40 editor picks in Heraklion.
40 mid-range places in Heraklion, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Heraklion, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Heraklion food.
Peskesi cooks Cretan recipes from its own farm at Haraso inside a restored stone mansion in central Heraklion. Book ahead, the room fills nightly.
OrderSfakiano lamb, then the carob mousse to finish
TipAsk for the olive oil tasting. The kitchen is supplied by its own farm at Haraso, and the oils are poured alongside rusk.
Peskesi is the Cretan kitchen Heraklion gets judged by, rebuilding near-lost island recipes with produce grown on the restaurant's own farm.
OrderSfakiano lamb, then the carob mousse to finish
TipAsk for the olive oil tasting. The kitchen is supplied by its own farm at Haraso, and the oils are poured alongside rusk.
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.
Merastri is the wood-oven address in Heraklion for an unhurried Cretan dinner, from lamb closed in the fire to a long list of island bottles.
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.
Merastri keeps a serious Cretan wine list behind its wood oven in Heraklion, and the reds it pours are built to stand up to three-hour roast lamb.
OrderA Liatiko red alongside the wood-oven lamb
TipThe Cretan list is the reason to linger. Ask what is open by the glass before committing to a bottle.
Erganos has fed a mostly local room beside Kazantzakis park in Heraklion since 1986, with goat, meatballs and a long list of Cretan vegetable plates.
OrderBite-sized sfakianopites with cheese and honey
TipThe taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
Erganos is the taverna Heraklion locals default to, a 1986 dining room beside Kazantzakis park with goat, keftedes and honeyed sfakianopites.
OrderBite-sized sfakianopites with cheese and honey
TipThe taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
Think Tank is the espresso and wine bar of central Heraklion, a neoclassical room on Idaiou Androu with specialty coffee and Cretan bottles.
OrderThe house espresso, then a glass of Cretan white
TipBook the terrace in advance. The room hosts wine tastings, and the same team runs both counters.
Think Tank is the specialty coffee benchmark in Heraklion, a neoclassical espresso and wine bar on Idaiou Androu with its own resident barista.
OrderThe house espresso, pulled by the resident barista
TipA sommelier works the wine side of the same room, so a coffee visit can easily turn into a Cretan tasting.
The Bitters Bar works a 1920s speakeasy brief on Idis in Heraklion, mixing from a deep bitters shelf and its own jars of homemade marmalade.
OrderThe Yellow Prince, made with house marmalade
TipBehind Lions Square on Idis, with jazz and blues on the speakers and homemade marmalades beside every glass.
Think Tank is the quietest drinking option in central Heraklion, a neoclassical espresso and wine bar that turns into a rooftop cocktail spot after dark.
OrderA glass of Kotsifali on the terrace
TipReserve the terrace in advance. It is the calmest drinking terrace in the old town and it fills fast.
Think Tank is the wine bar Heraklion drinkers name first, a neoclassical room on Idaiou Androu pouring Cretan and Greek bottles by the glass.
OrderA Vidiano by the glass, with whatever snack is out
TipA sommelier picks the list and the room hosts tastings, so ask what has just been opened.
Erganos sits uphill from the Heraklion museums beside Kazantzakis park, a 1986 taverna that most visitors walk past on their way somewhere else.
TipAsk what the kitchen cooked that morning rather than reading the whole menu top to bottom.
Think Tank serves brunch under the specialty coffee programme in central Heraklion, on a neoclassical terrace that fills up fast in high summer.
OrderThe house espresso with a plate of pancakes
TipBook the terrace ahead. Brunch runs alongside the wine list, so a late one can drift into an afternoon glass.
Apiri Greek Eatery reworks Greek standards on Agion Deka in Heraklion, grilling octopus and sea bass and charring a wild greens pie over coals.
OrderThe char-grilled wild greens pie
TipSmall room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Ippokampos is the seafront ouzeri Heraklion sends visitors to, grilling the day's catch and pouring raki at pavement tables across from the water.
OrderWhatever came in that morning, grilled whole
TipTables spill across the promenade opposite the water, and the seafront ones go first on a summer evening.
Ouzeri tou Terzaki has poured raki in a quiet port alley in Heraklion since 1978, sending out mezedes, moussaka and whatever the boats landed.
OrderA spread of mezedes, then the grilled fish
TipThe alley off Plateia Agiou Dimitriou is easy to miss. Aim for the port end of Lochagou Marineli and look for the chairs.
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.
OrderA spread of mezedes, then the grilled fish
TipThe 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.
OrderWhatever came in that morning, grilled whole
TipTables spill across the promenade opposite the water, and the seafront ones go first on a summer evening.
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.
OrderThe char-grilled wild greens pie
TipSmall room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Xalavro built a bar out of a ruined 1900s house on Milatou in Heraklion, and its courtyard is the most atmospheric drink in the whole old town.
OrderA Jungle Bird in the open courtyard
TipA seasonal, open-air room running roughly April to October, with an annual summer cocktail festival that brings in bartenders from abroad.
Stone Project is the Korai cocktail room in Heraklion, industrial-looking, DJ-driven, and pouring a Mastiha Sour that justifies the walk across town.
