Eat well in Heraklion without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Heraklion for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Krasas is the cheap grill on Leoforos Ikarou that keeps Heraklion fed after midnight, with pita gyros and skewers priced well under a tenner.
OrderA pork gyros pita, with chips added in
TipOpen until three in the morning, which is why the queue builds long after the tavernas close.
Thraka Grill is the cheapest proper meal on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion, Crete, with gyros wrapped to order and served through to midnight.
OrderA pork gyros pita with everything in it
TipOn Daskalogianni square, and it is the gyros counter used by the local walking food tours rather than a seafront chain.
Chagiati is the Erotokritou mezedopoleio where Heraklion eats cheaply and well, with grilled sardines and dolmades shared over a carafe of raki.
OrderGrilled sardines and dolmades, shared across the table
TipDinner only and closed Sundays. Order two or three mezedes each and the bill still stays under twenty euros.
Kirkor sells bougatsa on Lions Square in Heraklion for just a few euros, which makes its counter the cheapest good breakfast in the entire city.
OrderBougatsa with custard, cinnamon and icing sugar
TipA bougatsa and a Greek coffee is breakfast for under five euros, which is the cheapest sit-down in the old town.
Phyllosophies keeps prices low on Lions Square in Heraklion, where a bougatsa or a hand-opened greens pie costs less than a coffee elsewhere.
OrderBougatsa with sweet myzithra, honey and walnuts
TipThe savoury chortopites and tyropites cost about the same as the sweet bougatsa and travel better in a bag.
Souvlaki Point is the takeaway skewer counter on Menelaou Parlama in Heraklion, Crete, where a full pita meal still lands under nine euros a head.
OrderTwo pork skewers with pita, chips and tzatziki
TipSet up for takeaway rather than sitting down, and it keeps serving until one in the morning most nights.
Spiros Psitopoleio sells grilled meat by the portion on Christomichali Xilouri in Heraklion, a neighbourhood grill with local prices to match.
OrderA portion of mixed grilled meat to share
TipA neighbourhood psitopoleio east of the centre, which means grilled meat by weight rather than a composed plate.
Gyrogonia is the plain gyros counter on Christomichali Xilouri in Heraklion, open until midnight and priced for the neighbourhood rather than tourists.
OrderA chicken gyros pita, wrapped to take away
TipTwo doors from Spiros on the same street, so the corner works as a single cheap-eating detour east of the centre.
Mavrokostas sells homemade Greek food on 62 Martiron in Heraklion at neighbourhood prices, and keeps selling it long into the following morning.
OrderWhichever tray of homemade food is still hot
TipOpen until six in the morning on weekdays and eight at weekends, which makes it the last cheap kitchen standing.
Day trip · 5 hours
Discover the vineyards and ancient architecture of Knossos, on a private full-day Crete journey, with a light lunch and wine.
3 hours
Watch the sun come up over the Lasithi Plateau from a hot air balloon, then celebrate back on the ground with sparkling wine and a real Greek breakfast. One of the bes...
Day trip · 9 hours
Experience the cultural fusion of Rethimno's historic charm and Margarites' artisanal mastery. Delight in a sensory journey of oil and honey tasting, a blend of tradition,