40 cheap eats places in Heraklion, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Heraklion: the places editors actually return to. All Heraklion food.
Kirkor ★ 4.7
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 31, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: A bougatsa counter rather than a cafe, so expect to eat standing or take it away.
Kirkor ★ 4.7
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 31, Iraklio 712 02
Kirkor has long sold bougatsa on Lions Square in Heraklion, sweet myzithra or plain custard inside hot phyllo, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.
Tip: Order at the counter, take a table on the square, and expect the bougatsa to arrive scalding hot.
Kirkor ★ 4.7
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 31, Iraklio 712 02
Kirkor has long sold bougatsa on Lions Square in Heraklion, and it is still the fastest breakfast in the whole city if you eat it standing up.
Tip: The queue moves fast, because there are really only two things on the menu.
Kirkor ★ 4.7
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 31, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: A bougatsa and a Greek coffee is breakfast for under five euros, which is the cheapest sit-down in the old town.
Phyllosophies ★ 4.6
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 33, Iraklio 712 02
Phyllosophies is the bougatsa house on Lions Square in Heraklion, opening its phyllo by hand every morning since 1922 and across three generations.
Tip: Also bakes chortopites, tyropites, baklava and loukoumades, all from the same hand-opened phyllo.
Phyllosophies ★ 4.6
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 33, Iraklio 712 02
Phyllosophies has worked Smyrna phyllo on Lions Square in Heraklion since 1922, filling its bougatsa with fresh cream or sweet myzithra to order.
Tip: The recipe traces to a bougatsa master from Smyrna, and the phyllo is still opened by hand every morning.
Phyllosophies ★ 4.6
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 33, Iraklio 712 02
Phyllosophies is the Heraklion bougatsa counter on Lions Square, hand-opened phyllo filled with cream or sweet myzithra and cut with scissors.
Tip: Eat it standing on Lions Square while it is still too hot, which is how everyone in Heraklion does it.
Phyllosophies ★ 4.6
Lions Square · Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 33, Iraklio 712 02
Phyllosophies keeps prices low on Lions Square in Heraklion, where a bougatsa or a hand-opened greens pie costs less than a coffee elsewhere.
Tip: The savoury chortopites and tyropites cost about the same as the sweet bougatsa and travel better in a bag.
Savoidakis ★ 4.3
Old Town · Dikaiosinis 7, Iraklio 712 02
Savoidakis bakes right across Heraklion, and its kalitsounia are the ones food tours stop for, alongside a long counter of sweets and gelato.
Tip: A Heraklion chain with several city branches. The Dikaiosinis counter is the handiest one from the Agora.
Savoidakis ★ 4.3
Old Town · Dikaiosinis 7, Iraklio 712 02
Savoidakis sells kalitsounia right across Heraklion, and a warm bag of the Cretan cheese pies is the best two euros you can spend near the Agora.
Tip: The Dikaiosinis branch is the handiest for the Agora, and the pies come out through the morning.
Veganato ★ 4.3
Old Town · Vourvachon 8, Iraklio 712 02
Veganato is the fully plant-based kitchen on Vourvachon in Heraklion, cooked to order by the owners and missed by almost every visiting diner.
Tip: Everything is cooked to order in front of you, so allow more time than a takeaway counter would need.
Chagiati ★ 4.2
Old Town · Erotokritou 12, Iraklio 712 02
Chagiati is the backstreet Heraklion mezedopoleio on Erotokritou, grilling sardines and pouring raki for a room that stays stubbornly local.
Tip: Dinner only, and closed Sundays. The room is small enough that a walk-in after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Artopoiio Christoforos Veneris ★ 4.2
Old Town · Evans 33, Iraklio 712 01
Artopoiio Christoforos Veneris bakes bread, pies and tsoureki on Evans in central Heraklion, with the oven working directly beneath the shop.
Tip: The bakery works below the shop, so the pastries come up warm. At Christmas it bakes a chocolate panettone.
ML Espresso Bar ★ 4.2
Old Town · Plateia Eleftherias 29, Iraklio 712 01
ML Espresso Bar is a third-wave coffee counter on Eleftherias Square in Heraklion, rotating single-origin beans through espresso and filter.
