Old Mill and Elounda Beach, both in Elounda, have sommelier-led wine programs with extensive lists. Argonaut, in Elounda Beach, has an exceptional wine program and an extensive list.
Old Mill is a Cretan fine dining restaurant in Elounda. Its wine program is sommelier-led, and extensive. Menus run a la carte and as a set menu, and the kitchen has an EP Club Creative Cooking highlight.
This seafront restaurant in Elounda serves modern Mediterranean seafood a la carte, on the water, with live music. The list is extensive and sommelier-led, with a Star Wine List White Star (2026).
Argonaut, in Elounda Beach, is an Italian restaurant at Elounda Beach Hotel. It serves creative Italian cuisine a la carte. The wine program is exceptional, and the wine list is extensive.
Neoria Fish Tavern- Xilouris sits on the Old Venetian Port, and Anassa À La Carte Restaurant sits in Chania Old Town.
A traditional Cretan fish tavern on the Old Venetian Port with an extensive wine list. It serves fresh seafood a la carte and family style, with harbourfront seating and a casual pace.
A modern Mediterranean à la carte bistro in Chania Old Town with a standard wine program. The setting is waterfront and the menu leans into fresh Mediterranean dishes, with breakfast and brunch among its stated strengths.
Bahar is in Old Town, with courtyard service of modern Cretan and Eastern Mediterranean food. It has a wine list, a la carte and small plates, and a craft-cocktail list.
Deck serves buffet breakfasts and a la carte dinners in cooler months. Amirandes The Restaurant and Artemis each serve buffet and a la carte formats.
A sea-facing terrace restaurant at Elounda Mare with buffet breakfasts and à la carte dinners in cooler months. The format shifts with the season, and the cooking stays rooted in Greek and international dishes.
Amirandes The Restaurant is the main buffet restaurant at Amirandes in Kato Gouves, in a waterfront resort. The room sits beside a lagoon with live music and serves Mediterranean and international buffets plus a la carte.
A beachfront all-day restaurant in Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas with buffet and à la carte service. The room is set up for Mediterranean and international dining directly on the water.
Heraklion has two wineries in the guide. Boutari Wineries Crete, in Skalani / Fantaxometocho Estate, offers vineyard and cellar tours with tastings, Domaine Paterianakis, in Melesses, works with organic and biodynamic methods and indigenous grapes, and Peskesi, in Heraklion center, is a restaurant with an extensive wine list.
Boutari Wineries Crete is in Skalani / Fantaxometocho Estate, near Knossos, in Heraklion. Tours include the vineyard and the cellar, plus tastings of Vidiano, Kotsifali, Mandilari, Vilana, and Malvasia di Candia. It holds a Falstaff Winery listing (2026).
Domaine Paterianakis is a women-led family winery in Melesses, in the Peza region, in the agricultural interior of the Heraklion regional unit. Winemaking there is organic and biodynamic, using rare indigenous grapes.
Peskesi, in Heraklion center, has an extensive wine list. The restaurant occupies a restored mansion, and the kitchen uses heritage breeds and aged cheeses. It serves a la carte and small plates.
Heraklion has more wine lists in this guide than Elounda. They are Peskesi (Heraklion center), Anasa Restaurant, Kastella Seafood Restaurant (Heraklion Port), and Blue Monkey (Amirandes Resort, Heraklion). Old Mill and Elounda Beach (both Elounda) have programs, and Argonaut (Elounda Beach) has an exceptional wine program.
Our Crete guide has no Michelin-starred restaurants. Domes Aulūs Elounda in Elounda, Seaside A Lifestyle Resort in Agia Pelagia, and Rimondi Boutique Hotel in Old Town each hold Michelin Selected recognition (2025).
Only Old Mill in Elounda and Argo Restaurant in Elounda serve a set menu in this guide. Nothing in this guide is called a tasting menu. Old Mill also serves a la carte, and Argo Restaurant also serves a la carte.
