Crumb Healthy Living Lab is a bakery in Old Town, Heraklion.
Editorially verified August 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must 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.
Address: Alexandrou Papanastasiou 28, Iraklio 712 01, Heraklion
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
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
