Drinks on Crete

Greeks drink a lot of alcohol, and the Cretans even more. They drink for fun, but you won’t see extremely drunk Greeks often; they don’t tend to get up to the same antics that British and German tourists get up to.

Cretan Wine

There is a lot of wine grown and drunk in Crete. Whilst it’s not going to win any international awards, it is perfectly pleasant to drink. If you order the house wine, you’re guaranteed a cheap, pleasant drink. In a simple taverna, you can get a glass for €1, half a litre for €2-3, and a litre for around €5. Quirkily, the Greeks refer to litres as ‘kilos’. Should you order a kilo or so of wine, it’ll arrive in a metal carafe and as many glasses as people on your table. In more rural settings, you may be offered wine that the taverna owner has made himself; he will be extremely proud of it, and it is inadvisable to say anything negative about it. Red wine is on the whole more popular than white.

There’s also Retsina, a special wine matured in pine casks. Some like it, others dislike it for its strong and unique taste (like me). It is certainly an acquired taste.

Beer

Greeks are starting to drink more beer than they used to. It usually comes in 500ml bottles, which cost €2-2.50 in most bars and restaurants. Most places stock two or three brands, mostly Mythos, Amstel and Heineken. German beers and (canned)Guinness is starting to come on the scene. For a quick, cheap beer though, your best bet is a Mythos or an Amstel.

Raki (Tsikoudia)

Raki is the national drink of Crete (and Naxos), as opposed to the mainland, where ouzo is drunk. It’s a spirit created from the distilled leftovers of wine-production. It’s also a bloody cheap drink, at the average price of 50 cents. Hardened drinkers can order a carafe or bottle of raki, though I do not recommend this – raki has a strong alcoholic content of 45-55%.

Non-alcoholic Drinks

Soft Drinks

You can buy Coca Cola and Pepsi anywhere, plus the other brand name drinks. I better recommend the local alternatives, which are cheaper and tastier for many.

Water

Tap water is safe to drink on Crete, and most Cretans drink from the tap. If it is spring water it tastes really good. In the East of Crete it has a salty taste which renders it undrinkable. You can buy cheap bottled water everywhere. A big bottle (1.5l) is rarely more tan 60 cents.

Coffee and Tea

Greek coffee is a small, potent drink. You can order it gliko (sweet; two spoons of sugar), metrio (one spoon of sugar) or sketo (without sugar). Nescafe, is also very popular – you may hear it referred to as ‘nes’. Filter coffee is available in all tourist areas, and is called galiko kafe (French coffee). You can get tea everywhere, usually Lipton’s brand. Better recommended is to try mountain tea, which is made of herbs growing high up in the Cretan mountains; it’s very healthy, and contains a herb, dittany, that grows only on Crete.

Kafenio

Kafenios have a long history and tradition in Cretan history, providing a meeting point for generations of Cretan men. Sadly they are a dying species with the continuing westernisation of Crete. Former bastions of masculinity, they only started to allow women in a few years ago (although foreign women are exempt from such rules), though in the remote areas women still don’t go into them. They’re simple affairs, serving wine, beer, raki and coffee which are usually accompanied with a small plate of food, which is usually free. Kafenios are mostly frequented by elderly and friendly people, who will try to strike up a conversation with you. Often you’ll find someone speaks English, thanks to a sojourn in the USA, Britain or Australia.

Bars and Clubs: In tourist areas and bigger towns there are now many western style bars and nightclubs, often with glitzy decor. Prices are usually high and equivalent to those in Britain and the US; the clientele is mostly tourists and young Greeks, though the two groups rarely mix.
 

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