Elounda Beach, in Elounda, holds a Star Wine List White Star (2026). Boutari Wineries Crete, in Skalani / Fantaxometocho Estate, and Pnevmatikakis Winery, in Drapanias, each hold a Falstaff Winery listing (2026).
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
Awards in Crete
Hover any badge for the full award name. Counts reflect venues holding each accolade in Crete.
Crete
Selected entries from the current guide for Crete.
Elounda, Greece
Anthos belongs to the Elounda conversation where Crete’s produce, olive oil, seafood, herbs, and resort dining expectations meet. With few public specifics attached to the restaurant, the sensible read is contextual: judge it as part of the Agios Nikolaos and Mirabello Bay dining circuit, where ingredient provenance matters more than decorative luxury language.
Elounda, Greece
Deck is the terrace dining room at Elounda Mare, framed by Mirabello Bay and built around a seasonal reading of Crete rather than a destination-restaurant script. Breakfast runs on a generous buffet with hot dishes prepared to order, while cooler-month dinners move into à la carte Greek and international cooking with daily dishes drawn from across the country.
Elounda, Greece
Elounda Beach holds a White Star recognition on Star Wine List, placing its cellar among the more seriously programs on the Cretan coastline. The setting, on the Lassithi shore of eastern Crete, puts the restaurant within a region where proximity to local producers shapes what ends up on the table. For wine-focused diners visiting eastern Crete, it represents a credible anchor point.
Elounda, Greece
A creative Greek kitchen in Elounda operating under the kind of no-frills discipline that defines the country's best taverna tradition. Chef Kyle Bloomer's menu has earned an EP Club Creative Cooking highlight, signalling a kitchen that treats Cretan ingredients as the argument rather than the backdrop. For the Greek island dining guide, this is a reliable reference point in a town better known for resort excess.
Elounda, Greece
The Yacht Club Restaurant, perched on a dramatic edge and overlooking the beach below, serves lunch during the entire season. Dinner is served here in the summer months, emphasizing on local Seafood.
Elounda, Greece
"F" RESTAURANT sits in Elounda, where Cretan cooking is shaped by fishing boats, olive groves, and resort-season dining rhythms. The draw is less about formal accolades than about how a dinner here fits the town’s ingredient-led Greek table: produce, seafood, herbs, and the slower evening pace that defines this stretch of Crete.
Heraklion, Greece
Amirandes The Restaurant is the lagoon-side main restaurant at Amirandes in Gouves, placing resort dining inside Crete’s ingredient-led tradition rather than treating it as a generic hotel meal. The draw is the setting: an ornamental lagoon, open-air resort rhythm, and a Cretan context where olive oil, herbs, seafood, vegetables, and dairy carry more weight than culinary theatrics.
Elounda, Greece
A rooftop canteen in Elounda, Amphiteàtro | PITA Canteen fits the town’s casual, view-led dining rhythm rather than the tasting-menu circuit. Its appeal is less about ceremony than the Cretan logic of simple formats, local produce, and a setting above Schisma Elountas that makes a quick meal feel anchored to place.
Elounda, Greece
Amphiteàtro | Tesoro Mio is a rooftop address in Elounda, where the appeal sits in the town’s open-air dining rhythm rather than in published awards or chef-led theatre. Read it through the Cretan resort context: sea air, evening light, and a setting that belongs to the slower end of Elounda’s restaurant scene.
Heraklion, Greece
Anasa Restaurant belongs to the beachside end of Heraklion dining, where proximity to the water matters as much as formal culinary labeling. Its Karteros setting makes it better read through Crete’s ingredient culture: seafood, vegetables, olive oil, and the island habit of letting sourcing carry the meal rather than technique alone.
Chania, Greece
Anassa À La Carte Restaurant belongs to the coastal-dining side of Chania, where the argument is less about ceremony than proximity: sea air, Cretan produce, and a meal paced around the beach rather than the city grid. With no public awards or chef-led tasting format attached, it reads as a situational choice for travelers prioritising location and local ingredient logic over destination-restaurant theatre.
