The cuisine of Rethymno is rich in flavors and spices, featuring an abundance of wild onions, olive oil (with the average Rethymnonian consuming about 25 liters of olive oil per year!), and legumes. When it comes to diet in Rethymno, you'll forget about any restrictions! The mere aroma of dishes seasoned with basil, dill, mint, and garlic is enough to make your mouth water.
Some signature hot dishes you'll find in Rethymno's best restaurants and cafes include moussaka (an eggplant and minced meat casserole, sometimes with potatoes or zucchini), pastitsio (a pasta and minced meat casserole), souvlaki (grilled meat or fish kebabs), stifado (rabbit stewed in red wine), dolmadakia or dolma (grape leaves filled with rice and minced meat), and keftedakia (meatballs or cutlets).
When dining in Rethymno, make sure to savor at least one of the top 5 seafood dishes: grape snails, taramosalata (a savory salad based on fish roe), octapodi crasato (octopus in red wine), marida (a small fish similar to sardines), and barbouni (red mullet).
For appetizers, you can't go wrong with white crumbly goat's milk feta cheese, dzadziki (a sauce made from thick unsweetened Greek yogurt with cucumber, garlic, and olive oil), and skordalia (a potato-garlic spread served with roasted vegetables).
If you're in the mood for a light snack, consider ordering gyros pita (meat, fresh vegetables, zazaki, fried potatoes wrapped in pita bread), deep-fried calamari, or spanakopita (spinach and feta pie) at the affordable restaurants in Rethymno.
Cretan desserts are a sweet indulgence featuring nuts and honey. Whether you opt for natural yogurt drizzled with honey, baklava, kataifi (a delicate web of sugar strands), or a platter of watermelon and cheese, you can expect all these treats to be generously adorned with walnuts and honey.
As for beverages, Rethymno offers a selection of popular drinks, including freshly squeezed orange juice (0.5 liters for approximately 3.50 EUR), aniseed vodka ouzo, grape vodka raki, dry white wine retsina, and Mythos beer.
