Mouthwatering in Crete - Travelers' intercom: readers' opinions, tips & recommendations; restaurants - Brief Article

Most of the small cafes in the Greek Islands seem to offer the same things. They all have moussaka, Greek salads, souvlaki, taramosalata, etc., which are quite good but can get repetitious. After spending a couple of weeks on several islands, we arrived in Crete in early June '03 and were ready to try something new.

We visited Loukouloss Restaurant in Iraklio. Loukouloss is on one of the pedestrian-only streets, so we were happy to dine on their outdoor terrace, with no traffic noise, listening to opera. We had a liter of Cretan wine plus veal and dried figs in wine sauce, lamb steaks and, for dessert, loukoumades (fritters with honey syrup) for about $38 for two.

This restaurant is near the Astoria Hotel, which has a convenient location, a rooftop swimming pool, a bountiful buffet breakfast and friendly staff. The Astoria cost $130 per night at that time of year.

The Alana Restaurant (Salaminos 15, Rethymo, Crete) has a menu section featuring Cretan specialties. It also has a pleasant outdoor eating area. Rabbit stew, goat with artichokes, wine and cake were the specialties we ordered, but also served to us as part of the "cover" were a yogurt salad, chopped olives, lovely bread and a carafe of raki at the end of the meal. This cost about $44.

The Alana is a couple of blocks from the comfortable Hotel Forteza, where we stayed. Hotel Forteza has offstreet parking and a nice swimming pool. We paid about $65 for our room.

NELL McCOMBS

Ventura, CA

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