Chania, Greece
Anthea Main Buffet Restaurant fits the Kournas beach side of Chania dining, where buffet service answers the needs of families, resort guests, and mixed groups better than a tightly scripted taverna meal. The editorial interest is less ceremony than sourcing logic: Cretan cooking is strongest when vegetables, olive oil, dairy, and grilled staples stay close to their regional identity.
Elounda, Greece
ARETOUSSA belongs to Elounda’s quieter dining register: a Cretan address where the point is less spectacle than place, season and proximity to the sea. In a resort town split between hotel dining rooms, waterfront tavernas and polished destination restaurants, it reads as a useful counterweight for travelers who want Greek cooking anchored in local ingredients rather than ceremony.
Elounda, Greece
Argo Restaurant belongs to Elounda’s resort-coast dining circuit, where the strongest meals usually depend less on theatre than on access to Cretan produce, seafood traditions, olive oil, herbs, and summer vegetables. With few formal details published, it is better read as a local dining option to compare against Elounda’s Greek and terroir-led restaurants than as an awards-led destination meal.
Elounda, Greece
Argonaut fits the seaside rhythm of Elounda, where Cretan cooking is strongest when it stays close to the island’s growers, fishing culture, olive oil and herbs. With no formal awards or price tier published, the useful way to read it is as part of the town’s broader waterfront dining circuit rather than as a destination tasting-menu address.
Elounda, Greece
ARIADNE fits Elounda’s dining context, where Cretan produce, resort-season rhythms, and the Mirabello Bay setting shape the meal as much as any formal culinary label. Treat it as a local reference point for ingredient-led Greek island dining, especially if the plan is to compare Elounda’s hotel restaurants, waterfront tables, and nearby Agios Nikolaos options in one trip.
Elounda, Greece
Artemis belongs to the quieter side of Elounda dining, where the conversation is less about spectacle than about Crete’s raw materials: olive oil, vegetables, herbs, seafood and lamb shaped by a dry, coastal climate. With no formal award signal or published price band attached, it reads as a restaurant to judge through setting, sourcing logic and fit within a resort-town evening rather than trophy credentials.
Chania, Greece
Bahar belongs to the coastal Crete dining pattern where proximity to farms, fisheries, olive groves, and tourist-season footfall shapes the table as much as formal chef culture. Its Kournas Beach setting near Georgioupolis places it outside Chania’s denser old-town circuit, making the useful comparison less about awards and more about ingredient access, beachside pacing, and regional Greek cooking.
Elounda, Greece
Blue Door Taverna fits the beachside Plaka rhythm: Cretan cooking framed by water, small boats, and the ingredient logic of eastern Crete. The draw is not ceremony but provenance, with fish, olive oil, herbs, and vegetables doing the heavy lifting in a village that looks across to Spinalonga.
Elounda, Greece
Blue Lagoon Restaurant & Sushi Bar brings a sushi-bar format into Elounda’s resort dining orbit, where Cretan seafood culture meets the international habits of the Mirabello Bay hotel corridor. Use it as a category choice rather than a trophy-table play: the draw is the Asian-leaning format in a town otherwise shaped by tavernas, grilled fish, and waterfront Greek cooking.
Heraklion, Greece
Blue Monkey sits in Gouves, east of Heraklion, in a part of Crete where resort dining, family tavernas, and coastal restaurants overlap. With no public awards, chef details, or published price tier attached, it is better read through its setting than through trophy signals: a casual Heraklion-area choice shaped by the island’s mixed audience of residents, holidaymakers, and returning Greek families.
