The best restaurants Chania - Chania

A high-flying, generous and gourmet cuisine, intelligently revisiting Cretan and international classics. The menu is adaptable, but you will find there some fans that we can only warmly recommend: tarama revisited with avocado, deconstructed pasticio with truffle, guinea fowl with orange and tarragon sauce or sea bass in paupiette. Everything, absolutely everything, is excellent. No wonder if we look at the personality of the owner of the place, a meticulous and passionate epicurean.

It is a kitchen that blends Hania's gastronomic influences throughout its history. Thus, you will taste Turkish, Jewish, Smyrnate, Cretan or Arabic specialities. Everything mixes and comes together to create a typically Haniote and therefore cosmopolitan gastronomy. Opt for the few tables on the terrace to take the coolness in the evening but during the hot days, prefer the room below, installed in the old baths of the district and quite fresh. The small room in the bar opposite offers a more contemporary atmosphere

At this address, the delicious and traditional puff pastries filled with fromage frais, sprinkled or not with sugar are a reference. Since 1924, Iordanis has been revamped. No more formica tables, the room is now ultramodern and very comfortable with its bay window overlooking the street. The recipe for the classic bougatsa is always the same, mixing the crispness of the dough and the melting of the cheese, the salty and the sweet. Unless you prefer the cream version. Their reputation has been established for two or three generations!

Located in the heart of Hania's historic center, this tastefully decorated all-day café/bistro, distinguished by its white tablecloths and courteous staff, offers a varied range of dishes for an excellent breakfast or brunch, lunch or dinner for couples or friends in search of tranquility, good taste and good food. The establishment also offers relaxing moments to enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail. The pastries on offer (strawberry tart with a scoop of ice cream, among others) are also very good.

This establishment on Akti Tombazi, next to the former Grand Arsenal, is easily spotted by its wooden tables, spread out along the flagstone path that runs alongside the sea to the Koum Kapi district. With its motto "the history of a place is learned around a table", Chalkina offers traditional Cretan cuisine (meat pie, snails, chevron with lemon sauce, coq au vin, etc.). The restaurant is also renowned for the variety of meats on offer: organic black pork, black angus, dry-aged beef.

This establishment is a waterfront tavern, located in the district of Nea Chora. It is a quiet place to enjoy the sunset in the early evening, while drinking a good glass of raki or ouzo, to be accompanied by one or two orders of seafood or fish. You can also enjoy some other Greek or Cretan specialties, a few of which are exclusively vegetarian and made with very fresh and tasty vegetables. For example, their bougasta is a real delight! The service is pleasant.

This small tavern is located in the heart of the city, where all the products are fresh and high quality. Take a look at the small olives offered at the aperitif, order the eyes closed the mixed salad, taste the homemade French fries or the excellent pilaf and courgettes flowers (Cretan speciality). Very reasonable prices and live music almost every night.

Theodosi is a modern restaurant on the ground floor of Hôtel Alexis. An escape Ideal for one evening away from the tourist sites from mass. Greek and Cretan creative cuisine served à la carte, we strongly recommend the chicken fillet with smoked pork and pork chops with honey and thyme. The owners had a restaurant in Vancouver, Canada for years, giving an original mix to the already carefully prepared dishes. Fresh fish on the menu and magnificent sea views as well as on the city of Hania.

Overlooking the small fishing port of Nea Chora, Portes is a very good address for those who want to taste a cuisine made from fresh products, in a pleasant setting. Far from the hustle and bustle of the historical center, you can rediscover the classics of Greek cuisine, prepared with care and with quality above all. The service is pleasant and warm, and the sunsets add to the attraction of the place. Do not hesitate, this is an address that is very popular with the residents of the neighborhood, both locals and regular tourists

Located just outside Hania, in the small village of Agios Ioannis, this iconic café has been unearthed by connoisseurs of authentic Cretan cuisine. The establishment is famous for its stews, lamb chops with herbs and lemon (succulent), and various traditional vegetable dishes (stuffed tomatoes and peppers, among others). The fried potatoes are homemade... In short, all the secrets of Stella^Mpolanaki, the soul of the establishment and cook, on your plate. We'd love to go back.

A rather chic and modern Italian restaurant offering refined cuisine. Fine wine list.

Not necessarily refined, that's why you're advised to go for a quick snack, share mezzedes for example, or take a gyros. It is especially the setting that is very pleasant, even if in a pedestrian street. The shady terrace allows you to enjoy a pleasant break. Service and proper atmosphere. A little tourist machine but the courtyard and tables on the street offer a profitable framework.

