Restaurant Tzanakis Michael — Restaurant in Municipality of Chersonissos

TLDR; This was the lunch stop included in the private tour guide (Stagakis Grand Prestige). Wonderful views, delicious food, and gracious staff!! All around wonderful experience. The owner of the restaurant also owns the nearby Windmills of Seli Ambelou, which was restored and a tourist stop. They also use farm-to-table ingredients from the town! At the end of the meal, the owner gifted us a custom clay vase etched with the restaurant's name! Ambiance (5/5): There is SO much indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor section of the restaurant overlooks a garden and fields. In the front, there's an outdoor oven where they bake their meats and potatoes. The indoor dining also has a view into the kitchen. Service (5/5): The staff took our order with patience and accurately. Our tour guides dined with us which helped us order in Greek where needed. They even offered FREE desserts for the table to share! Food (5/5): Just wow--the taste, low price, and quality was wonderful. Everything was delicious including my pork Dolmades (5/5): the seasonal leaves were zucchini flowers! The rice stuffing was sublime! Tzatziki (4/5) - creamy and delicious but you need to order pita separately Boiled Greens (3/5): A bit bland but provided some fiber to the meal Greek Salad (4/5): Fresh tomatoes with a nice mix of cucumbers and Cretan feta cheese Stifado (5/5): The veal was super tender and delicious Roast Pork (4/5): the pork pieces were nicely seasoned but 1 piece was pretty dry. Otherwise, the dish was accompanied with several roasted potatoes. Chicken (4/5): The roasted chicken was juicy and also nicely seasoned Chocolate Cake (5/5): wow the chocolate just melted in my mouth Millefeuille (4/5): unique dessert that was also enjoyed! Apple Pie...

I wish I had taken photos of the food to show you all how appetising it was, but it smelled and tasted so delicious that we had all finished it before I remembered! Maria and Patty were very welcoming and friendly. They were attentive to our needs and gave good recommendations of what to try to experience real Cretan food. We tried some roast pork, moussaka, stuffed peppers, green beans, stuffed zucchini flowers, fried cheese, Greek salad and everything was freshly picked from their own farms this morning. The wine was delicious, also from their own grapes! The dessert selection was a real treat and they even had us try some locally made raki ! Reasonable prices too. Great meal, in a beautiful location over looking stunning views of the surrounding mountainous landscapes. They talked about how they also host weddings and you can easily see why people would choose this as their venue. Maria gifted us wine carafes on our departure and it was such a lovely touch! Would recommend to anyone...

I cannot more highly suggest this place.

First of all the location is unparalleled. As for the service. It felt like I had been welcomed into a family dinner. The owner and his family were so kind. They were excited to share their restaurant, garden, and food. As far as I understand they have built this place brick by brick. The intentionality of each detail carries over to their food. The food was so good I feel like I ascended to heaven. That sounds like I’m overhyping it but every flavor, texture and ingredient was best in show. We got one of almost everything on the menu and every dish tasted so good it felt like I was eating, real cuisine, for the first time. If you’re on Crete and don’t stop here it’s genuinely your loss.

Michelin Stars denote the quality of the experience. 1 star is worth stopping at if it’s along the way, 2 is worth a detour, 3 is worth a journey and I can honestly say I would fly back to Crete just to...