A Chania food tour and learning about typical Cretan food

Our food tour on Crete in Greece took place in the old city of Chania, located 140 km to the west of Heraklion. We met our local guide George at the Church of Trimartyri, the cathedral of Chania, where he told us a bit about the Cretan diet and the places we'd be visiting in the following hours.

 

What is typical Cretan food?
Eating local products (cereals, fruits, vegetables, and wild greens, fish, wine, little meat, not a lot of dairy) and using a lot of olive oil.

 

Our Chania food tour

Coffee, tea and pastries

George first took us to a local coffee and tea store where we could smell some coffee varieties. Special about this shop was that they have a traditional coffee processor that they still use.

After that, we moved a little further down the road, to bistro Kronos. There the coffee drinkers among us got the chance to taste some real Greek coffee. Those who didn't drink coffee, like me, got a cup of delicious Mountain Tea.

Although the tea was good, my attention soon went to the cupboards of Greek pastries they'd put in front of us. Cookies with almond and loukoumades, fried balls a bit smaller than a ping-pong ball and filled with hot, running honey. Those were amazing. When you put them in your mouth they were just a fried little ball, but when you bit them the honey came flooding out over your tongue.

We were all quite comfortable around our coffee, tea and pastries, but George urged us to get going as there was still a lot to see.

Archondaki Bros
Traditional coffee processing and pastries shop.
45 Mousouron Street, Chania

Kronos
Pastry shop and bistro.
23 Mousouron Street, Chania.

 

Chania Market

From the bistro, we headed towards the marketplace. This kind of made me think of some of the markets in London, or La Boquería in Barcelona. The municipal market in Chania is a market hall with various stores and places where you can grab a bite.

Our first stop was at Cretan Nature, a shop selling traditional Cretan products and biological products. Think herbs and healthy biscuits.

In the store, something brown caught my attention. It looked like chocolate but was called “carob”. I asked the owner of the store and he told me carob is known in Greece as “chocolate for poor people”.

The carob plant holds beans with seeds that weigh about the same, which is why those seeds used to serve as a measurement for weight. It is even believed that the word “carat”, which refers to the unit of mass for gemstones and pearls and the unit of purity for gold, probably comes from the word “carob”.

The things we learn when traveling.

Another thing that got my attention at Cretan Nature were bags of Mountain Tea. I'd just tried this tea for the first time at the bistro we went to and decided to buy a bag to take home with me.

Cretan Nature
Traditional Cretan products and biological products.
Municipal Market, n° 64-66.

 

More pastries

When we left Cretan Nature, George took us for our second portion of pastries that day. First he introduced us to rusk. Rusk is bread that is baked twice to conserve it better. There are different kinds of rusk like there are different kinds of bread and you can eat rusk dry or with some water or olive oil to make it softer.

After the rusk it was time for kalitsounia, typical Greek cheese pies that can be either sweet or salty.

Both variations tasted good, but I have to say that by that time I was starting to get a little full from mixing so many different foods.

Koroniotakis Bakery
Bakery
Municipal Market, n° 2

 

Cheese!

Oh I love cheese. I used to be a real fan of those super soft, super creamy running cheese, but lately I've learned to appreciate older cheeses with a stronger taste as well. So when George took us to a cheese store next, I didn't complain.

Mohlakis is a family business that produces its own cheese and they seem to be good at it, because when we were there the owner was helping one customer after the other.

We got to taste two different kinds of cheeses. One was Graviera, the Creta, Gruyère, but I'm afraid I forgot the name of the second one. I do remember that I liked it, though!

Mohlakis Bros
Traditional Cretan Cheese
Municipal Market n° 54

 

Let there be olive oil

While all the stores we'd visited so far had been stores where locals went to buy their products as well, The Olive Shop, located by the old city walls, wasn't.

Why not?

Well, George told us that no Cretan would ever by olives or olive oil from a store as all Cretans have their own olive trees, or they have family who have their own olive trees. Cretan harvest their own olives and make their own olive oil, thus the olives and oil you can find around the island are only there for the tourists to buy.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, as The Olive Shop had a much larger collection of olive oils than you can find in most stores in Belgium (I can't speak for the rest of Europe).

We got to taste some of the varieties, but what I found weird is that we had to taste the olive oil straight from a spoon and not on a piece of rusk or bread as I thought we would.

Now I like olive oil, but to eat it pure from a spoon… not so much.

