I have recently been to Crete, Chania, with my boyfriend, so today’s blog is going to be everything you need to know about my holiday in Crete. (And me reminiscing / wishing I was back).
P.s. I do just want to say, that a lot of the time for me, it’s not about where you go, it’s about who you go with. I feel like I can appreciate the beauty of a place more when I am enjoying the company I am with.
So step 1: get good company lol.
The food in Crete
We were self catering. Which basically means we’re making breakfast ourselves (which is easy because, cereal). As well as making a few sandwiches in the week, so that we aren’t going out for every single meal and spending a sh*t ton of money.
Lunches / daytime food
There aren’t as many to review, because we were around the pool / beach a lot of days, where we packed sandwiches and crisps for us to snack on, but here’s what we had:
Starting out with a bang
Restaurant name: Barbarossa cafe
Rating: 5 stars.
This sandwich was everything I was craving and more. I had a similar one in Corfu, Greece, so when I found one in Chania, Crete I was so excited!!
Firstly, the location of the restaurant was heavenly. We were right on the harbour, and me and my boyfriend actually got a seat right on the edge of the harbour (as you can see in the photo).
Anyway back to the food… me and my boyfriend both got a chicken club sandwich.
The bread was unreal. It was crunchy but fluffy on the inside and it came with crisps on the side.
Are you a crisp sandwich kind of girl or an eat them separate kind of girl? (I am the first one – no judgment here).
The key takeaway from this restaurant: the location was beautiful and the chicken club sandwich was amazing!!
Restaurant name: Golden Bay restaurant
Rating: 4.5 stars.
This was a little more pricy, but definitely worth it.
Again, the views of the beach were amazing and added to the overall vibe. The staff were super friendly and really professional!
The food was amazing. I got the chicken souvlaki, and my boyfriend got the burger with bacon and cheese.
P.s I just thought I’d mention, we always share / try each others food, so I’m going off two opinions here lol.
The location gave off beach club vibes, but it was still casual as you could wear your bikini cover ups in there!
We got given nice little chocolates when we got the bill.
The key takeaway from this restaurant: the location being right next to the beach is super ideal, it is casual, but also very professional and friendly!
Restaurant name: Domenico Handcrafted Gelato and Coffee
Rating: 5 star!
This was by far the best Ice Cream I have ever had in my life!
They make it in front of you with fresh milk, and you can add any ingredients / flavours of your choice!
We went with peanut butter, salted caramel, banana, and pistachios.
When I tell you I gasped when I tasted this, I am being for real!
The portion size was massive. Me and my boyfriend enjoyed sharing one, I don’t think we could’ve handled two lol.
The staff were super friendly and talkative too!!
Key takeaway from this restaurant: the best Ice cream I have ever had!! Please go!!
Keeping it real
One of the places we went called 9STR and I wouldn’t recommend.
It has good reviews, and I’m sure this could be a one off (hopefully).
But when we were eating our food, we found 3 separate hairs in our food. We aren’t the type to complain at all, so when we found the first little hair, we put it to the side and ignored it. But then we found a bigger hair and we had to say something.
That’s all I am going to say on that, because I’d rather focus on the positives, but not everything is perfect, some things just don’t work out!
Evening meals
The evening meals did not disappoint!
Restaurant name: Zycos grill & pizza
Rating: 5 star
Starting off with this gyros, because after all, we are in Greece!
This was €3.80 which is amazing!! You can see the generous portion, for that amount of money which is amazing!!
It is probably one of the best gyros’s I’ve ever had!!
The staff were super friendly and inviting! The manager always waved to us whenever we walked passed the restaurant, and he wasn’t overly pushy as well (as many of them can be to tourists).
My boyfriend got the chicken pasta, which was super nice as well, however if you went there, I would definitely recommend getting the gyros!!
They also gave us free cake at the end which was amazing!!
This is an amazing spot if you are still wanting to go out on the evening, but are wanting to save your money!!
The key takeaway from this restaurant: if you’re wanting to save money, but still have a delicious and filling meal, this is the one!
Restaurant name: Oregano’s pizza restaurant
Rating: 4 star
This one I would recommend, but I probably wouldn’t go again.
Not that there was anything wrong with the food, it was beautiful. But sometimes you only need to try a restaurant out once, and then there’s no wow factor pulling you to it again.
I got the spicy pizza with pepperoni, peppers and chillis. My boyfriend got the pesto pasta (which was unreal by the way).
We both really enjoyed and ended up rolling back to our hotel because we had ate so much lol!
We got a free shot of alcohol and free cake! The alcohol was NOT for me, it was the strongest shot I’ve ever had. But if you drink more than me, you may think I’m being dramatic. The cake was similar to the free one we got in Zycos, and it was delicious!
