The short version: the Cretan diet is the original Mediterranean diet – the one the famous 1950s health studies were built on – and it is gloriously easy to eat on holiday. Lots of olive oil, wild greens and vegetables, pulses, barley rusks and cheese, very little meat, and raki to finish. Here is what to order and where.
At a glance
| Eat | What it is |
|---|---|
| Dakos | Barley rusk soaked with grated tomato, mizithra and oil |
| Horta | Boiled wild greens with lemon and olive oil |
| Chochlioi | Snails fried with rosemary (bourbouristi) |
| Gamopilafo | Buttery “wedding rice” cooked in meat stock |
| Kalitsounia | Little cheese or greens pastries |
| Raki | The clear grape spirit poured free at the end |
Why Crete’s food is famous
When researchers looked for the healthiest way to eat in the mid-20th century, they found it on Crete: a population that lived long and rarely suffered heart disease, on a diet heavy in olive oil, vegetables, wild greens, pulses, bread and cheese, with fish and meat as occasional accents and wine in moderation. That became the template for the Mediterranean diet. The good news for a visitor is that this “health food” is also some of the most delicious eating in Greece.
The dishes to order
Start with dakos – a hard barley rusk softened with grated ripe tomato, crumbled mizithra cheese and a flood of olive oil – the dish that sums up the island. Order horta, boiled wild greens (ask for stamnagathi if it’s on), dressed simply with lemon and oil; chochlioi bourbouristi, snails fried with rosemary; and kalitsounia, little cheese or herb pastries. On special days there is gamopilafo, the buttery wedding rice. The cheeses to know are graviera and fresh mizithra, and the oil is worth bringing home.
Where to eat it, and the raki
The real thing is in the village tavernas and at the markets of Chania and Heraklion, not the beach strips. Meals end the Cretan way, with raki (tsikoudia), the clear grape spirit poured freely as a gesture of hospitality, often with fruit or a sweet. A Crete food tour or a farm cooking class is the surest way to eat like a local.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cretan diet?
The original Mediterranean diet: olive oil, wild greens and vegetables, pulses, barley rusks and cheese, with little meat and moderate wine – linked to the island’s famous longevity.
What is the one dish to try on Crete?
Dakos, the barley rusk with tomato, mizithra and olive oil; then horta (wild greens), snails and anything cooked in the island’s oil.
What is raki / tsikoudia?
Crete’s clear grape spirit, distilled after the winemaking and served free at the end of a meal as a token of hospitality.
Where to taste Cretan food
Eat the island’s food on a Crete food tour, cook it on a Crete cooking class, taste its native-grape wines on a Crete wine tour, or plan the trip from the Greece hub.
