Cretan Menu




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Starters

Tzatziki A world famous dip, usually made with yoghurt, garlic and cucumber. More Information about Tzatziki
Soups Cretan soups are mostly homemade and delicious. Typical soups include tomato soup, fish soup (Psarosoupa), chicken soup and vegetable Soup. Other classic soups are the avgolemono soupa (literally Egg-Lemon-Soup) and Fasolada (bean soup). Those who enjoy offal should try the popular Easter soup of Magisitsa, which is made from those parts of the lamb that didn’t end up on the grill; the heart, lungs, liver, kidney and so on.
Saganaki Grilled, hot cheese which is often served in aluminium foil. Saganaki
Dolmades Wine Leaves stuffed with rice and herbs.  More Information about Dolmades
Pastries These are often filled with aubergine, cheese, curd or courgettes
Feta A classic soft cheese made mostly from sheep’s milk
Graviera A hard chess made from sheep’s milk
Olives Typically an order of olives will get you a small plate of olives
Gigantes A small plate with lima beans cooked with tomato, herbs and plenty of olive oil. Gigantes
Chochli A small plate of fried snails, usually served in vinegar and with a toothpick.
Taramosalata Fish roe salad – can sometimes be a brilliant shade of pink. More Information about Taramosalata
Skordalia A potato dip with a strong garlic flavour. Skordalia
Melizanosalata A dip made mostly with aubergines. More Information about Melizanosalata
Melitzanes Tiganita Thin slices of aubergine (sometimes battered) fried in olive oil.
Spanakopita Pastry filled with spinach and feta cheese - one of my favourite dishes! Spanokopita



Salads and Vegetables

Choriatiki Otherwise known as a Greek salad, this classic salad is generally made with tomato, cucumber, green pepper, feta cheese, onion and olives. A Choriatiki Salad is a great, healthy lunch on a hot summer’s day. More Information about Choriatiki
Laxanosalata Cabbage salad
Tomata Tomato
Agouri Cucumber
Maroulisalata Lettuce Salad
Anginares Artichokes
Arakas Peas
Karota Carrots
Spanaki Spinach – always fresh and delicious
Fasolia Green beans
Melizanes Aubergines Melitzanosalata
Horta A salad green which grows wild. There are at least four main types of horta on Crete, each with its own distinctive taste.



Main Meals

Souvlaki Meat on a skewer the roasted over a grill. Chicken, pork and lamb are the most popular meats. More Information about Souvlaki
Gyros A plate with meat from the gyros machine, which is a tall, vertical spit. More Information about Gyros
Bifteki Big meatballs - this is often translated to English as "hamburger" on the menu.
Brisola A chop of meat, usually pork.
Kotopoulo Chicken which has been grilled, roasted or boiled.
Arni Lamb, the main food at holidays like Easter.
Keftedes Small meatballs which are usually accompanied with tomato sauce and chips 
Kleftiko Filo Pastry filled with meat, vegetables and feta – another one of my favourite dishes. If kleftiko is available in one of my favourite restaurants, Siroko in Plakias, I always reserve a portion. More Information about Kleftiko
Calamari Squid, mostly served fried or grilled.
Marides Small fish (no bigger than 5-10cm), eaten whole (including tail and head); often the cheapest fish on the menu.
Sardelles Small fried sardines which are cheap and good.
Xifias Sword fish, mostly served like a steak; fresh and not to expensive. Xifias Souvlaki
Other fish

Often you can go with the waiter in the kitchen and choose a fish. The price is mostly by the kilo and the fish is generally different to the fish on the menu. Ask the waiter to weigh the fish and tell you the price. Other fish which are often available are Sole (Glossa), Tuna (Tonnos), Red mullets (Barbouni) and Mullets (Kephalos) .

Other seafood Lobster (expensive), shrimps, oysters and many other shellfish are widely available in restaurants.  Information about Octopus you find here.
Green Beans Cooked beans with a lot of olive oil, tomatoes, carrots and boiled potatoes.
Okra A vegetable which looks like a mini zucchini also served with a lot of olive oil, quite unknown in the rest of the world.
Gemista Tomatoes and peppers filled with rice and herbs, almost always vegetarian. Gemista
Moussaka The national dish of Greek is a bake made with aubergines. Moussaka
Pastitio A bake with pasta and mince meat, also very popular in Greece. Pastitio
Stifado Small pieces of meat in a red onion sauce. Stifado
Papoutsakia Papoutsakia means ‘small shoes’ in English, thanks to their appearance- aubergines filled with mince meat and béchamel sauce. Papoutsakia
Imam Baldi Similar to papoutsakia, this is aubergines stuffed with vegetables. Imam Baldi
Giouvetsi Pasta in which looks like rice served with meat and typically a tomato sauce. More Information about Giouvetsi
Kouneli Rabbit – this can be cooked in many ways.
Spaghetti Can be found on almost every menu. There are four common variations: in a tomato sauce, Bolognese (with mince meat), Carbonara (a sauce made with eggs, ham and white sauce) and seafood spaghetti (featuring shellfish). Spaghetti

Desserts

Baklava a pastry with honey and nuts. One of the sweetest things I have ever eaten in my life!
Halva made out of sesame, also very sweet.
Yaourti natural yogurt with honey, occasionally served with fruit More Information about yogurt with honey
Pagato ice cream, usually served in scoops as in other countries.

 

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