Bistros, trattorias and the everyday places where Heraklion actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Heraklion actually eats.
Erganos is the taverna Heraklion locals default to, a 1986 dining room beside Kazantzakis park with goat, keftedes and honeyed sfakianopites.
Signature: Sfakianopita, Goat, Keftedes
Order: Bite-sized sfakianopites with cheese and honey
Tip: The taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
Kastella puts the day's fish on the Heraklion seafront at taverna prices, sold by the kilo and cooked simply with a Cretan salad alongside it.
Signature: Fresh fish, Seafood mezedes, Cretan salad
Order: Fresh fish by the kilo with a Cretan salad
Tip: Ask for a table on the sea side; the road side gets the traffic off Sofokli Venizelou.
Ouzeri tou Terzaki is a 1978 port-alley ouzeri in Heraklion where the mezedes arrive in waves and the raki keeps arriving alongside them all night.
Signature: Mezedes, Moussaka, Grilled fish
Order: A spread of mezedes, then the grilled fish
Tip: The alley off Plateia Agiou Dimitriou is easy to miss. Aim for the port end of Lochagou Marineli and look for the chairs.
Ippokampos is the pavement ouzeri on the Heraklion waterfront, all grilled fish, octopus and shrimp eaten a metre from the passing seafront traffic.
Signature: Grilled fish, Octopus, Shrimp
Order: Whatever came in that morning, grilled whole
Tip: Tables spill across the promenade opposite the water, and the seafront ones go first on a summer evening.
Athali is an easy all-day Cretan taverna in central Heraklion, cooking wood-oven meats and wild greens from lunch until one the following morning.
Signature: Wood-oven meats, Wild greens, Cretan cheeses
Order: Whatever the wood oven is holding that day
Tip: Kydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Apiri Greek Eatery is a good-value Heraklion dinner, grilling octopus and sea bass and charring its wild greens pie over open coals every night.
Signature: Char-grilled greens pie, Grilled octopus, Smoked sea bass
Order: The char-grilled wild greens pie
Tip: Small room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Chalali is the cheap Cretan taverna on Strofadon that keeps central Heraklion honest, with mezedes, grills and raki for well under a tenner.
Signature: Cretan mezedes, Grilled meats, Raki
Order: A mezes spread with a carafe of raki
Tip: Closed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.
Ligo Krasi Ligo Thalassa is the Heraklion harbour table for a long seafood lunch, with mezedes, lobster spaghetti and the Venetian fortress in view.
Signature: Lobster spaghetti, Seafood mezedes, Stuffed courgette flowers
Order: Seafood mezedes, then lobster spaghetti to share
Tip: The terrace looks over the harbour to the fortress, which is worth waiting for an outside table in summer.
Pagopoieion is the all-day room on Agios Titos square in Heraklion, an old ice factory pouring coffee from nine and serving through to dinner.
Signature: Mushroom risotto, Beef tartare, Cretan wines
Order: Mushroom risotto, with a glass off the Cretan list
Tip: The old ice factory on Agios Titos square works as breakfast room, lunch stop and wine bar, so time your visit to the mood you want.
Krasas is the Ikarou grill house that Heraklion falls back on, running gyros and skewers until three in the morning at prices well under a tenner.
Signature: Gyros, Grilled meats, Chips
Order: A pita gyros with everything, eaten standing
Tip: Open until 03:00, which makes it the default stop after a long evening on Ikarou.
Chagiati is the backstreet Heraklion mezedopoleio on Erotokritou, grilling sardines and pouring raki for a room that stays stubbornly local.
Signature: Grilled sardines, Dolmades, Mixed grill
Order: Grilled sardines with a carafe of raki
Tip: Dinner only, and closed Sundays. The room is small enough that a walk-in after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Dish Bar has worked its corner of Agios Titos square in Heraklion since 2007, running Mediterranean plates early and a busy cocktail room late into the night.
Signature: Beef carpaccio, Cocktails, Mediterranean plates
Order: Beef carpaccio with truffle mayonnaise
Tip: It sits a few metres from Agios Titos church, and the room turns from restaurant into a cocktail bar later in the evening.
El Sur brings Mexican food and sushi to Arkoleon in central Heraklion, a loud multicultural room pouring margaritas and mojitos to Latin music.
Signature: Tacos, Sushi, Margaritas
Order: Tacos and a margarita, or the sushi for a change
Tip: One of the few kitchens in Heraklion doing Mexican and sushi under one roof, a short walk from Lions Square.
Mare Coffee Bar & Food works the Heraklion seafront from breakfast through to late drinks, with juices, sandwiches and a terrace facing the water.
Signature: Breakfast plates, Sandwiches, Coffee
Order: Yogurt with nuts and honey, or a sandwich by the sea
Tip: Right on the Sofokli Venizelou seafront, which makes it a better daytime stop than an evening one.
626 All Day runs a garden lounge off Idomeneos in Heraklion, serving brunch plates and comfort food from nine in the morning until midnight.
Signature: Brunch plates, Comfort food, Wine
Order: A brunch plate, eaten out in the city garden
Tip: It sits on the corner of Meramvelou and Idomeneos beside the Olive Green Hotel, with a garden that stays cool in August.
Granary is the all-day eatery and espresso bar in central Heraklion, pouring Taf Roastery coffee alongside Mediterranean plates and Greek wine.
Signature: Specialty coffee, Mediterranean plates, Greek wines
Order: Specialty filter coffee and whatever is on the day plate
Tip: Named for the Venetian grain store that once stood opposite the Ducal Palace, and it keeps a wide Greek wine list.
Alla ki Alla is the Kagiampi kitchen in Heraklion that locals fall back on, sending out stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini balls and meat platters.
Signature: Stuffed mushrooms, Fried zucchini balls, Mixed meat platter
Order: Stuffed mushrooms, with the fried zucchini balls
Tip: On Kagiampi a minute from Peskesi, with stuffed mushrooms and fried zucchini balls among the plates worth ordering.
Hovoli works the charcoal on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion, an unfussy grill house with Cretan salads and prices that stay entirely reasonable.
Signature: Grilled meats, Cretan plates, Salads
Order: Grilled meats off the charcoal with a Cretan salad
Tip: On Daskalogianni square, which is a useful place to eat when the Lions Square terraces are all full.
The Whistler Espresso Bar sits on Agiou Titou in Heraklion, pulling specialty espresso through the day and mixing cocktails deep into the night.
Signature: Espresso, Cocktails, Small plates
Order: An espresso by day, a cocktail after dark
Tip: On Agiou Titou, so it doubles as a coffee stop between the church and the Venetian Loggia.