Nikos the Fisherman — Restaurant in Municipality of Chersonissos

Dinner took us to Koutouloufari, a neighboring village, to a spot with a name straight out of a Steinbeck novel: Nikos the Fisherman. Fresh paint on old stones, a quiet patio, the smell of the sea in the air. It’s a family-run place with a one-item philosophy: if it didn’t swim recently, it’s not on your plate.

We started with their mezze dip board. Not a plate. A board. A rustic olive plank that looked like it had been stolen from an ancient shipwreck. Eight dips, each one a love letter to something elemental. Taramosalata, tzatziki, fava with black-eyed peas, a fiery pepper-feta mash-up, two versions of hummus, and this smoked eggplant salad that was half campfire, half silk sheet. The kind of thing that makes you stare at the bowl wondering how it exists. There was oregano and honey and yoghurt and some secret ingredient that I’m convinced was joy.

Mains? A superfood prawn salad the size of a satellite dish. Think prawns the length of your hand lounging on a garden of chopped vegetables, fruits, pulses, and nuts. Strawberries and chickpeas should not work together, but here, they did. No dressing needed. Just freshness, perfectly balanced like some kind of edible haiku.

And then the grilled sea bass. Crisp skin, tender flesh, a lemon sauce that was more poetry than condiment. Served with smashed potatoes that had the audacity to be both crunchy and fluffy at once. We didn’t just clean our plates — we considered licking them. Between bites, we snuck a few morsels to a lovely stray kitten who had curled up patiently at our feet, blinking up at us with a quiet dignity, clearly knowing this wasn’t her first fish dinner from a soft-hearted tourist.

Oh, and then there was what they jokingly called “Greek sushi” — a dish so simple and so perfect it made you laugh. Fresh anchovies, barely marinated, laid delicately over a bed of peppery rocket and sweet heirloom tomatoes. Salty, clean, and unapologetically Mediterranean. No soy sauce, no rice, no wasabi — just the kind of raw honesty that made you want to raise a glass to the sea itself.

Dessert? No room. That was a problem for our post-dinner walk — the promise of gelato somewhere along the winding path back to the hotel. That’s how life works here. One perfect bite after another, punctuated by long strolls and belly laughs.

Crete, my friends, is not a destination. It’s a seduction. And on day four,...

We waited 1h for bad food. From the 5 dishes we ordered, none were up to our expectations.

1 - The “premium” pasta came cold and all the seafood in it was soggy. When a waitress asked us if everything was fine (basically at the end of the meal, instead of earlier), I told her about it and she acted very defensively “why didn’t you tell us that? We could have heated it”. Re-heating pasta and seafood is actually disgusting, it makes me question if the food we were served was actually fresh or just re-heated.

2 - The tuna tartar was too acidic and the tuna was not fresh; the portion was also very small, although the waiter said it would be enough food if one person took the tartar and another mezze plate.

3 - The mezze plate pastry filled with cheese was ok.

4 - The shrimp salad lacked in flavour and no salt or pepper were ever brought to the table to season it.

5 - The tuna steak was also rather cold. It also arrived WAY later than the other dishes. So, 1 person in our table had to sit and watch everybody eating (we simply couldn’t wait any longer after +1h of wait and the food being served was already cold).

Not only was the food bad, but the way our complaint was handled by the waitress was not nice. She seemed annoyed that we complained and would only reply in a very defensively way, as if she “complaining” about us would change the fact that the food took forever to arrive, was served cold and the fish and seafood wasn’t fresh. A simple “sorry” would have sufficed.

We thought we had found a gem to spend our last night in Greece, but unfortunately it was the worst restaurant during the entire trip. Very...

We couldn’t fault this place at all. Wonderful people (family run), lovely atmosphere and superb food.

This place rekindled our hope for finding quality greek food in the village after a very average meal at another restaurant the previous night.

First of all, the staff here are so friendly and welcoming. It’s a family affair with the daughters waiting tables whilst mama cooks the food.

The house rose wine was a welcome improvement over the harsh rose we had the previous night in another restaurant, and the food was excellent - Fresh fish, lovingly prepared.

We started with the ceviche of sea bass, which was one of the best ceviche dishes I’ve ever had, followed by the catch of the day; a whole grouper to share between two, baked in paper with tomatoes, chilli and herbs. The grouper was absolutely superb, cooked to perfection and amazingly fresh, expertly filleted and served at the table by our waitress. Oh…and mama’s potatoes! Crazy good!!!!

We were then served a chocolate pudding to share, compliments of the house, along with some Raki. Nice touch and much appreciated.

Prices are higher the other restaurants nearby, however, it was well worth it. We both felt it was good value as the cooking and quality of ingredients are on a different level to other restaurants in the village.

Had a lovely chat with mama in the kitchen after the meal too. A great cook and very passionate about food and family.

Amazing experience, lovely people, great food. Everything you could want from a meal out!

I highly recommended Nikos the Fisherman if you...