Tip: A takeaway-first counter on Eleftherias Square, open from seven in the morning until eleven at night.
ML Espresso Bar ★ 4.2
Old Town · Plateia Eleftherias 29, Iraklio 712 01
ML Espresso Bar pours third-wave coffee on Eleftherias Square in Heraklion, rotating single origins through espresso and hand-brewed filter.
Tip: The counter is small and built for takeaway rather than sitting down with a laptop.
Chagiati ★ 4.2
Old Town · Erotokritou 12, Iraklio 712 02
Chagiati hides on Erotokritou in Heraklion, Crete, a small dinner-only mezedopoleio that grills sardines and pours raki for a room of regulars.
Tip: Closed Sundays, dinner only from 18:00, and small enough that arriving after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Chagiati ★ 4.2
Old Town · Erotokritou 12, Iraklio 712 02
Chagiati is the Erotokritou mezedopoleio where Heraklion eats cheaply and well, with grilled sardines and dolmades shared over a carafe of raki.
Tip: Dinner only and closed Sundays. Order two or three mezedes each and the bill still stays under twenty euros.
Chalali ★ 4.0
Old Town · Strofadon 4, Iraklio 712 02
Chalali is a plain Greek and Cretan taverna on Strofadon in Heraklion, cheap enough that the room stays local, open six days a week from lunch.
Tip: Closed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.
Chalali ★ 4.0
Old Town · Strofadon 4, Iraklio 712 02
Chalali is the cheap Cretan taverna on Strofadon that keeps central Heraklion honest, with mezedes, grills and raki for well under a tenner.
Tip: Closed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.
Krasas ★ 4.0
Old Town · Leoforos Ikarou 40, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: Open until 03:00, which makes it the default stop after a long evening on Ikarou.
Veneris Bakery & Coffee ★ 4.0
Old Town · Meandrou, Iraklio 713 05
Veneris Bakery & Coffee is the neighbourhood bakery on Meandrou in Heraklion, where the owner still makes the breads and the pastries himself.
Tip: Family-run and far enough from the tourist streets that the queue is almost entirely local rather than visiting.
The Dodo Cocktail Bar ★ 4.0
Venetian Harbour · Leoforos Sofokli Venizelou 33, Iraklio 712 02
The Dodo Cocktail Bar pours on the Sofokli Venizelou seafront in Heraklion, cheap by old-town standards and pointed straight out at the water.
Tip: One of the cheaper cocktail lists on the Heraklion seafront, and a seasonal one: it runs roughly April to October.
Thraka Grill ★ 4.0
Old Town · Plateia Daskalogianni 1, Iraklio 712 01
Thraka Grill turns out gyros on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion until midnight, the local answer to where to eat well for about five euros.
Tip: On Daskalogianni square, and it is the gyros stop the local food tours use rather than the seafront chains.
Krasas ★ 4.0
Old Town · Leoforos Ikarou 40, Iraklio 712 02
Krasas grills on Leoforos Ikarou in Heraklion until three in the morning, the default late gyros stop for anyone heading home from the east.
Tip: Open until 03:00, and there is a second Krasas near the airport in Nea Alikarnassos.
Krasas ★ 4.0
Old Town · Leoforos Ikarou 40, Iraklio 712 02
Krasas grills gyros and skewers on Leoforos Ikarou in Heraklion until three in the morning, which makes it the default stop on the way home.
Tip: Open until three in the morning, and there is a second branch out towards the airport.
Krasas ★ 4.0
Old Town · Leoforos Ikarou 40, Iraklio 712 02
Krasas is the cheap grill on Leoforos Ikarou that keeps Heraklion fed after midnight, with pita gyros and skewers priced well under a tenner.
Tip: Open until three in the morning, which is why the queue builds long after the tavernas close.
Thraka Grill ★ 4.0
Old Town · Plateia Daskalogianni 1, Iraklio 712 01
Thraka Grill is the cheapest proper meal on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion, Crete, with gyros wrapped to order and served through to midnight.
Tip: On Daskalogianni square, and it is the gyros counter used by the local walking food tours rather than a seafront chain.
Hovoli ★ 3.9
Old Town · Plateia Daskalogianni 3, Iraklio 712 01
Hovoli works the charcoal on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion, an unfussy grill house with Cretan salads and prices that stay entirely reasonable.