Heraklion, Greece
Caléa by Gerardo Metta fits the Heraklion dining conversation through a Cretan lens: coastal produce, island agriculture, and the sharper expectations now attached to resort-adjacent restaurants. The useful way to read it is not as a standalone address, but as part of a broader move toward ingredient-led cooking around Heraklion, where seafood, olive oil, herbs, and seasonal vegetables carry the argument.
Heraklion, Greece
Where the Cretan Coast Meets the Plate The stretch of Heraklion seafront along Leoforos Sofokli Venizelou carries a particular quality in the early evening: the light off the Aegean shifts from white to amber, fishing vessels sit low in the...
Heraklion, Greece
On a quiet street in central Heraklion, Kotonostimié draws on the deep culinary traditions of Crete rather than tourist-facing approximations of Greek food. The address on Monis Odigitrias places it within walking distance of the city's older residential quarters, where local dining culture operates on different terms than the harbour-front strip. For those reading Cretan cuisine seriously, it belongs on the shortlist alongside Peskesi and Kastella.
Crete
Selected entries from the current guide for Crete.
Elounda, Greece
Named Europe's Leading Luxury Villa Resort at the 2025 World Travel Awards and a member of Leading Hotels of the World, Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas occupies a privileged position on Crete's Mirabello Bay. The property competes in the upper tier of Elounda's concentrated luxury hotel strip, where address, water access, and villa scale separate the leading options from the rest.
Elounda, Greece
Positioned between the fishing village of Plaka and the port of Elounda on Crete's northeastern coast, Phaea Blue is a small-scale SLH-member property with direct beach access and unobstructed views of Spinalonga Island. The accommodation runs from bungalows and suites to a three-bedroom private villa, with a design language drawn from Greek art, natural materials, and local craft traditions. It occupies a quieter register of Aegean luxury than the larger resort complexes in the area.
Elounda, Greece
Elounda Gulf Villas is a Small Luxury Hotels of the World member on the Cretan hillside above the Gulf of Mirabello, with 18 private villas and 15 suites, each oriented toward Spinalonga Island. Three consecutive appearances in Tatler's '101 Best Hotels of the World' and a World Travel Awards Greece's Leading Villa title frame its position at the quieter, more private end of Elounda's competitive luxury tier.
Agios Nikolaos, Greece
Positioned along Mirabello Bay on Crete's northeastern coast, St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas occupies a stretch of seafront that places it firmly in the upper tier of Agios Nikolaos luxury. Suites and villas overlook the bay directly, while citrus gardens, a private beach, and multiple dining venues define the property's character. Booking well in advance is advisable, particularly for peak summer months.
Elounda, Greece
Domes Aulūs Elounda is an adults-only, all-inclusive resort on Crete's Mirabello Bay, where private-pool suites and gourmet dining sit against one of Greece's most photographed coastlines. The property positions itself in Elounda's upper tier of design-led hospitality, pairing high-energy entertainment with the architectural language of the Aegean. For travellers seeking structured luxury without sacrifice, it makes a compelling case.
Heraklion, Greece
Positioned above the protected cove of Agia Pelagia on Crete's northern coast, Seaside A Lifestyle Resort trades on the island's deep tradition of grounded hospitality rather than generic resort spectacle. For visitors approaching from Heraklion, roughly 20 kilometres to the east, it offers a quieter coastal register than the city itself.
Rethymno, Greece
Set along the Episkopi coastline west of Rethymno, OROS Luxury Beach Resort operates at a scale, 185 rooms, that places it among the larger resort addresses on Crete's northern shore. The property's beach-facing position and room count put it in a distinct tier from the boutique guesthouses of Rethymno's old town, making it a different proposition for travellers who want resort infrastructure alongside Cretan coastal access.
Chania, Greece
A 17th-century Venetian mansion on Theofanous Street in Chania's Old Town, Casa Delfino has been held by the same family since 1835. Its position in the Venetian Quarter places it among Chania's most architecturally distinguished addresses, with suites and a roof terrace oriented toward the harbour. For travellers prioritising historic fabric and location over resort amenities, it occupies a distinct tier.
