Chania Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Chania - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Chania - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
On a mountain perch above Chania is one of the most singular restaurants in the whole of Crete. A holistic approach is taken---this is farm-to-table eating but ramped up to the nth degree. Your meal is cooked in traditional clay pots that sit over the wood fire, as they have no electricity in the kitchen. Ingredients come from the family farm and they produce everything in-house, organically, of course---only the salt comes from the coast 20 km away. There is no menu, merely what is in season that day, but all tastes are catered for by the friendly staff. It's not fancy, nor is it fast, but it is honest and truly memorable.
On a tiny pedestrian street a block back from the harbor, sweet alchemy takes place. Extraordinary creations are offered; mini-tarts, macaroons, and eclairs that would grace the finest Parisian patisserie. The pastries are beautifully presented and look like they belong on a Michelin-starred dessert menu. Tea and coffee is served in fine china; choose the charming interior or the alleyway tables but be prepared for serious cake envy from passers-by.
On the quieter end of the harbor next to the Venetian arsenals and removed from the tourist joints that surround the port, this lively taverna caters to locals and discerning tourists alike. Fresh fish and seafood are the standouts here, but also consider the stuffed aubergines, stifado, kleftiko (lamb), or the meats from the charcoal grill. The views from the waterside tables across the bobbing boats to the lighthouse are serene, the raki and sweets offered as a gift at the end of the meal most welcome.
Relocated from the somewhat cramped alley it occupied in the city center to a pretty harborside spot in Nea Chora, Portes continues to offer some of the best cooking in Chania. Irish-born Susanna has a flare for hospitality, and the dishes on offer are always assured and pretty as a picture. Make sure you read the specials board, but memorable regular plates include rabbit with prunes, roast lamb with yogurt, and chicken with figs. Fish, landed just feet from the restaurant and baked in paper, is a knockout, and if the chocolate cake with Guinness is offered, please indulge.
Steps away from the busy harbor, Tamam feels like a giant leap back in time—it's an ancient Turkish bath that now houses one of the most atmospheric restaurants in Chania's Old Town. Tamam means "alright" in Turkish, but the plates presented are certainly more than okay. Under the former bath-house's cool arches, Politiki Kouzina, Turkish-tinged plates from the Greeks of Asia Minor predominate—Chiounkiar Begienti (spiced lamb with eggplant), Staka (a warm creamy fondue-like cheese), and glorious, nuanced kebab. More than 40 wines are carried, most from Crete, and many available by the carafe.
In the old Ottoman district of Splantzia, opposite the underground church of Ayia Irene, this restaurant is somewhat difficult to find even with a map, but it is worth the endeavor. It serves a mixture of Greek and Turkish dishes with the odd trip to Northern Africa and the Middle East. With vaulted ceilings, terra-cotta floors and cobalt-blue walls set with jewel-like windows and the eponymous well, it's a memorable place to eat. Flatbreads, such as Fatayer bi Sabanikh, with spinach, mizithra, walnuts and raisins, and Lahmajun, with minced lamb and parsley, are particularly strong. Best to take a number of small plates and share in the traditional way.
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