Hovoli is a greek restaurant in Old Town, Heraklion.
Editorially verified August 1, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: A charcoal grill on Daskalogianni square that locals use as an overflow when Lions Square is packed with visitors.
Tip: Worth knowing in August, when the central squares are full and this one still has tables at nine in the evening.
Day trip · 8 hours
Discover the traditions of Crete in the villages of Heraklion on a day tour. Visit a local olive mill, a bakery, and a creamery. Taste the Cretan bouquet of famous products.
Day trip · 7h 30m
Explore the wild beauty of the secluded beaches of southern Crete with this tour starting from the North coast of Heraklion.
Guided tour · 4 hours
Get to know Heraklion with a local! Discover hidden laneways and backstreets, explore city highlights, indulge in local flavors, and experience the city's essence like...
Address: Plateia Daskalogianni 3, Iraklio 712 01, Heraklion
Chagiati hides on Erotokritou in Heraklion, Crete, a small dinner-only mezedopoleio that grills sardines and pours raki for a room of regulars.
Why locals goA dinner-only mezedopoleio on a lane most visitors never turn down, with a room that fills with locals by nine.
TipClosed Sundays, dinner only from 18:00, and small enough that arriving after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Erganos sits uphill from the Heraklion museums beside Kazantzakis park, a 1986 taverna that most visitors walk past on their way somewhere else.
Why locals goA 1986 taverna beside Kazantzakis park that trades almost entirely on locals and word of mouth rather than passing trade.
TipAsk what the kitchen cooked that morning rather than reading the whole menu top to bottom.
Alla ki Alla stands a minute from the busiest restaurant in Heraklion and stays half empty, which is the whole argument for eating there instead.
Why locals goA minute from Peskesi on Kagiampi, and consistently overlooked because of the queue outside its more famous neighbour.
TipGo here when Peskesi is fully booked. Order the stuffed mushrooms and the fried zucchini balls.
Crumb Healthy Living Lab is the Heraklion bakery coeliacs and sugar-avoiders end up recommending to each other, well away from the tourist streets.
Why locals goA health-focused bakery on Papanastasiou that labels gluten-free and sugar-free clearly, which almost nothing else in the city does.
TipUseful if you avoid gluten. Check the cabinet labels rather than asking, because they mark every item.
Veganato is the fully plant-based kitchen on Vourvachon in Heraklion, cooked to order by the owners and missed by almost every visiting diner.
Why locals goA small fully vegan kitchen on Vourvachon run by an owner couple, easy to miss on a street of parked scooters.
TipEverything is cooked to order in front of you, so allow more time than a takeaway counter would need.
Chagiati hides on Erotokritou in Heraklion, Crete, a small dinner-only mezedopoleio that grills sardines and pours raki for a room of regulars.
Why locals goA dinner-only mezedopoleio on a lane most visitors never turn down, with a room that fills with locals by nine.
TipClosed Sundays, dinner only from 18:00, and small enough that arriving after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Ouzeri tou Terzaki has worked a quiet port alley in Heraklion since 1978, and it stays hidden from the seafront crowds a hundred metres away.
Why locals goA 1978 ouzeri tucked into a port alley off Plateia Agiou Dimitriou, invisible from the seafront promenade.
TipAim for the port end of Lochagou Marineli. The alley is narrow and the sign is easy to walk straight past.
Erganos sits uphill from the Heraklion museums beside Kazantzakis park, a 1986 taverna that most visitors walk past on their way somewhere else.
Why locals goA 1986 taverna beside Kazantzakis park that trades almost entirely on locals and word of mouth rather than passing trade.
TipAsk what the kitchen cooked that morning rather than reading the whole menu top to bottom.
Alla ki Alla stands a minute from the busiest restaurant in Heraklion and stays half empty, which is the whole argument for eating there instead.
Why locals goA minute from Peskesi on Kagiampi, and consistently overlooked because of the queue outside its more famous neighbour.
TipGo here when Peskesi is fully booked. Order the stuffed mushrooms and the fried zucchini balls.
Crumb Healthy Living Lab is the Heraklion bakery coeliacs and sugar-avoiders end up recommending to each other, well away from the tourist streets.
Why locals goA health-focused bakery on Papanastasiou that labels gluten-free and sugar-free clearly, which almost nothing else in the city does.
TipUseful if you avoid gluten. Check the cabinet labels rather than asking, because they mark every item.
Veganato is the fully plant-based kitchen on Vourvachon in Heraklion, cooked to order by the owners and missed by almost every visiting diner.
Why locals goA small fully vegan kitchen on Vourvachon run by an owner couple, easy to miss on a street of parked scooters.
TipEverything is cooked to order in front of you, so allow more time than a takeaway counter would need.