Luckily there were raisins and little crackers to eat in between spoons, but it's clear they weren't meant to be had with the olive oil.

The Olive Shop
Olive products: oil, pastes, cosmetics and olive wood objects.
36 Portou Street, Chania.

 

Something a little stronger

The last stop of our tour was at a wine store for some Greek wine tasting. This might come as a shock to some of you, but I don't drink wine. Luckily the store owner had something else for us to try as well: submarines!

Submarines, you ask?

Yes. The concept of a submarine is this: you take a scoop out of a jar with a specific kind of sweet and than put the spoon with the sweet in a glass of water so that the sweet can soften. After a minute or two you take the spoon out and lick the sweet off of it. When finished, you drink the glass of water which now also has a sweet taste.

How was it? Well, very sweet, but good for one spoon.

Miden Agan
Wine and traditional products store
70 Daskalogiani Street, Chania

 

Our Chania food tour: the verdict

This was the first food tour I ever went on, so I don't have anything to compare it to. Overall it was a fun experience. Our guide was knowledgeable and answered questions with pleasure. The food we had was good and I didn't feel completely stuffed when the tour was over, which is a plus as well.

One little point of critique concerns the timing. Maybe this is a southern thing, but our three-hour tour lasted for over four hours. I feel like they may have wanted to cram too many stops into the, as we were urged to move on several times. George didn't seem to mind guiding us for longer, but I have to say that after three hours I was ready to do some exploring on my own.

One other thing is that I felt the tour was more about aperitivos and desserts than the whole range of Cretan food. I think it would have been nice if we had had one sit-down small meal. That didn't have to take long and it didn't have to be a real meal, but just one small plate of something that would have been a typical Greek lunch or dinner dish.

What I liked best? Definitely the Mountain Tea and pastries at the Kronos bistro!
 

Go on a tour in Crete too

Unfortunately, the tour I went on is not being run anymore but I've looked into some other options for you.

This Food Odessey is a 4-hour historical and culinary walking tour around Chania led by a local.

If you prefer something a bit more elaborate (and stronger), have a look at this full-day olive oil and wine tasting 4WD safari.

Lastly, this full-day wine and olive day tour takes you to family wineries and an olive oil factory.
 

Where to stay in Chania

We stayed at a rental house a little outside of Chania. If you'd also like to rent a house or stay in an apartment, I would recommend checking airbnb. Sign up through my link and get a discount on your first stay!

If you prefer staying at a hotel, I've made a selection catering to different budgets and styles below. All of these hotels get a review score of more than 9/10 and offer free WiFi.

Budget option: Kedrissos Hotel
Kedrissos Hotel lies right outside the center of Chania, just a 6-minute walk from the beach. The bus stop to go to Chania lies right across the street from the hotel bus you can also walk there. Kedrissos features a large swimming pool with kids section, an on-site restaurant, and a gym.

Want to stay at Kedrissos hotel? Check here for more reviews, prices, and availability.
 

Boutique option: Fatma Boutique Hotel
Fatma Boutique Hotel lies in the heart of Chania Old Town, in the Venetian Harbor. The beach is just a 10-minute walk away.

All rooms feature a flat-screen tv, an espresso maker, air-conditioning, tea and coffee amenities as well as a seating area.

Guests can enjoy a complimentary certified Greek breakfast in the mornings and enjoy drinks at the on-site bar or on the sun terrace.

Want to stay at Fatma Boutique Hotel? Check here for more reviews, prices, and availability.
 

Luxury option: Ambassador Residence Boutique Hotel
The 5-star Ambassador Residence Boutique Hotel lies in Chania's Venetian Harbor, an 18-minute walk from the beach. This restored house from the 1890s offers air-conditioned rooms and suites with seating areas, flat-screen tv, tea and coffee amenities, and a mini-bar. Most rooms have a view of the harbor and the sea while others feature a spa bath and a balcony.

Guests love how stylish this hotel is and recommend the breakfast.

Want to stay at the Ambassador Residence Boutique Hotel? Check here for more reviews, prices, and availability.
 

How to get to Crete

We flew to Heraklion International Airport and then had a rental car to explore the island.
Check Skyscanner for the best flight options.

And if you also want to rent a car, Rentalcars.com compares options and prices across hundreds of providers so you always get the best deal.
 

Pin for later

 

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The pink beach of Elafonissi
 

The Chania Food Tour was offered to our group by Viator. Please know that I will always write honestly about comped experiences like this one.