The key takeaway from this restaurant: the pesto pasta is a definite recommendation if you come here!
Restaurant name: Move on
Rating: 4.75 stars.
This was more of a casual evening meal!
I have never had a savoury crepe before. Honestly, I’ve always been to scared to try them because crepes in my mind are always sweet.
But I am SO GLAD we got this savoury crepe!! It was the chicken ceaser crepe, and it was literally amazing!!
I would highly recommend getting that if you went here!!
The portion sizes are HUGE! Me and my boyfriend shared the savoury crepe’s because there was so many!
We finished off the night with a sweet crepe, filled with Nutella, banana, strawberries, and powdered sugar. It was delicious, very filling, we literally rolled to our hotel afterwards lol.
The key takeaway from this restaurant: very very generous portion sizes!!
Restaurant name: Aroma
Rating: 5
The food and service were amazing!
The portion sizes, again, were HUGE, I literally couldn’t finish all of my meal!
I got the chicken pesto linguine, and my boyfriend got the prawn linguine.
I would 100% recommend the chicken linguine. The flavour was so intense and just incredible!!
I’m not the biggest fan of seafood, but my boyfriend enjoyed his prawn linguine, however he said he has had better.
The location and vibe of the place was bustling, and some local Greeks were eating there, which must mean it’s good!!
I’d happily go here again!
The key takeaway from this restaurant: the chicken pesto linguine was one of the best meals I had! The location was right next to the harbour so the views were also beautiful!
Restaurant name: Zepos restaurant
Rating: a massive 5 star!
I SAVED THE BEST RESTAURANT TILL LAST!
This was by far my favourite evening!
The vibes in this restaurant were immaculate. It was one of our most expensive meals. But I would definitely recommend over and over, and I would 100% go there again!!
I got the carbonara. At first I thought I’d made a mistake, because I thought I’d played it too safe. But when I tell you this was probably the BEST carbonara I have ever had, I am not lying!
My boyfriend got pizza with Gouda cheese, chicken, rocket and mushrooms. Again, probably one of the best pizza’s I have ever had. And it’s not even that unique flavour wise. It’s literally chicken and cheese.
But there was something about it that was just sensational.
The location was beautiful. We could see the harbour from where we were sat. There were sofa seats located looking towards the harbour, but we opted for a table (because there will be less chance of us spilling food lol).
The restaurant itself was beautiful!! I went to the bathroom and it was stunning and looked so expensive!!
Key takeaway from this restaurant: everything!!! The view, the food, the service, the location!! Amazing!!
Activities / things to do in Crete
The main thing we did this holiday: strolled around the old town and chilled.
If you are wanting a nice relaxing holiday, then I would definitely recommend Crete!
Chania old town
The old town is beautiful! Whether you want a stroll along the harbour, or to do some shopping, (Or eat tons of food) the old town has you covered!
You can sit along the harbour and take in the views, or you can walk all the way along to the lighthouse (pictured in the first picture)!
I would recommend walking along to the lighthouse if you like seeing the architecture of older buildings!
The lighthouse was first built in the 16th century and then rebuilt in the 1800s after the Turkish occupation, so it is pretty cool to be able to walk along it!
There are so many cool little buildings and shops in Chania old town, I would definitely recommend having a stroll around!
Beaches
We had a few beach days, and they were some of my favourite days!! The beaches here are SO nice!
I do just want to mention that to have 2 sun loungers and an umbrella, it was €10-12!
Chania beach / Sunset beach
I say Chania / Sunset beach, because the loungers that we were sitting on in the photos were part of a hotel, which we didn’t realise, so we shortly got kicked off them (understandably). So we walked along the beach to Sunset beach (literally the same place, but further along it was called Sunset beach).
It was beautiful!
The water was shallow which I personally love, but my boyfriend wanted deeper water, so it’s all down to your preferences!
This is the beach that has the Golden Bay restaurant right next to it, so I would say this was probably my favourite beach that we went to!
Yannis beach
The sea was deeper at this beach which pleased my boyfriend lol.
It was quite busy, but that is expected in the middle of June!
There was a little food place / restaurant right next to it (which we didn’t go to) so that’s very handy!!
Beaches are beaches! Unless there was something seriously bad about a beach I went to in Crete, I would recommend them all, because beach days (to me) are the best days!!
Thank you for reading <3
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Hopefully this has gave you a little insight into Chania, Crete to decide if it’s for you!
I know there wasn’t much activity going on, but if you are wanting to chill and eat good food, then Crete is great!
P.s I have a holiday outfit and beauty checklist that I used for this holiday in Crete if you want to check it out! http://bigsisterera.com/outfit-and-beauty-holiday-checklist-you-need-this-summer/
Leave a Reply