Chania

• •Lunch only, closed Sundays
• •Daily-changing home-cooked trays
• •Review base overwhelmingly Greek

Home-cooking taverna, lunch only · Daskalogianni 25, Splantzia

A lunch-only taverna in Splantzia where the day's home cooking is set out in trays and changes daily. Locals fill it from midday, and the reviews are overwhelmingly in Greek, which tells you who eats here.

Suggested: the daily tray dishes, whatever is cooked that day

• •Old-town taverna since 1996
• •Greek-dominated review base
• •Grill and daily home cooking

Old-town taverna since 1996 · Agion Deka 3-5, Kastelli

A long-running taverna near Kastelli that has kept a mostly Greek clientele since 1996. Straightforward Cretan grill and home cooking, a few streets back from the harbour crowds.

Suggested: grilled meats, the cooked-of-the-day dishes

• •Evenings from 18:00
• •Meze served on the ladokolla paper
• •Greek crowd, queues without a booking

Mezedopoleio, evenings · Chatzimichali Daliani 74, old town

A busy evening mezedopoleio where the plates arrive on the ladokolla, the greaseproof paper it takes its name from. It draws a Greek crowd and often has a queue, so it is worth arriving early.

Suggested: mixed grilled meats, meze to share

• •Patsas (tripe soup) since 1928
• •Third generation, almost no tourist trade
• •Opens from early morning

Patsas house since 1928 · K. Sfakianaki 4-6, near the Municipal Market

A third-generation patsas house that has served the traditional tripe soup since 1928, now just off the Municipal Market. The review base is almost entirely Greek, and it opens from early morning for the regulars who swear by it.

Suggested: patsas (tripe soup), gardoumia

• •Reputedly the city's oldest gyro shop
• •Gyro piece about €2
• •Went semi-viral but the price held

The city's oldest gyro shop · Vouloudaki 4

Said to be the oldest gyro shop in the city, still turning out proper gyro at about two euros a piece. It has become well known, but the product and the price have not changed.

Suggested: gyro, souvlaki

• •Quiet, family-run neighbourhood taverna
• •Mostly local regulars
• •Off the tourist streets

Quiet neighbourhood taverna · Mylonogianni & Anagnostou Mantaka

A quiet, family-run taverna on a residential corner away from the tourist streets, where most of the tables are neighbourhood regulars. Honest Cretan home cooking, though a couple of recent visitors felt the portions had tightened.

Suggested: home-cooked dishes, grilled meats

• •Sfakia-style mountain cooking
• •Packed with local families on Sundays
• •13-time Greek Cuisine Award winner

Sfakian taverna · Defkalionos & Ikarou, Eastern Moat

A Sfakia-style taverna by the eastern moat that has long been the locals' answer to where to eat, busiest with Chaniot families on Sundays. Slow-cooked lamb, boureki and mountain greens, and a wall of Greek Cuisine Awards.

Suggested: slow-cooked lamb, boureki, Cretan salad

• •Neighbourhood grill, all-Greek regulars
• •Honest portions at low prices
• •Go in person, not by phone

Neighbourhood grill · Konstantinou Manou 66, Agios Ioannis

A neighbourhood grill in Agios Ioannis with an all-Greek crowd and almost no tourist trade, its name a nod to how little you pay. It is best to go in person, as phone and delivery orders are reported to be unreliable.

Suggested: grilled meats, pork chops

• •University-suburb grill house
• •Spit-roasted and grilled meats
• •Almost entirely Greek reviews

Village grill house, short drive out · The square, Kounoupidiana, about 6 km from town

A grill house on the square in the university suburb of Kounoupidiana, a short drive from town, where nearly every table is local. Spit-roasted and grilled meats are the whole point.

Suggested: spalomprizola (pork chop), mixed grilled meats

• •One recipe since 1924
• •Opens around 6am, batches through the day
• •Portion about €3.50

Bougatsa house since 1924, mornings · Apokoronou 24

One recipe and one product since 1924. The ovens start around six in the morning and batch through the day, and a portion is about three and a half euros. This is the Chania morning ritual, better known now than it once was.

Suggested: bougatsa with cream, bougatsa with myzithra

• •Savoury myzithra bougatsa only
• •Handmade phyllo
• •Breakfast about €6

Morning bougatsa shop, savoury only · Apokoronou 37

The other half of the Apokoronou-street bougatsa pairing, a few doors along, making only the savoury myzithra-filled version with handmade phyllo. A bougatsa and a coffee comes to about six euros, and they can run out early.

Suggested: savoury myzithra bougatsa

• •Family-run vegetarian slow food
• •Produce from their own farm
• •Ranks near the top of the town's tables

Vegetarian slow-food taverna · Deukalionos 5, old town

A family-run vegetarian and slow-food taverna near the eastern moat, cooking Cretan dishes without meat and using produce from their own farm. It ranks near the top of the town's tables on a mostly Greek review base.

Suggested: stuffed vegetables, lentil dishes, vegetarian moussaka

• •Splantzia kafeneio, mostly locals
• •Meze plates around €4
• •Same family for over twenty years

Splantzia kafeneio · Episkopou Nikiforou 6, Splantzia

A traditional Splantzia kafeneio run by the same family for more than twenty years and frequented mostly by locals, which moved a short distance when its old square premises were sold. Meze plates run around four euros, and a table of meatballs, plates and drinks came to about twenty-one.

Suggested: cuttlefish with myzithra, octopus in wine, fava

• •All-day kafeneio on the square
• •Popular with locals and Greek students
• •Under the plane trees of Plateia 1821

All-day kafeneio on the square · Plateia 1821 no. 8, Splantzia

An all-day traditional kafeneio on the Splantzia square, under the plane trees, popular with locals and Greek students. Meze and coffee at wallet-friendly prices.

Suggested: bean dip with roasted aubergine, meatballs, tzatziki

• •On the Koum Kapi seafront
• •A younger local crowd
• •Coffee and first drinks by the water

Koum Kapi waterfront cafe · Akti Miaouli 6, Koum Kapi

A cafe on the Koum Kapi promenade on the eastern edge of town, off the tourist track and popular with younger locals. A place for an evening coffee or a first drink looking out over the water.

Suggested: freddo cappuccino, coffee by the sea

• •Inside the Municipal Garden, serving since 1870
• •A working local hub, not a museum
• •Shaded tables among the trees

Garden cafe since 1870 · Municipal Garden, off Tzanakaki

The garden cafe inside the Municipal Garden, pouring coffee since 1870 and still a working local gathering place rather than a monument. Shaded tables among the trees, a short step from the busy centre but a world away from it.

Suggested: Greek coffee, a drink in the shade

• •Meze and raki hangout
• •Popular with locals
• •Live music on some evenings

Meze and raki hangout · Epimenidou 17

A small meze spot on Epimenidou where locals settle in over raki and a spread of small plates, with live music on some evenings. Cretan-inspired dishes at reasonable prices.

Suggested: mixed meze, raki, apaki