No doubt that it's a restaurant to visit if you want to taste an authentic Cretan meal. Also very close to the Knossos palace. We went there after visiting the ancient ruins of Minoan palace. Highly recommended!

We were a group of 9, perfect welcome, delicious "non touristy" food and every trouble taken for us. Fennel pie delicious amongst many others and pasta popular with children. The gorgeous bread alone would have kept us going for the afternoon. We were so glad...we ventured off the main road a little away from Knossos. They were in fact open on this Monday lunch (much to our relief as we'd driven to the village on spec).More

Take the drive about 10 minutes south of Herklio in the village of Skalani is this hidden gem that offers traditional Cretan food with a new twist. Do not miss Chef Argiro’s homemade pasta, rooster or the special of the day (seasonal specials apply)! Enjoy!!

I am fortunate to have some wonderful Cretan friends who love food... I was taken to this restaurant for lunch today... I live to eat, and people who understand that will empathise when I tell you that I was dancing in my seat as each...course came to the table...Wild Mushroom Risotto (the mushrooms were in a positive frenzy!!) The best hand-cut chips ever, A local salad with a dressing to die for, homemade pies, the Minoan lamb that fell off the bone.. I want to wax lyrical for pages and pages... just do yourself a favour.... go here!!! There are lots of lovely local Tavernas, I rate this as one of the best!!More

Staying nearby, we decided to try this restaurant that has a reasonably good reputation on TripAdvisor. Compared to dozens other restaurants we have tried over the past week, this one was really not better than ok. Service was great, the owner has had this restaurant...for over 15 years (cooked for over 40 years) and covers many of the traditional Greek dishes. We had a decent meal but were underwhelmed by the preparation (did not taste freshly made warmed up) and actual taste. Probably a good option if you visit Skalari, but not a restaurant worth making a detour for.More

We visited Crete in early April and some restaurants were still closed for the season so I emailed Elia & Diosmos to make sure they would be open for lunch after our visit to nearby Knossos. They replied immediately and assured us they are open...all year so we made the short drive there for lunch. I believe we were early however as there was only one staff member there but she still welcomed us warmly, we ordered their moscato/sauvignon blanc which she assured us wasn't overly sweet, and it was a very nice wine. The restaurant too is lovely, with an open kitchen and bar. The only downside is that there was a slight mix up with our order, we were a group of 9 (adults and children) and their usual wait staff only arrived after us, but they were very nice about it. They had made 2 pasta dishes even though only one child ordered it, but they told us to keep it and didn't charge us. There was also a mix up with some of the starters. But on the positive side, they had an amazing Cretan salad, the Minoan lamb was good too and a few others complimented the dishes they had ordered, like 3 types of fried cheese which was delicious. Overall, our experience was very good, and any shortfalls in the service was made up for when we were leaving because the wine was also billed at about 4-5 Euro more than the menu and they said this was the new price in their system but we should only pay what's on the menu. Anytime that the staff take responsibility for such hiccups is commendable because most places would've said we had to pay whatever was billed and that's that. So my thanks to the team at Elia & Diosmos! I would definitely return.More

Best cretan food in heraklion, a real gem. Do not waste your time and money elsewhere. I would have liked a small closing dessert, as is offered everywhere in Crete