Taverna Zisis is listed

Taverna Zisis (in Greek “Ταβέρνα Ζήσης”) is an all time classic eatery in Rethymno where one can enjoy all facets of Cretan cuisine. The taverna is the biggest in size and also one of the oldest eateries in Rethymno. It offers a great multitude of Cretan dishes including traditional vegan Cretan cuisine, snails, pies, meat, Cretan barbecue and seafood. These can be ordered as mains or meze dishes to share (as most Cretans do). If you wish to quickly gain an understanding of Cretan food, this should be your fist stop! The taverna has a fixed a la carte menu and a large range of daily specials. Customers have the option to choose what to eat from the purpose-made food showcase of the taverna. As the taverna offers a great range of dishes, you need to visit it at least a few times to get a good impression of its cuisine. As regulars of the place, we usually start our meal with seasonal bitter greens which are nicely boiled and accompany well most Cretan dishes. As starters, we usually order some of the classic highlights of Taverna Zisis. We choose the juicy and soft stuffed vine leaves (“dolmadakia“), which are tender vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs, accompanied with Cretan yoghurt. We also order the signature dish of pan fried and oven baked aubergine in tomato sauce (“melitzanes imam“), topped with grated cheese; easily one of the best executions of this really balanced dish. As mains various meat cuts and Cretan hamburgers on the barbecue are highly recommended. Same applies to meat or vegetable stews and casseroles. As dessert, the taverna brings delicious (although usually cold) doughnuts (“loukoumades“) topped with sesame and honey.

Read the full review and article here!

A truly delicious and hard to make dish perfectly executed; juicy stuffed vine leaves (“dolmadakia”) accompanied with Greek yoghurt

Review of Hasika restaurant

Hasika (in Greek “Χάσικα”) is a Cretan gourmet restaurant that raises the culinary standards of the city of Rethymno. It offers small meze-style dishes that are easily shared, based on local ingredients. The place has a warm and cozy ambience and combines traditional with modern elements in its decor. The menu comprises smaller dishes that can act as starters, rich salads and more substantial meat and seafood dishes that can be ordered as mains. Meat dishes are mainly based on pork or beef. The smoked pork with chickpeas and the beef liver we tried were exceptional. Highlight of the seafood dishes are squid and octopus, prepared in creative ways. The ingredients are locally sourced from all over the island. The chef combines his ingredients in creative ways resulting in well-balanced tastes without letting you forget that you are having Cretan food! The outcome is gourmet Cretan cuisine of very high standard.

Read the full review here!

Green salad comprised of rocket, lentils and black-eyed peas topped with slices of *“apaki”*, a smoked pork speciality from central Crete

Cretan Healthy Bread

There is nothing more basic in a diet than bread. Therefore a healthy diet begins with healthy bread and Cretans eat a lot of it with every meal. The most traditional Cretan bread is the barley rusk (“dakos”) which is very difficult and time consuming to prepare at home. Apart from “dakos”, Cretans eat a great deal of whole grain bread. Our personal favourite whole grain bread is a combination of three kinds of wholemeal flour (“aleuri olikis”), namely spelt (“aleuri zeas”), rye(“aleuri sikalis”) and wheat flour (“starenio aleuri”). We provide a generic recipe for making bread with the use of bread maker that can be executed with any kind of flour suitable for baking. Note that the provided flour types and quantities used correspond to our own favourite flour and seed combination.

See the full machine made recipe by following this link (Cretan Healthy bread)!

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Cretan fish and vegetable soup

Fish has always been regarded as a truly healthy and nutritious food. It is a fantastic source of protein, vitamin D (important when you live in less sunny places!), as well as the best source of omega-3 fatty acids that lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Add to that the amazing properties of vegetables, such as carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes (full of fiber, vitamins and folate) and you get the ultimate health booster; the Cretan “Psarosoupa”, i.e., the Cretan fish and vegetable soup, prepared with egg-lemon broth (“avgokoma”). The open seas surrounding the island of Crete (especially the ones to the south!) are some of the best sources for clean and amazingly tasty fish. The Cretan soil is also heavenly for vegetable gardens. There could not be any greater and more balanced combination of what land and sea offers on this magical island.

See the full story and recipe here!