Anchorage — Restaurant in Municipality of Kantanos-Selinon

Let me start by saying that I regularly visit Crete and visit various restaurants and tavernas in search of the best seafood cuisine. While the Anchorage restaurant undoubtedly has its merits, it's definitely not a place for seafood lovers. In any case, it doesn't meet my standards. I also didn't find any typically Greek delicacies, which are based on simplicity and freshness. The restaurant seems to aspire to some Western European standard that I don't understand. Sorry. As if catering to tourists. Or Greeks bored with their traditional food. The dishes are unnecessarily complicated, too much twisted and bizarre, as if the owners lack faith in the traditional customs of their own cuisine. I ordered the prosaic fried squid. The portion was simply small. Instead, there were tons of sides: lettuce, grilled peppers, a slice of eggplant, zucchini, half a mushroom, and a spicy red sauce reminiscent of Hungarian Ajvar. Not what I expected. Well-prepared squid or calamari really doesn't need anything more than a quarter of a lemon, a pinch of salt, and perhaps a drizzle of olive oil. Every true seafood lover knows this! Why distract from the flavor with grilled vegetables? If you want it you can always add them to your dish. I demand nothing more from a portion of fried squid than a decent portion of squid. 🤷‍♂️ I had to order another portion to avoid being hungry. I also ordered shrimp saganaki. This portion was quite large (eight large shrimps) and quite tasty. However, the shrimp themselves were a bit overdone, so they were quite tough. The sauce tasted interesting – very strongly spiced, but unfortunately incredibly salty. The house wine, on the other hand, was very well-balanced, aromatic, cold, and delicious. At the end, we were served (besides the rakia served in almost every greek tavern) a slice of chocolate cake soaked in sweet syrup with whipped cream. I consider this a completely inappropriate dessert at temperatures around 30°C and not good pair for strong alcohol. Enough about our food. Now for the atmosphere. The atmosphere of the place confirms my suspicions of being too touristy. Loud covers of pop and soft rock classics play from the speakers. The service is friendly and professional, but you have to wait super long. You also won't get the feeling of being a guest, as you might in other Greek tavernas. Well, maybe if you're a relative or friend of the waiter. Otherwise you are just a customer there. The conclusion is: If you don't like traditional mezze or you are bored with it / you are not a fan of fish or seafood / you are allergic to cheese, nuts, or shellfish, and you hate it when a waiter you just met treats you like a long-lost family member, you might like this place. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned, but when I travel, I look for authentic experiences, not touristy fare at twice the price of a classic...

We stayed here in 2018, and booked through airb&b. The room was lovely, bright and airy, with a comfy double bed, wardrobe, fridge, sofa, and dressing table. The balcony doors had shutters which kept it nice and dark. Although one night there was a massive, room shaking storm and the lightening lit up the room even through the shutters. So exciting!||There was a kettle on the fridge, a couple of mugs and a bit of cutlery, and a little cupboard with a few tea bags in a little basket. The balcony was quite small but big enough for a couple of chairs and a little table. The view was over the little road in front and you could see the sea just down the hill. There was a hand held shower in the bathroom, with warm water most of the time except one day it was quite cool because we had the luck(?) to be there when the cyclone was doing its tour of Greece and the med! ||We were on a motorbike so were able to park outside, but if you have a car you would need to park it a bit further away on the carpark or on the seafront.||We ate at the taverna below one night, it was very busy but the food was very nice. I don't recall exactly what we ordered though - but I do remember that we cleared our plates!||I would stay here again if we went...

We stayed here in 2018, and booked through airb&b. The room was lovely, bright and airy, with a comfy double bed, wardrobe, fridge, sofa, and dressing table. The balcony doors had shutters which kept it nice and dark. Although one night there was a massive, room shaking storm and the lightening lit up the room even through the shutters. So exciting!||There was a kettle on the fridge, a couple of mugs and a bit of cutlery, and a little cupboard with a few tea bags in a little basket. The balcony was quite small but big enough for a couple of chairs and a little table. The view was over the little road in front and you could see the sea just down the hill. There was a hand held shower in the bathroom, with warm water most of the time except one day it was quite cool because we had the luck(?) to be there when the cyclone was doing its tour of Greece and the med! ||We were on a motorbike so were able to park outside, but if you have a car you would need to park it a bit further away on the carpark or on the seafront.||We ate at the taverna below one night, it was very busy but the food was very nice. I don't recall exactly what we ordered though - but I do remember that we cleared our plates!||I would stay here again if we went...