22 greek spots in Old Town, editor-picked by TableJourney. All of Old Town's food · All greek in Heraklion.
Peskesi ★ 4.8
Kapetan Charalampi 6-8, Iraklio 712 02
Peskesi cooks Cretan recipes from its own farm at Haraso inside a restored stone mansion in central Heraklion. Book ahead, the room fills nightly.
Tip: Ask for the olive oil tasting. The kitchen is supplied by its own farm at Haraso, and the oils are poured alongside rusk.
Peskesi ★ 4.8
Kapetan Charalampi 6-8, Iraklio 712 02
Peskesi is the Cretan kitchen Heraklion gets judged by, rebuilding near-lost island recipes with produce grown on the restaurant's own farm.
Tip: Ask for the olive oil tasting. The kitchen is supplied by its own farm at Haraso, and the oils are poured alongside rusk.
Merastri ★ 4.7
Chrisostomou 17, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: Dinner only from 18:00, and the courtyard tables go first at weekends. The Cretan list is worth an extra glass.
Merastri ★ 4.7
Chrisostomou 17, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: Dinner only from 18:00, and the courtyard tables go first at weekends. The Cretan list is worth an extra glass.
Parasties ★ 4.6
Chandakos 81, Iraklio 712 02
Parasties runs an open wood fire opposite the Historical Museum in Heraklion, turning out smoked steak, big pork fillets and long-cooked Cretan plates.
Tip: Sit 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 ★ 4.6
Chandakos 81, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: Sit 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 ★ 4.5
Kosma Zotou 6, Iraklio 712 01
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.
Tip: The dining room sits inside the Heraklion Tennis Club grounds by the Venetian walls, so allow time to find the gate.
Erganos ★ 4.5
Georgiadou 5, Iraklio 712 01
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.
Tip: The taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
Erganos ★ 4.5
Georgiadou 5, Iraklio 712 01
Erganos is the taverna Heraklion locals default to, a 1986 dining room beside Kazantzakis park with goat, keftedes and honeyed sfakianopites.
Tip: The taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
The Walls ★ 4.5
Kosma Zotou 6, Iraklio 712 01
The Walls is the most technical cooking in Heraklion, a garden dining room inside the Venetian ramparts, run as a modern Greek gastrobistro.
Tip: The dining room sits inside the Heraklion Tennis Club grounds by the Venetian walls, so allow time to find the gate.
Apiri Greek Eatery ★ 4.4
Agion Deka 5, Iraklio 712 01
Apiri Greek Eatery reworks Greek standards on Agion Deka in Heraklion, grilling octopus and sea bass and charring a wild greens pie over coals.
Tip: Small room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Apiri Greek Eatery ★ 4.4
Agion Deka 5, Iraklio 712 01
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.
Tip: Small room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Athali ★ 4.3
Kydonias 15, Iraklio 712 01
Athali cooks traditional Cretan food on the corner of Kydonias and Kapetan Charalampi in Heraklion, running from lunch through to one in the morning.
Tip: Kydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Athali ★ 4.3
Kydonias 15, Iraklio 712 01
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.
Tip: Kydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Brillant ★ 4.3
Epimenidou 15, Iraklio 712 02
Brillant is the winter dining room of the Lato hotel in Heraklion, running Mediterranean and Cretan cooking from November until the roof reopens.
Tip: Brillant is the winter half of the Lato hotel operation. From April the same team moves up to the Herb's Garden roof.
Arismari & Varsamo ★ 4.2
Lysimachou Kalokairinou 10, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: The terrace faces the sea by the Historical Museum square, which makes it a better sunset table than a midday one.
Chagiati ★ 4.2
Erotokritou 12, Iraklio 712 02
Chagiati is the backstreet Heraklion mezedopoleio on Erotokritou, grilling sardines and pouring raki for a room that stays stubbornly local.
Tip: Dinner only, and closed Sundays. The room is small enough that a walk-in after 21:00 usually means waiting outside.
Alla ki Alla ★ 4.1
Kagiampi 16, Iraklio 712 01
Alla ki Alla is the Kagiampi kitchen in Heraklion that locals fall back on, sending out stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini balls and meat platters.
Tip: On Kagiampi a minute from Peskesi, with stuffed mushrooms and fried zucchini balls among the plates worth ordering.
Chalali ★ 4.0
Strofadon 4, Iraklio 712 02
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.
Tip: Closed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.
Chalali ★ 4.0
Strofadon 4, Iraklio 712 02
Chalali is the cheap Cretan taverna on Strofadon that keeps central Heraklion honest, with mezedes, grills and raki for well under a tenner.
Tip: Closed Mondays, and prices sit well under the old-town average, so the room stays local rather than filling with cruise traffic.