Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Heraklion for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Heraklion for grown-ups.
Xalavro built a bar out of a ruined 1900s house on Milatou in Heraklion, and its courtyard is the most atmospheric drink in the whole old town.
Signature drink: Jungle Bird
Food: Open kitchen
Order: A Jungle Bird in the open courtyard
Tip: A seasonal, open-air room running roughly April to October, with an annual summer cocktail festival that brings in bartenders from abroad.
The Bitters Bar works a 1920s speakeasy brief on Idis in Heraklion, mixing from a deep bitters shelf and its own jars of homemade marmalade.
Signature drink: Yellow Prince
Food: Homemade marmalades with the drinks
Order: The Yellow Prince, made with house marmalade
Tip: Behind Lions Square on Idis, with jazz and blues on the speakers and homemade marmalades beside every glass.
Stone Project is the Korai cocktail room in Heraklion, industrial-looking, DJ-driven, and pouring a Mastiha Sour that justifies the walk across town.
Signature drink: Mastiha Sour
Food: Snacks
Order: A Mastiha Sour, before the DJ starts
Tip: The room opens at seven and runs to two in the morning through the week, so it stays going after most of Korai has shut.
Swing Thing sits near the Venetian Loggia in Heraklion, pulling espresso by day and building retro-leaning cocktails once the sun has dropped.
Signature drink: Cinnamon Treasure
Signature pour: Greek-yoghurt pina colada
Food: Coffee by day
Order: The Cinnamon Treasure, or the yoghurt pina colada
Tip: It works as an espresso bar in daylight and switches to cocktails after dark, with a takeaway drinks list too.
Beer O'Clock is the rock bistro on Parodos Minotavrou in Heraklion, stocking more than a hundred beer labels and grilling burgers to drink alongside them.
Signature drink: Cretan Charma lager
Food: Burgers and bistro plates
Order: A Cretan lager with one of the burgers
Tip: Over 100 beer labels are stocked, and happy hour runs in the late afternoon before the kitchen gets busy.
Dish Bar holds a corner of Agios Titos square in Heraklion, pairing Mediterranean plates with a cocktail list and its nineties dance nights.
Signature drink: Tom's Temptation
Food: Full Mediterranean menu
Order: Tom's Temptation, passionfruit, caramel and lime
Tip: The room is known for its nineties dance nights, so check the socials before planning an evening around one.
The Dodo Cocktail Bar pours on the Sofokli Venizelou seafront in Heraklion, cheap by old-town standards and pointed straight out at the water.
Signature drink: Mojito Pirata
Food: Snacks
Order: The Mojito Pirata, with the sea in front of you
Tip: One of the cheaper cocktail lists on the Heraklion seafront, and a seasonal one: it runs roughly April to October.
El Sur is the Latin-leaning resto bar on Arkoleon in Heraklion, mixing margaritas and mojitos beside a kitchen doing Mexican food and sushi.
Signature drink: Margarita
Food: Mexican and sushi
Order: A margarita, with tacos to keep it company
Tip: Arkoleon is a two-minute walk from Lions Square, and the kitchen runs as late as the bar does.
La Brasserie stacks a terrace, a bar, a gallery and a club into one Korai Street address in Heraklion, and runs from lunch until the early hours.
Signature drink: Cocktails on the terrace
Food: Restaurant menu until late
Order: A cocktail on La Terrasse before the club opens
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. The club floor opens at 22:00, with Latin nights and karaoke through the week.
Bartenders Club on Chronaki Gianni in Heraklion is a bartending school and an old-school cocktail bar sharing one address in the city centre.
Signature drink: Old-school classics
Food: Snacks
Order: A classic, made by whoever is teaching that week
Tip: The same address runs a bartending school, so the people behind the stick are usually the ones writing the curriculum.
Toucan Skybar takes the fifth floor above Plateia Eleftherias in Heraklion, the highest cocktail terrace in the city and the best sunset seat.
Signature drink: Cocktails with a city view
Food: Small plates
Order: A cocktail on the terrace, facing the harbour
Tip: Fifth floor on Plateia Eleftherias, so it catches the light long after the street below has gone dark.
Stylvie Bar is a Heraklion dance floor off Tagmatarchou Tzoulaki, running music, cocktails and late nights in a small room that takes bookings.
Signature drink: Spirits by the bottle
Food: No kitchen
Order: A bottle to share, once the dance floor fills
Tip: Reservations are a must here, on +30 697 153 9300, because the room is small and fills on a good night.
The Whistler Espresso Bar works both shifts on Agiou Titou in Heraklion, specialty coffee through the day and cocktails with free nibbles at night.
Signature drink: Espresso martini
Food: Snacks with every drink
Order: An espresso martini, once the coffee shift ends
Tip: Free nibbles arrive with the drinks, which is a habit more Agiou Titou bars could copy.
Think Tank is the quietest drinking option in central Heraklion, a neoclassical espresso and wine bar that turns into a rooftop cocktail spot after dark.
Signature drink: Cretan Kotsifali by the glass
Food: Brunch and snacks
Order: A glass of Kotsifali on the terrace
Tip: Reserve the terrace in advance. It is the calmest drinking terrace in the old town and it fills fast.