crete: home of the BEST meal of my life
as someone who eats out more than in, I don't say this lightly
Normally, I like to write about this trip in chronological order; it just makes the most sense to my brain. This is the first time I am breaking that pattern. Why? Because I had the best dinner I’ve ever had in my life while visiting Greece’s biggest island, Crete. Baest, one of the first restaurants we visited during this trip in Copenhagen- where I ate the BEST pizza of my life has finally been dethroned and I simply cannot wait to gush about it. So Athens, our first Greek destination, will simply have to wait.
I’ll cut right to the chase, this restaurant is called Leventis Taverna, located just outside the city of Chania with a backdrop of a gorgeous valley of olive groves. But before I get into the restaurant itself, let me give you a bit of information on Crete. Crete is a total hub for food lovers: it produces 30% of olive oil for Greece, honey, yoghurt & has a great climate for growing produce. Crete also has it’s own distinct culture around food, with many traditional dishes not as widely spread around Greece. All of this to say that when in Crete, if you eat at the right places, you are truly eating right from the source- which was the case with our meal at Leventis, where they use local, raw ingredients to cook up traditional dishes, including from their own garden. The restaurant has no website, no menu posted (aside from what you dig up in google reviews- which fairly accurate, actually) and I highly recommend calling to reserve. This is no hidden gem: the restaurant has won awards with the Greek Cuisine Awards for being one of Greece’s best restaurants every year since 2011. Trust me, this is WELL deserved.
The Restaurant
Honestly, even before being sat and trying the food, I was already thrilled with the decision to call and make a reservation a week prior. After parking our car street side (on a more narrow street on the edge of quite the drop; I will say, driving in Crete isn’t for the weak) we approached what looked to be more of a home shrouded in greenery than a restaurant. Once we entered, we saw that the bungalow-like restaurant opened up completely… and you guys. Perched right on the edge of a gorgeous valley with a view of the mountains…. we were blown away. We were greeted warmly and taken to our seats on the patio right along the edge, in a corner that ensured our views would be completely unobstructed all night long. It was the best view I’ve ever eaten with- even better than the one at le plongeoir in Nice, and usually I am a total ocean view girlie.
Honestly, if the food and service was just okay, I would have been ecstatic with the backdrop alone. But of course, Greek hospitality ensured that the service was wayy above “okay.” And most importantly, the food followed suit.
We were served by I think the owner? The place had a very family-run feel, and he was very passionate about explaining the menu and making recommendations- which I loved. The prices, by the way, were beyond reasonable- which was insane given the view. The menu was also very transparent. I had a craving for squid, and the menu noted it was from frozen (probably not the season) whereas the other fish dishes were freshly caught. Anyways, it was time to order, and we had begun to actively rebel against our tendency to way over order in Greece and decided we get one shareable (or mezze), a salad (healthy!) and a main each. We failed at this. Let’s start with the mezze we ordered, which we had decided would be a Cretan salad and knew we had to order one their pies, as our unofficial rule for Crete was to always order pie! Why? Because when I was researching Crete one message really stood out: order all things pie. I took this message to heart, and without fail, the pie dishes have alway been our favourite.
Pie side note: In Crete pie looks… different. Often, what “pie” means is more of a thin pita stuffed with a thin layer of cheese or greens. It looks very crepe like. However, there were some pies that appeared more like a fried turnover and some that look like a more like a pot pie. Except, the pie crust is very different than a North American one. Yeah, it’s a touch confusing- but no matter what you are served, it will impress.
So we opted to get the small meat pie, not knowing what to expect besides it being stuffed with lamb and cheese!
For mains, I ordered the cuttlefish- much to the owners chagrin. At this restaurant, I did what I would ordinarily discourage- I went against advice. When taking our orders, we were passionately shown the selection of fresh fish. I said I really wanted cuttle fish (which, in fairness, was super highly raved about in reviews), and he encouraged me otherwise, noting the fish was better, as it was caught fresh. Normally I’d say okay, I trust you, but I was just really not in the mood for fish. So I said squid was fine- I’m from middle of Canada, seafood from frozen is my baseline lol. He seemed disappointed, and told me, “next time try the fish.”
Dan ordered the rabbit and separately, potatoes, thinking it didn’t come with anything else. Rookie mistake, as we were informed. The rabbit already had fries, so he passionately encouraged us to get the stalos pie. We thought yeah, why not? And that’s how we ended up with five HUGE dishes, once again, over ordering. But… we cleaned every plate.
