Stalis restaurants reviews

Reviews of Restaurants in Stalida or Stalis by Julie Morgan

Artemis Tavern - il Camino italian restaurant - Minos restaurant

Stalis or Stalida in Crete, Kreta Stalis or Stalida on the north coast of Crete is a little oasis sitting quietly in between it's much noisier neighbours of Malia and Hersonissos . When I first visited several years ago there was a definite demarcation line between the 3 places. Now, sadly I fear that it's all starting to blur along the beach road!

It does, however, still seem more family and older couple orientated, and out of the peak season months seems to be almost deserted by midnight. There are lots of tavernas, restaurants and cocktail bars. Some 'English' pubs serving full English breakfasts and 'Irish' bars catering for people that can't manage without that touch of home for a week or two! Look carefully and you can still find traditional Greek cookery in Stalis.

The main beach road of Stalis seems to house most of the tavernas, on this road the Anthousa Hotel seems to be the most popular landmark. To the left of this is a restaurant that is one of my favourites. Artemis, It leads directly onto the beach with doors on the front for when it's too windy or raining. The seating is very comfortable, the atmosphere very relaxing as you sit glass in hand watching the sunset over the gently rolling sea. Bliss! Food wise, they do the usual mix of English and Continental dishes and an excellent range of Greek specialities, my particular favourite is a starter for 2 people called Pikola which is a selection of courgettes (zucchinis) aubergines, sea food, and cheese (saganaki) cooked in a light batter very much like the Japanese Tempura. Absolutely delicious. They have an extensive wine list, the staff are very friendly and it's all reasonably priced. What more could a person wish for?!

Il Camino italian restaurant in Stalis, stalida, Crete To the right of the Anthousa Hotel and again directly overlooking the sea is Il Camino, they have seating both al fresco and totally under cover. This is the place to be if you want entertainment from the staff. Over the road from the restaurant is the kitchen where you can watch one of the chefs making pizza bases, these are occasionally tossed across the road to the waiters to brighten a dull evening up, narrowly missing passers by, in fact my memory of this place is sitting across from a young boy, aged about 10, wearing a pizza base on his head (uncooked!) all through dinner, obviously the passer by that didn't get away! Being the centre of attention obviously made this young lads night.

As well as the Italian element to the menu there is a good range of grill cooked meats and Greek dishes, the Souvlaki is particularly good, the house wine of a good standard and again all reasonably priced.

Minos tavern in Stalis, Stalida, Crete, Kreta Opposite Dwyers Irish bar further down the road is a taverna called Minos. This place seems to be run by an eccentric Greek man who walks about tempting people in by singing. His voice, not being the best in the world probably puts more people off, however he must be doing something right, it's quite a small place but always packed full to the edges and the last time we went we had to climb over a wall into the shop next door to get out, thus saving angry glances from other diners as we would have had to have asked three tables of diners to stand up for us to get out! This worked quite well for me as it was a good excuse to buy yet another handbag whilst my husband paid the food bill!

Food wise, although there is the usual selection, we opted for the pizza here as we'd seen other diners with them and it lived up to all expectations! A large base covered with wonderful toppings and excellent value for money. Perfect with an ice cold beer. This is not the place for sitting and soaking up the ambience of Crete, more a place to pop for food before you go on elsewhere but definitely worth a visit.