Where to drink well in Heraklion by the glass and the bottle: natural, classical, and worth the cab fare.
Wine bars in Heraklion. natural, classical, and the grower-focused rooms worth the cab fare.
Think Tank is the wine bar Heraklion drinkers name first, a neoclassical room on Idaiou Androu pouring Cretan and Greek bottles by the glass.
Signature pour: A glass of Cretan Vidiano
Wine focus: Cretan and Greek growers by the glass
Food: Brunch plates and snacks
Order: A Vidiano by the glass, with whatever snack is out
Tip: A sommelier picks the list and the room hosts tastings, so ask what has just been opened.
Pagopoieion keeps one of the widest Greek wine lists in Heraklion, poured under the beams of a converted ice factory beside Agios Titos church.
Signature pour: A Cretan red with the mushroom risotto
Wine focus: Wide Greek list, strong on Crete
Food: All-day kitchen
Order: A Cretan red, with the mushroom risotto to match
Tip: The ice-factory room is large enough to find a quiet corner even when Agios Titos square is full.
Manjar Wise Food, Coffee & Wine Bar pours a long list on Dimokratias in Heraklion, with staff who explain every glass and send out bites with it.
Signature pour: A Cretan white with small bites
Wine focus: Health-minded Greek and Cretan labels
Food: Wise food plates and small bites
Order: A glass off the Cretan list with the small bites
Tip: Staff talk you through each pour and send out nibbles, which makes it a good first stop for Cretan grapes.
Granary turns from espresso bar into wine room as the evening arrives, pouring Greek bottles with Mediterranean plates in the heart of Heraklion.
Signature pour: A Cretan white with a mezze plate
Wine focus: Greek wines by the glass and bottle
Food: Mediterranean all-day menu
Order: A glass of Cretan white with a mezze plate
Tip: Wine service runs from late afternoon, once the coffee crowd thins out and the kitchen switches to the evening menu.
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.
Signature pour: A Liatiko red with the wood-oven lamb
Wine focus: Cretan list built around the wood oven
Food: Full Cretan menu
Order: A Liatiko red alongside the wood-oven lamb
Tip: The Cretan list is the reason to linger. Ask what is open by the glass before committing to a bottle.
Parasties runs a Cretan-leaning wine list beside its open fire in Heraklion, with floor staff who match bottles to whatever the oven is cooking.
Signature pour: A Cretan red with the smoked steak
Wine focus: Mostly Cretan producers
Food: Live-fire Cretan menu
Order: A Cretan red poured to match the smoked steak
Tip: The floor staff will steer the list if you tell them what is coming off the fire.
Kouzeineri backs its charcoal steaks with a Greek wine list, which makes it the Heraklion address for red wine and grilled meat in one sitting.
Signature pour: A Greek red with a charcoal steak
Wine focus: Greek reds for charcoal cooking
Food: Steakhouse menu
Order: A Greek red chosen against the charcoal steak
Tip: The cellar leans on international labels as much as Greek ones, so ask the floor to match a bottle to the cut you order.
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.
Signature pour: A Greek wine spritzer in the courtyard
Wine focus: Greek wine spritzers and by-the-glass pours
Food: Open kitchen
Order: A Greek wine spritzer, drunk in the ruined courtyard
Tip: The bar sits in the shell of a 1900s house on Milatou, and the open kitchen runs alongside the drinks list.