Pelagos — Restaurant in Municipality of Agios Nikolaos

This place gets a ton of rave reviews. Let's get the good stuff out the way. Its got a lovely location just off the back of the lagoon, and a scrumptious outdoor setting with comfortable furnishings and a water wall feature.

I was there in mid-October, not high season, and it was very quiet. The menu is almost too extensive. I gave up perusing and simply went for the vine leaves and the swordfish. Food was faultless. Greek wine very palatable. I noticed that some customers went 'off-piste' and the head waiter seemed happy to provide what was requested. Most people ate small. A good decision. Portions are big.

The main issue I had was speed. My food zipped to me so fast I nearly choked. They brought my main course at the same time they took away my delicious starter. No rest, no recuperation. No time to drink wine. What's that about? The place was 10% full for goodness sake. I wasn't offered dessert. I'm sure there was a dessert menu, but hey, I got some free stuff. Fruit and halva. Do not eat the halva. Its an acquired taste. A disgusting acquired taste. I was then quietly abandoned to my wine and felt so overlooked I had half a mind to simply walk out. I did pay. Coffee was tasteless and sugar didn't help.

I was underwhelmed. There's a lot to recommend Pelagos, including the marauding cats - the healthiest looking diners in the place who happily polished off my leftovers - but I struggle to share the joy. Compared to restaurants like Da Rioba (in Venice) Pelagos isn't doing anything very special with its fish dishes, which are large and fortifying, without being memorable. Maybe its an end of season thing. Maybe I'm in grouchy...

Don’t know if it’s because I ordered the wrong dishes but I had a rather lack-lustre meal here.

Eggplant salad Steamed shrimp Veg pasta (w caramelised onions, zucchini & mushroom) Saganaki

Eggplant salad and saganaki were decent quality.

I figure steamed shrimp is a dangerous dish to order because unless the shrimp is very fresh and sweet , it’s going to be quite a disappointment.

The pasta unfortunately did not include a description of the sauce in the menu (I also was wrong to assume it was just a simple olive oil base) and it came in a heavy cream & cheese sauce with a rather paltry sprinkling of vegetables. Not to mention, it was not al dente either, too soft.

The setting was very nice - almost made up for the meal.

I was looking forward to this place, given its high ratings, but this is the first place in Crete that I’ve been underwhelmed...

Some places feel instantly like home, and this is one of them. Set in a charming, colourful house, it carries the warmth of being welcomed to someone’s table rather than seated in a restaurant. Outside, a vast pergola stretches wide, its painted posts crowned with generous shade and bathed in golden light. It is a space that invites you to linger – and to return.

The cooking is exceptional: authentic recipes prepared with precision and care, the sort of food that captures the essence of Crete without pretension. The house wine flows easily – light, convivial, and perfectly suited to the setting.

Service is friendly, attentive, and efficient, striking the right balance between ease and professionalism.

Altogether, it is a place to savour again and again, without hesitation – an experience that feels as effortless as it...