Tip: On Daskalogianni square, which is a useful place to eat when the Lions Square terraces are all full.
Kritikos Fournos ★ 3.9
Nea Alikarnassos · Leoforos Ikarou 32, Iraklio 713 06
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.
Tip: A Heraklion chain with several branches, useful because the Ikarou shop opens early on the airport road.
Queen Boulangerie ★ 3.9
Old Town · Agiou Titou 13, Iraklio 712 02
Queen Boulangerie is the late-opening patisserie on Agiou Titou in Heraklion, baking through the day and still selling pastries at eleven at night.
Tip: The counter runs late into the evening, so it covers the gap after the tavernas stop serving.
Queen Boulangerie ★ 3.9
Old Town · Agiou Titou 13, Iraklio 712 02
Queen Boulangerie bakes through the day on Agiou Titou in Heraklion, a patisserie counter that runs late into the evening for pastries and cake.
Tip: On the corner of Agiou Titou and Evropis, open late enough to work as an after-dinner stop.
Mavrokostas ★ 3.9
Nea Alikarnassos · Leoforos 62 Martiron 75, Iraklio 713 04
Mavrokostas sells homemade Greek food on 62 Martiron in Heraklion through the small hours, long after every other kitchen in town has shut down.
Tip: Open until six in the morning on weekdays and eight at weekends, which makes it the last kitchen standing in Heraklion.
Mavrokostas ★ 3.9
Nea Alikarnassos · Leoforos 62 Martiron 75, Iraklio 713 04
Mavrokostas keeps cooking homemade Greek food on 62 Martiron in Heraklion until six in the morning, and until eight in the morning at weekends.
Tip: The last kitchen standing in Heraklion. Weekend service runs until eight in the morning, which is not a typo.
Hovoli ★ 3.9
Old Town · Plateia Daskalogianni 3, Iraklio 712 01
Hovoli works the charcoal on Daskalogianni square in Heraklion, Crete, a plain grill house the guidebooks skip and the neighbourhood keeps busy.
Tip: Worth knowing in August, when the central squares are full and this one still has tables at nine in the evening.
Mavrokostas ★ 3.9
Nea Alikarnassos · Leoforos 62 Martiron 75, Iraklio 713 04
Mavrokostas sells homemade Greek food on 62 Martiron in Heraklion at neighbourhood prices, and keeps selling it long into the following morning.
Tip: Open until six in the morning on weekdays and eight at weekends, which makes it the last cheap kitchen standing.
Souvlaki Point ★ 3.8
Nea Alikarnassos · Menelaou Parlama 17, Iraklio 713 04
Souvlaki Point grills skewers on Menelaou Parlama in Heraklion until one in the morning, a takeaway counter rather than a sit-down taverna room.
Tip: Open until one in the morning most nights, and set up for takeaway rather than a sit-down meal.
Spiros Psitopoleio ★ 3.8
Nea Alikarnassos · Christomichali Xilouri 53, Iraklio 713 04
Spiros Psitopoleio is the neighbourhood grill house on Christomichali Xilouri in Heraklion, selling meat by the portion to a mostly local queue.
Tip: A neighbourhood psitopoleio on Christomichali Xilouri, which means grilled meat by the portion rather than by the plate.
Souvlaki Point ★ 3.8
Nea Alikarnassos · Menelaou Parlama 17, Iraklio 713 04
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.
Tip: Set up for takeaway rather than sitting down, and it keeps serving until one in the morning most nights.
Spiros Psitopoleio ★ 3.8
Nea Alikarnassos · Christomichali Xilouri 53, Iraklio 713 04
Spiros Psitopoleio sells grilled meat by the portion on Christomichali Xilouri in Heraklion, a neighbourhood grill with local prices to match.
Tip: A neighbourhood psitopoleio east of the centre, which means grilled meat by weight rather than a composed plate.
Costis Patisserie ★ 3.7
Old Town · Leoforos Knosou 110, Iraklio 713 06
Costis Patisserie bakes on the Knossos road out of Heraklion, selling cakes, sweets and coffee to take away from morning through to late evening.
Tip: On the Knossos road, so it works as a stop coming back from the palace rather than a city-centre errand.