Savoring Cretan Cuisine

Tavernas & Restaurants

The villa is surrounded by interesting tavernas & restaurants.  Find yourselves nestling in a cool and tree shaded valley, or high up overlooking the olives and orange groves.  You can eat at places specialising in fresh fish, or local cuisine with a modern twist, or the most heavenly barbecued chops. Ones full of local character, or with a retro feel, you can experience a whole range of eating experiences.

Here are some of the best restaurants in Kalvyes.  Kritikos has a great position virtually on the beach and serves an upmarket menu of Cretan fayre.  An excellent seafood restaurant is Provlita, on the promenade.  Genuine pizzas from a wood oven are served at Il Forno, another place on the beach.

Inland Aposperida is a charming family run taverna just off the national road, and only 15min from the villa.  For a touch of Thessaloniki cuisine  try  Treis kai O Cook  in Stylos; there’s a touch of Italian at Don Rosario on the way into Chania; and for slow cooking Tsitsikas on the Koliaris stream in Armenoi is a delight.

Close to home is the Taverna Lemonia, renowned with the locals from Chania, which is only 5 min walk away.  In the next village is Aetifolia with simple Cretan cooking by an indomitable lady, Katerina, using fresh produce from the villagers gardens.

Local Wines

Crete hosts 33 wineries, some of which produce wines of international quality.  The local wines are an experience, served from the barrel, but the bottled wines, available at many of the more up market restaurants, are splendid.   Within an hour or so’s drive there are producers – Karavitakis, Dourakis and Manousakis, who combine modern technology and oeneology, together with their unique vineyard environments found only on Crete.  And you can try them all at the annual wine fair, held in Chania each February.

Farmers Markets

There are street markets in Chania on almost every day of the week.  They offer the freshest (and cheapest) of local produce, and a feast for the eyes to see stalls, overflowing with herbs, crates heaped up with gleaming oranges, stacks of red apples, golden onions, bright yellow lemons.  And the dairy stalls with graviera cheeses, a hard cheese prized by the Cretans, softer cheeses, mountain yoghurt and honeys.  All within 40 min drive of Panokosmos, making a fine morning drive and shopping expedition.  Check them out!