The counters in Heraklion worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in Heraklion worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Phyllosophies is the bougatsa house on Lions Square in Heraklion, opening its phyllo by hand every morning since 1922 and across three generations.
Order: Bougatsa with myzithra, honey and walnuts
Tip: Also bakes chortopites, tyropites, baklava and loukoumades, all from the same hand-opened phyllo.
Worth the queue: Bougatsa with sweet myzithra
Kirkor has baked bougatsa on Lions Square in Heraklion for generations, and is still the first place locals name when you ask them about breakfast.
Order: Bougatsa with custard, cinnamon and icing sugar
Tip: A bougatsa counter rather than a cafe, so expect to eat standing or take it away.
Worth the queue: Bougatsa with custard and cinnamon
Savoidakis bakes right across Heraklion, and its kalitsounia are the ones food tours stop for, alongside a long counter of sweets and gelato.
Order: Kalitsounia, the Cretan cheese pie
Tip: A Heraklion chain with several city branches. The Dikaiosinis counter is the handiest one from the Agora.
Worth the queue: Kalitsounia
Artopoiio Christoforos Veneris bakes bread, pies and tsoureki on Evans in central Heraklion, with the oven working directly beneath the shop.
Order: Tsoureki, plain or with chocolate
Tip: The bakery works below the shop, so the pastries come up warm. At Christmas it bakes a chocolate panettone.
Worth the queue: Tsoureki
Veneris Bakery & Coffee is the neighbourhood bakery on Meandrou in Heraklion, where the owner still makes the breads and the pastries himself.
Order: A savoury pastry straight off the tray
Tip: Family-run and far enough from the tourist streets that the queue is almost entirely local rather than visiting.
Worth the queue: Savoury pastries
Kritikos Fournos runs bakeries across Heraklion, and the Ikarou branch is the easy stop for ekmek kataifi and a box of cakes to carry back home.
Order: Ekmek kataifi, the syrup and cream classic
Tip: A Heraklion chain with several branches, useful because the Ikarou shop opens early on the airport road.
Worth the queue: Ekmek kataifi
Queen Boulangerie is the late-opening patisserie on Agiou Titou in Heraklion, baking through the day and still selling pastries at eleven at night.
Order: A pastry from the late-night counter
Tip: The counter runs late into the evening, so it covers the gap after the tavernas stop serving.
Worth the queue: Pastries
Costis Patisserie bakes on the Knossos road out of Heraklion, selling cakes, sweets and coffee to take away from morning through to late evening.
Order: A slice from the cabinet with a Greek coffee
Tip: On the Knossos road, so it works as a stop coming back from the palace rather than a city-centre errand.
Worth the queue: Cakes and sweets
Crumb Healthy Living Lab is the Heraklion bakery to know if you avoid gluten or sugar, with clear labelling and a plant-leaning brunch menu.
Order: A gluten-free cake with specialty coffee
Tip: One of very few Heraklion bakeries that labels gluten-free and sugar-free clearly on every item in the cabinet.
Worth the queue: Gluten-free cakes