The Salad
This came first. Side note: food doesn’t get served all at once in Greece: it’s staggered. But… it’s less focused on courses. So yeah we got the salad first, but it was followed by the pies five minutes later… than the mains. It gives you a chance to try each dish while its fresh and hot, but you don’t really have time to finish it before more food is piled on your table. I love this- it’s fun to have different bites verses just the one course. Anyways, the Cretan salad is basically a Greek salad, but it’s topped with mizithra cheese and has barley rusks in it- kinda like a giant earthy crouton. This salad was huuuuge and had large chunks of crisp tomatoes. We were given a mini bottle of some delicious olive oil, and it was kind of a diy dressing situation- where we had full control of how much oil went in- love! The rusks ended up soaking up the juices from the veg and olive oil, but were still crunchy so the taste and texture just killed. This salad quickly surpassed my love for Greek salad.
The Pies
Okay. So we loved the salad, loved our mains, but these pies are really what secured Leventis as our favourite restaurant of all time. My gosh, where they good. The stalos pie was essentially cheese encased in a light layer of dough. It was fried golden with a slight crisp, but it felt so light you almost wouldn’t think it was. The slight saltiness of the molten cheese, the balance of the sweet honey, the crisp of the pastry… it was our favourite dish, it blew our minds. To think we weren’t even going to get it… I am beyond grateful for this recommendation because wow.
Then came the small meat pie. Small. I was sure a mistake had been made and we were given the large because it was HUGE. But nope, we were charged for a small. This was like a pot pie, but not with an American style crust. Honestly.. the pastry is something I’m not sure how to describe. Nothing like a pie crust, not puff pastry or laminated in texture… it was almost cracker like in quality? It had a great crisp, but unlike crackers, it was very moist. It may be the best pie “shell” I have ever had in my life, honestly. And that coating of sesame on top? Perfection. I also loved the filling. It was generously packed with tender, shredded lamb and a mild cheese to balance it out. Such fantastic flavour and value! In general, I’d come back to Leventis for the pies alone (and the incredible view of course).
The Squid
After being discouraged from ordering this in favour of fish, I was a little nervous. A bold choice, where I went against my own advice of: always trust the recommendation. But you guys. This was the best squid dish I have ever eaten in my life. And I do not say this lightly!!
It was so incredibly tender and the char flavour from the grill was impossibly delicious. It wasn’t seasoned with more than salt and lemon, and hardly even touched by olive oil, yet, it was incredible. It was also paired with the most delicious grilled mushrooms and fries. There was a sort of mousse like sauce on the side too, which was also divine, though was hardly necessary, as the squid on its own was so good. So yeah, if the dish I was advised not to get was one of the best of my life- you know a restaurant is good.
The Rabbit
Don’t shy away from ordering rabbit in Crete! It might sound strange, but it’s a white meat that doesn’t have too distinct of a flavour so it’s not a risky order, and it tends to be fried or grilled deliciously with generous amounts of olive oil.
This rabbit dish was paired with a tomato sauce that was prepared table side. A roasted tomato was mashed up with olive oil and salt- simple but friggin’ good. The char on the skin, once again, provided incredible flavour and it was pretty meaty - which not all rabbit dishes we were served had been!
The Dessert
Okay, while the pies are what secured Leventis as the best restaurant I have ever eaten at, it’s the FREE dessert that did it for Dan. He is a donut lover, so had been liberally ordering fried dough balls called loukoumades throughout our trip so far. He was quite thrilled to see that that’s exactly what the complimentary dessert was, and was even more thrilled to discover that these loukoumades were even better than the ones we would get in Athens from a place that specializes in them.
Seriously, he tried it before I did, and when I saw him immediately start grinning- I knew it had to be amazing. Food doesn’t often evoke that kind of physical reaction in him. The donuts were SATURATED in honey, yet still maintained the perfect crisp and airyness you’d want from a mini donut situation. It was like the perfect marriage of baklava and donuts. I am not a huge donut lover, but I was pretty impressed. Dan immediately declared that Leventis, was without a doubt, the best restaurant we had ever been to… then proceeded to clean the plate, despite how stuffed we both felt.
After sipping on some complimentary raki to end the meal, we paid up and left- both raving about how amazing it was. Perfect setting, great service, five generous dishes and a great dessert all for less than $100cad- including tip. I dream of going back to Crete (our favourite destination of the trip so far!) and dining here again.
Except next time, I’ll probably order the fish.