Elounda, Greece
A Leading Hotels of the World member on the Cretan waterfront at Schisma Eloundas, Elounda Bay Palace sits within one of Greece's most concentrated clusters of high-end resort properties. The property operates at a tier where anticipatory service and setting work together, positioning it against a peer group that includes Elounda Beach Hotel and Elounda Mare. Advance planning is advised for peak Aegean season.
Rethymno, Greece
Rimondi Boutique Hotel in Rethymno offers refined boutique accommodation in Crete’s Venetian quarter. Stay in the Palazzo Collection or Estate Collection with romantic courtyard pools and a poolside Cretan breakfast. Historic Venetian‑Renaissance architecture, 33 rooms and suites, and attentive Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) service create a calm, intimate retreat five minutes from the Venetian Harbour. Expect warm stone facades, palm-shaded patios, hand-selected fabrics in suites, and discreet modern comforts like complimentary Wi‑Fi and air conditioning. Well-suited for couples and culture seekers, Rimondi Boutique Hotel delivers quiet luxury, direct access to Old Town alleyways, and a sensory mix of sea salt, lemon trees, and evening lantern light.
Chania, Greece
Named Europe's Leading Honeymoon Resort at the 2025 World Travel Awards, Domes Noruz Chania sits at the upper end of Chania's luxury accommodation tier, positioning itself against design-led boutique properties rather than large resort complexes. Its address on Strati Pantelaki Street places guests within reach of the Venetian Harbour and the old town's layered architecture, making location as much of the offer as the rooms themselves.
Elounda, Greece
Three-time World Travel Awards winner in 2025, Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection holds recognition as both Europe's and the World's Leading Luxury Family Resort alongside Greece's Leading Luxury All-Suite Hotel. Set along the Schisma Elountas coastline in Elounda, the property positions itself in the upper tier of Cretan resort hospitality, where suite-format accommodation and programme depth define the competitive set.
Heraklion, Greece
Positioned between a nature reserve and two sandy beaches on the northern coast of Crete, Amirandes draws on Minoan architectural language to shape a resort that reads more like a private water palace than a conventional hotel complex. Seven restaurants, beachfront villas with private pools, and a seafront Olympic pool place it at the upper end of the Heraklion luxury market, with year-round programming that extends well beyond the peak summer window.
Chania, Greece
Positioned on the Georgioupoli coastline in western Crete, Anemos Luxury Grand Resort holds three international awards across luxury lifestyle, family beach, and coastal resort categories. The property sits within a tier of large-scale Cretan resorts that have moved away from generic package-hotel formats toward design-led, full-service experiences for families and couples seeking direct beach access with genuine amenity depth.
Chania, Greece
Named Greece's Leading Luxury Private Villa at the 2025 World Travel Awards, Cavo Dago (Etouri) occupies a distinct tier in Chania's private accommodation market, one where anticipatory service and spatial seclusion define the guest experience. The property operates through the Etouri platform, positioning it within a curated network of high-end villa stays on Crete's northwestern coast.
Agios Nikolaos, Greece
Daios Cove occupies a private cove in Vathi, on the eastern flank of Crete near Agios Nikolaos, where five-star accommodation meets architecture designed to recede into the surrounding rock and hillside rather than compete with it. Six dining and bar venues, a 2,500sqm wellness facility operated in partnership with Goco, and direct access to a secluded private beach position it firmly in the design-led, low-footprint tier of Greek luxury hospitality.
Chania, Greece
On a secluded stretch of Cretan coastline just outside Chania's old town, Domes Zeen anchors its identity in the Greek concept of Ef Zeen, the art of living well. Tropical vegetation, beachfront access, and uninterrupted views over the bay define the physical setting, while walkable proximity to Chania's Venetian harbour places it between purposeful retreat and active cultural immersion.
