea for colds, lung diseases, stomach anxiety, even stress. Greeks love their herbal teas and will often mix herbs to create a special type of tea. Look for these herbs in local mini markets.
