The restaurants worth a reservation in Heraklion, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Heraklion. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
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.
Parasties runs an open wood fire opposite the Historical Museum in Heraklion, turning out smoked steak, big pork fillets and long-cooked Cretan plates.
OrderSmoked steak straight off the open wood fire
TipSit where you can see the open kitchen. Staff will walk you through a mostly Cretan wine list if you tell them what you ordered.
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.
The Walls plates crab samosas, duck and sea bream in a garden inside the Venetian walls of Heraklion, the city's most composed modern Greek cooking.
OrderCrab-stuffed samosas, then the duck
TipThe dining room sits inside the Heraklion Tennis Club grounds by the Venetian walls, so allow time to find the gate.
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.
Thigaterra cooks to a declared Slow Food brief on the Ammoudara strip west of Heraklion, working Greek producers and Cretan seas rather than a fixed menu.
OrderThe seasonal vegetable plates the menu is built around
TipReserve at least three days ahead. The kitchen asks for confirmation before it holds a table, which weeds out no-shows.
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.
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.
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.
Kastella is the seafront fish taverna in Heraklion where the day's catch is cooked simply, sold by the kilo and eaten facing Sofokli Venizelou.
OrderFresh fish by the kilo with a Cretan salad
TipAsk for a table on the sea side; the road side gets the traffic off Sofokli Venizelou.
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.
Sir Papafigos works a small-plates menu near the old harbour in Heraklion, opening in the evening on weekdays and running long lunches at the weekend.
OrderA run of small plates built for sharing
TipThe kitchen is shut on Wednesdays and only opens for lunch at weekends, so a Saturday or Sunday table is the easier one to book.
Arismari & Varsamo cooks lamb over open fire on the seafront side of Heraklion, with bean soup, tzatziki and a menu built on Cretan farm produce.
OrderArni ofto, lamb marinated in herbs and cooked over fire
TipThe terrace faces the sea by the Historical Museum square, which makes it a better sunset table than a midday one.
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.
Pagopoieion took over a former ice factory on Agios Titos square in Heraklion, serving breakfast, ethnic-tinged plates and a deep Greek wine list.
OrderMushroom risotto, with a glass off the Cretan list
TipThe 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.
Herb's Garden runs the Lato hotel roof in Heraklion from April to October, looking straight at Koules over fish, Cretan cheeses and seasonal salads.
OrderFresh fish with a Cretan white, watching the fortress
TipRooftop of the Lato Boutique Hotel, and seasonal: the team moves downstairs to Brillant from November to March.
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.
OrderA mezes spread with a carafe of raki
TipClosed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.
7 Thalasses is the garden fish restaurant in Nea Alikarnassos, east of Heraklion, known for lobster spaghetti, paella and a bright courtyard room.
OrderLobster spaghetti, the reason people drive out here
TipIt sits by the municipal park in Nea Alikarnassos near the airport, so it works as a last dinner before an early flight.
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.
Kouzeineri is the steak address in Heraklion, working charcoal near Agiou Titou square with pork hock, chicken wings and a long Greek wine list.
OrderPork hock, or a steak off the charcoal
TipTables sit out on Agiou Titou square, and those are the ones worth a booking.
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