Chania, Greece
Eliros Mare sits on the Kavros coastline in the Apokoronou region of Chania, where the Cretan sea runs shallow and pale before deepening toward the open Mediterranean. The property holds Global Winner status as a Luxury Seaside Hotel and a Continent Winner designation as a Luxury Private Beach Resort, placing it among a small peer group of Aegean properties that compete on beach access and setting rather than urban convenience.
Elounda, Greece
A family-run Relais & Châteaux property on the Gulf of Mirabello, Elounda Mare Hotel has anchored the upper tier of Cretan hospitality for decades. Villas with private plunge pools and direct sea access sit alongside a sandy beach on one of the Aegean's most sheltered coastlines. Rates from US$337 per night.
Chania, Greece
Mythos Palace Resort & Spa sits on the river-fed edge of Crete's interior near Kournas, carrying three luxury awards across regional, global, and continental categories. The property places itself in the eco-conscious, destination-resort tier that has grown quietly in western Crete, offering an alternative to the island's coastline-heavy hotel concentration.
Chania, Greece
Pepper Sea Club Hotel sits on Kournas Beach in Georgioupolis, a stretch of Crete's northwestern coast that trades resort-strip density for open shoreline and quieter surroundings. The property holds three international awards across the luxury adults-only and romantic hotel categories, placing it in a specific tier of Cretan beach accommodation that prioritises atmosphere over capacity. It is one of the more awarded adults-only beach properties in the Chania region.
Chania, Greece
Ventale Island Breeze Resort sits on Kournas Beach in Chania, Crete, recognised as both Global Winner for Luxury New Resort and Country Winner for Luxury Island Resort. The property occupies the quieter western stretch of the island, where the Cretan coastline softens into long shallow bays. It represents the newer wave of Greek resort development: award-validated, beach-anchored, and positioned at the premium end of the Chania market.
Heraklion, Greece
Autograph Collection sits within Marriott's independent-spirit tier, a positioning that places it among Heraklion's more characterful hotel options rather than its generic resort corridor. As a brand, Autograph properties are selected for architectural or cultural distinctiveness, making the Heraklion address a point of interest for travellers moving between Crete's northern coast and the city's Minoan heritage sites. Booking details are best confirmed directly through Marriott's reservation platform.
Crete
Selected entries from the current guide for Crete.
Chania, Greece
Heraklion, Greece
Aeri Pool Bar fits Heraklion’s beachside drinking circuit rather than its late-night cocktail-room lane. The appeal is the Karteros setting: pool-bar ease, coastal pacing, and a drinks format that works better as a relaxed stop than a destination for documented awards or chef-led ceremony.
Chania, Greece
Crete
Selected entries from the current guide for Crete.
Heraklion, Greece
Boutari Wineries Crete gives Heraklion’s wine country a polished estate format: vineyard setting, cellar and production-area tours, and tastings built around Cretan varieties. The stronger editorial reason to go is terroir education, with Archanes PDO, Skalani, Fantaxometocho and the Boutari group history giving context to Vidiano, Kotsifali, Mandilari, Vilana and Malvasia di Candia.
Heraklion, Greece
The address situates it in the agricultural interior of the Heraklion regional unit, where the elevation and soil profiles that define serious Cretan viticulture are most concentrated.
Heraklion, Greece
Diamantakis Winery belongs to the modern Cretan wine story: family-owned, rooted in Heraklion’s vine-growing hinterland, and focused on native grapes grown at altitude. Its 15 hectares near Mount Psiloritis give the visit a rural, vineyard-first character, while international competition medals place the wines beyond the purely local circuit.
Chania, Greece
Pnevmatikakis Winery gives western Crete a low-friction wine stop with more cultural structure than a standard tasting room. The family-run site in Chania combines production areas, a stone-built cellar, a wine museum, and tastings on a veranda facing the Gulf of Kissamos, with Syrah, Moscato Spinas, Grenache Rouge, and Kotsifali anchoring the portfolio.
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