O Platanos - Kandanos Chania — Restaurant in Municipality of Kantanos-Selinon

Affordable, welcoming, easy-going, and as traditionally flavorful as it gets. Reminded me of the late 90s unapologetic taverns run by local families at the Cretan province -usually one per village- that cared for nothing but the food itself. Small courtyard, decorated simply, with care. Generous treats (κέρασμα) at the end of the meal.

If you're not a local, meaning not raised in Crete, and are "selective" or "demanding" according to yourself or others, do yourself a favor and let go of expectations about regular restaurant amenities and courtesies. The rulebook you are accustomed to shall likely not apply. You will be served later during busy hours, the ever present waiters whose forgetfulness may only be matched by their heavenly kindness Will forget that bottle of water you so desperately need, dishes will not be altered to your preferences, despite all titanic, flawed effort to the contrary, and respect will only be shown sincerely and reciprocally.

Please do not misunderstand. They want to show you a good time to the best of their ability. Although their ability, thankfully, has probably not caught up with your hysteric, self-centered consumption habits, however rational and effective. So smile if you feel so, and if you don't, accept the receipt of as much positivity as the one you're willing to provide. Be patient. Be open, as possible.

In general, you're dealing with a culture where not offering a handshake and a warm, actual greeting to an acquaintance upon entering the simplest coffee shop imaginable is considered personally offensive. If you are indeed interested in traveling instead of plainly passing by this land, remember that here everything is meant in the most literal way. Including the food, an escalated, maybe the most, communication of emotions.

Don't order fries and salad. You're not 10. Get the snails, the torturously roasted goat, the seasonal greens picked from the garden yesterday, the lamp, zucchini flowers with local yogurt. Expand your palette, risk tasting something in direct disagreement with yours. Observe the local customers, the lonely tourist diner, the hanged potted plants, the silly old fashioned tablecloths. Try to converse with the ambient, not your phone. The discussion might as well start...

The worst food I had in Crete and one of the worst I have ever gotten in my life. The moussaka was terrible and believe me I learned to make it from a Greek friend and I am very good at it. The potato layers were burnt, the meat layer was tasteless and the combination was the worst. It was even more disappointing because I didn’t even want to order it as I can cook it at home but the waiter insisted that moussaka is a day food and encouraged me to order. The other dishes were also awful. All were made from frozen ingredients not even in a proper way! Even the bread for the table was so old and hard :-( I felt more of a person who’s been cheated after eating in this restaurant and sadly I spent the evening traveling between bed and toilet after having dinner in this restaurant :( Stay away...

Terrible experience, not recommended. Nothing was fresh: the bread was old, the zucchini balls frozen and wormed up, the octopus frozen and very gummy. However, the worst was the moussaka. It was presented to us as the 'dish of the day', but we sent it back almost untouched. It was clearly not fresh, warmed up such that it was also burned at the bottom. Disgusting. To conclude, the wine of the house in my opinion was diluted with water, tasteless. We were so disappointed that after complaining, we refused their fruit and rakia, asked immediately to pay the bill and left. On the way home we bought a coke to help digesting that "food", I am not joking. One of the worst...