OrderA Mastiha Sour, before the DJ starts
TipThe room opens at seven and runs to two in the morning through the week, so it stays going after most of Korai has shut.
Xalavro pours Greek wine spritzers in a roofless old house on Milatou in Heraklion, with an open kitchen working beside the bar until very late.
OrderA Greek wine spritzer, drunk in the ruined courtyard
TipThe bar sits in the shell of a 1900s house on Milatou, and the open kitchen runs alongside the drinks list.
Solo Cretan Craft Brewery brews unfiltered, unpasteurised beer on the edge of Heraklion, and walks visitors through the brewhouse and a tasting by booking.
OrderA tasting flight of the unfiltered Solo beers
TipVisits run daily between 11:00 and 16:00 and have to be booked ahead. Saturdays and Sundays are by appointment only.
Xalavro keeps its open kitchen going with the bar on Milatou in Heraklion, Crete, so a late drink in the courtyard can still come with real food.
OrderA late plate from the open kitchen with a spritzer
TipIn season the kitchen runs alongside the bar, which is rare in the old town once the tavernas have stopped serving.
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.
TipAim for the port end of Lochagou Marineli. The alley is narrow and the sign is easy to walk straight past.
Athali cooks traditional Cretan food on the corner of Kydonias and Kapetan Charalampi in Heraklion, running from lunch through to one in the morning.
OrderWhatever the wood oven is holding that day
TipKydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Lola works Mediterranean small plates with a fusion streak on Kydonias in Heraklion, running from lunch to one in the morning six days a week.
OrderA spread of small plates and a glass of Cretan white
TipClosed Mondays. The room is small and popular with locals, so book if you want a table after 21:00.
Ligo Krasi Ligo Thalassa serves seafood mezedes and daily fish on the harbour side of Heraklion, with a terrace pointed at the Venetian fortress.
OrderSeafood mezedes, then lobster spaghetti to share
TipThe terrace looks over the harbour to the fortress, which is worth waiting for an outside table in summer.
Lola is the sharpest small-plates cooking in central Heraklion, a compact room on Kydonias where Mediterranean technique meets Cretan produce.
OrderA spread of small plates and a glass of Cretan white
TipClosed Mondays. The room is small and popular with locals, so book if you want a table after 21:00.
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.
OrderWhatever the wood oven is holding that day
TipKydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Ligo Krasi Ligo Thalassa is the Heraklion harbour table for a long seafood lunch, with mezedes, lobster spaghetti and the Venetian fortress in view.
OrderSeafood mezedes, then lobster spaghetti to share
TipThe terrace looks over the harbour to the fortress, which is worth waiting for an outside table in summer.
Granary is the all-day eatery and espresso bar in central Heraklion, pouring Taf Roastery coffee alongside Mediterranean plates and Greek wine.
OrderSpecialty filter coffee and whatever is on the day plate
TipNamed for the Venetian grain store that once stood opposite the Ducal Palace, and it keeps a wide Greek wine list.
Granary pours Taf Roastery coffee in central Heraklion, an espresso bar and eatery serving Mediterranean plates and Greek wine by the glass.
OrderFilter coffee and a plate off the day menu
TipOne of the few Heraklion rooms that genuinely works as a cafe, an eatery and a wine stop in turn.
Frankly My Dear is the specialty coffee and brunch room on Karterou in Heraklion, doing freddo espresso, salmon toast with avocado and fresh juices.
OrderSalmon toast with avocado, and a freddo espresso alongside
TipIt sits on Karterou beside Agia Aikaterini square, five minutes uphill from the Agora.
Granary is where Heraklion drinks Taf Roastery coffee, an espresso bar and eatery in the old town pairing it with Mediterranean plates and wine.
OrderA filter coffee made with the Taf Roastery beans
TipGranary buys its beans from Taf Roastery rather than roasting in-house, and serves them alongside breakfast, brunch and lunch.
Frankly My Dear is the Karterou specialty coffee bar in Heraklion, working freddo espresso and filter alongside a full brunch and cocktail list.
OrderA freddo espresso, with a fresh juice alongside
TipThe Karterou room is a five-minute walk uphill from the Agora and much quieter than the square cafes.
Swing Thing sits near the Venetian Loggia in Heraklion, pulling espresso by day and building retro-leaning cocktails once the sun has dropped.
OrderThe Cinnamon Treasure, or the yoghurt pina colada
TipIt works as an espresso bar in daylight and switches to cocktails after dark, with a takeaway drinks list too.
Granary turns from espresso bar into wine room as the evening arrives, pouring Greek bottles with Mediterranean plates in central Heraklion.
OrderA glass of Cretan white with a mezze plate
TipWine service runs from late afternoon, once the coffee crowd thins out and the kitchen switches to the evening menu.
Granary pours Taf Roastery coffee alongside a Mediterranean brunch menu in central Heraklion, from early breakfast through to a very late lunch.
OrderFilter coffee and whatever is on the day plate
TipAn espresso bar and eatery in one, so a slow brunch works here as easily as a coffee stop.
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