Stachi is a family tavern where the Cretan diet of the past is followed, when meat was scarce on the table. Most of the raw materials come from the organic vegetable garden of Stelios Michelakis, the owner, and he makes the bread every day with his own yeast. A no-frills establishment, but already well known for the quality of its dishes: mushroom stew, stuffed zucchini flowers, home-made yoghurt, herbal turnovers... The menu varies according to the season. Very good value for money. Vegans. Vegetarians.

This tavern is located within the walls of a 16th century ruin, under cool and welcoming trees. The collapsed roof of the Venezia Loggia has never been rebuilt and people now eat outdoors. During the day, the restaurant is a pleasant break in the shade of the trees, while in the evening you come to listen to live traditional music and enjoy good food accompanied by a Cretan beer or a glass of homemade wine. An establishment and a good-natured atmosphere, for a pleasant culinary moment in Hania.

Kertos is a fish and seafood specialty restaurant. On the promenade of Nea Chora, quietly, facing the sea, you can enjoy lunch and dinner, especially for seafood. Polite servers, good atmosphere, reasonable price: no reason not to go! In July and August you will need to think about booking because it is rare to find space, especially when you are in small group.

The Amphora restaurant has been in the harbour for about years, and it is the only one here that does not need rabatteurs. Its main quality in addition to the direct view of the port is the dishes cooked according to the ancient Cretan tradition. There's also fresh fish in everyday life, but today we've decided to taste the lemon stamnagathi lamb. The stamnagathi is a wild plant that grows on the rocks near the sea, only in Crete. It's a little dish available in the menus of other restaurants. In the plate, it looks like spinach, but the taste is different. Their famous recipe for fish soup is still kept secret; We only know that it's a broth of different fish that kaminraum with celery, olive oil and lemon. Dessert is available to all clients: it is a small glass of Greek yogurt teeming with candied grapes. A real treat and servers have lots of stories to share. Please note that there are a dozen nice rooms to rent in the hotel of the same name, just above the restaurant (see heading accommodation).

This restaurant offers a very large selection of Cretan, Mediterranean and international specialities at truly affordable prices: cooked dishes, grills, seafood, fish, salads etc. All products are fresh and portions are well served. Note that the staff is friendly. French menu. Ideal for small budgets.

Here is a chic and stylish address on the port of Hania, for a break between friends or, more romantic, two. The tables are elegantly prepared and the view overlooks the fortress opposite. The dishes are simple but carefully presented and prepared. Glass of wine is a good surprise.

There's nothing special about this fish tavern. Located at the end of the port, on a street corner towards the Neoria Moro, the terrace does not necessarily attract the customer. However, it is one of the most appreciated addresses of the locals to eat fresh fish on the port. Groups of friends meet there to share plates of grilled sardines or small fried fish and stay for hours with a string of beers and raki. It's good timing, there's no need to hurry here: the service is slow, as if it were out of tourist time, and so much the better!

The owner of this mezzedopoleio, originally from Macedonia ("perperas" means butterfly in Northern Greece), having succumbed to the charms of Crete, has been in Hania for some time and shares his love of cooking with his customers. In his establishment, a little removed from the tourist flows, you can taste very good small dishes and traditional Greek food, prepared from day to day. Sit under the wall trees and taste, among others, the best raki of Hania. Some evenings with live music, without microphones!

The most curious among you will make the effort to go to the tiny fishing port of Halepa where time seems to have stopped, as in a village of yesteryear. There, facing the sea and far away, far away from the tourist crowds, you will be able to sit at this charming mezzedopoleio specialising in seafood. It's simple but so good that we can only advise you to come here. Order a dish of small fried fish to share, drizzle on a fresh raki or white wine and listen to the time go by.

Located at the same address for more than 50 years, just a few steps from the city's central market, Oasis is the street food spot in Hania. A must-visit establishment, it still keeps the secret of the seasoning and marinade that makes the meats so juicy and tasty. Wrapped in a grilled pitta or in the form of a sandwich (the bread used, the other key to success!), the gyros are accompanied by a yoghurt sauce, finely chopped tomatoes, onion, all sprinkled with sweet paprika... A must-taste!

The menu of this "fusion" restaurant, which finds its inspiration in Mexico and Crete, includes revisited dishes, carefully prepared by the renowned chef D. Malandrekis according to traditional Mexican practices. The restaurant opened its doors in 2021 with the ambition of creating a unique place in Hania, and it has already become one of the best restaurants in the city. You can enjoy, among other things, delicious tacos or meats cooked with barbacoa in a banana leaf. The Margarita cocktail is really worth trying!