Pork loin marinated in vinegar, then cold-smoked over aromatic wood and herbs until it turns dark and dense. Cretan kitchens shave it thin over rocket and graviera, or fry it into eggs at breakfast.

Apaki is Crete's answer to the problem of keeping pork through a hot summer. The loin is steeped in vinegar with wild herbs for a day or more, then hung over a smouldering fire of sage, cypress, thyme and other mountain wood, which both dries it and perfumes it. Villages guarded their own herb mixes. It predates refrigeration by centuries and survived it because the smoke does something no fridge can. In Heraklion tavernas it now arrives sliced thin with pomegranate seeds and graviera shavings, which is a modern presentation of a very old preserve.

1 editor pick for Apaki in Heraklion, ranked by editorial score. All Heraklion signature dishes · Apaki across every city.

Merastri ★ 4.7

€€Greek tavernaOld Town

Merastri has cooked over a wood oven in Heraklion since 1998, closing lamb in the fire for hours and finishing pork fillet with staka and oven potatoes.

OrderArnaki ofto, milk-fed lamb held in the wood oven

TipDinner only from 18:00, and the courtyard tables go first at weekends. The Cretan list is worth an extra glass.

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