22 editor picks in Old Town, Heraklion.
22 greek spots in Old Town, editor-picked by TableJourney. All of Old Town's food · All greek in Heraklion.
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.
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.
Parasties has cooked Cretan food over live fire in the centre of Heraklion since 1999, and is one of the city's steadiest special-occasion rooms.
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.
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.
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.
The Walls is the most technical cooking in Heraklion, a garden dining room inside the Venetian ramparts, run as a modern Greek gastrobistro.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brillant is the winter dining room of the Lato hotel in Heraklion, running Mediterranean and Cretan cooking from November until the roof reopens.
OrderThe winter Cretan plates the kitchen builds each season
TipBrillant is the winter half of the Lato hotel operation. From April the same team moves up to the Herb's Garden roof.
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.
Chagiati is the backstreet Heraklion mezedopoleio on Erotokritou, grilling sardines and pouring raki for a room that stays stubbornly local.
OrderGrilled sardines with a carafe of raki
TipDinner only, and closed Sundays. The room is small enough that a walk-in after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Alla ki Alla is the Kagiampi kitchen in Heraklion that locals fall back on, sending out stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini balls and meat platters.
OrderStuffed mushrooms, with the fried zucchini balls
TipOn Kagiampi a minute from Peskesi, with stuffed mushrooms and fried zucchini balls among the plates worth ordering.
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.
Chalali is the cheap Cretan taverna on Strofadon that keeps central Heraklion honest, with mezedes, grills and raki for well under a tenner.
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.
Day trip · 5 hours
Discover the vineyards and ancient architecture of Knossos, on a private full-day Crete journey, with a light lunch and wine.
3 hours
Watch the sun come up over the Lasithi Plateau from a hot air balloon, then celebrate back on the ground with sparkling wine and a real Greek breakfast. One of the bes...
Day trip · 9 hours
Experience the cultural fusion of Rethimno's historic charm and Margarites' artisanal mastery. Delight in a sensory journey of oil and honey tasting, a blend of tradition,