Greek Food
Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine and meat. Other important ingredients include olives, pasta, cheese, lemon juice, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat; barley is also used. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits and filo pastries.
It is strongly influenced by Ottoman cuisine and, especially in the cuisine of Anatolian Greeks, shares foods such as baklava, tzatziki, gyros, moussaka, dolmades and keftedes with neighbouring countries. To an even greater extent, it is influenced by Italian cuisine and cuisines from other neighbouring southern European countries.
If you’re exploring traditional Greek cuisine in Crete, the island has its own distinct food culture — rustic, olive-oil heavy, seasonal, and very different from touristy “generic Greek” menus.
Here are some iconic Cretan dishes and foods to try:
Traditional Cretan Foods
- Dakos — barley rusks topped with tomato, feta or mizithra cheese, olive oil, oregano.
- Kalitsounia — small pies with cheese or greens, sometimes sweet with honey.
- Gamopilafo — creamy rice cooked in rich meat broth.
- Antikristo — lamb slow-roasted around an open fire.
- Apaki — smoked pork with herbs.
- Stamnagathi — bitter wild greens often served with olive oil and lemon.
- Sfakianopita — thin cheese pie drizzled with honey.
- Xinochondros — traditional village comfort food.
Drinks & Desserts
- Raki (also called tsikoudia) — commonly offered free after meals.
- Loukoumades
- Cretan thyme honey and local olive oil are considered among Greece’s best.