Barrio The Neighbourhood Cafe — Restaurant in Municipality of Rethymnon

Despina — you deserve a thousand thank-yous. And do you know why?

It all began with my journey to this magical town — Rethymno.

After a quick ride from the lovely Bali Village, I found myself in Rethymno — and not by accident…

My route took me past Barrio. I was simply on a mission to buy myself an orthopedic pillow, because my old one had started to resemble the hump of a dehydrated camel that had been lying in the desert for a thousand years.

So there I was, strolling by Barrio… And I saw …That primal beauty. Pure aesthetic. A sweetness that pulled at me like temptation itself.

Everything else lost meaning. All I could feel was… how deeply I wanted.

What happened next was a blur. Somehow I’m in the store, pillow in hand — but my mind, my soul, my very being… was elsewhere. Burned with craving. Desire. Pure, raw desire.

That look… it haunted me. With all the strength I had left, I ran back. I had to experience this temptation — not just platonically, but, if you’ll pardon me… physically.

To touch it. To close my eyes and surrender, cell by cell, to that one desire that struck me like lightning at first glance.

And when I finally returned… I looked again… And I died and was reborn a thousand times. Right there. Motionless. And all of that, all of that happened to me… because of a banana bread.

🙏 Thank God Despina was nearby.

Like a true goddess, she brought me back to life within seconds. Suddenly, without even realizing how, a cold cappuccino was in my hand, and the banana bread was already melting in my mouth…

I barely held on to reality. I could’ve died in the ecstasy of it — but Despina kept me grounded, gently waking me up now and then with her divine calm.

To everyone involved in the creation of this masterpiece — thank you. To Despina’s parents — thank you for gifting the world such a graceful, magical being. To the wonderful Finns sitting next to me — thank you for sharing the moment (and some banana bread). They said they’d come back to Crete just for this bread.

As for me — I’m staying on Crete for the next year, and I’m not going anywhere. Not because of the sea, not because of the sun — Because of this banana bread.

Thank you for your attention. May all of you receive generous tips and kind guests.

P.S. Don’t sleep on bad pillows. You’re still young. Take care of yourselves. 🫶 P.P.S. I work as a bartender in Bali Village — come visit me at the Diamond Hotel bar.

Kisses...

BARRIO – a place that makes you addicted… That’s what my boyfriend told me after trying the chocolate brownie and banana bread here. I didn’t believe him. And so we went together…

Today we enjoyed a breakfast for two (they gifted us fresh juice and coffee — soooo sweet!)

And that’s where it all began…

First, we looked at each other, then at one another again, and back at each other…

We couldn’t believe that this breakfast, kindly described to us by a girl with an angelic voice, would be so… so… exceptional.

But even then, we had no idea what kind of gastronomic adventure awaited us. The fried egg with bacon was a classic. But the sausage… the sausage deserves first place among all sausages in the world (perhaps even in our galaxy)! This sausage makes you close your eyes and dream of only one thing — that when you open them, you’ll realize you haven’t eaten it all and can keep enjoying it!

Forgive me, dear mister from Krakow who’s been grilling sausages for locals and tourists for 20 years — your sausage has now moved to second place, while yours (Barrio’s) has taken the top spot in my world sausage ranking!!!

The pancakes melted in our mouths, the delicious jam, the honey, and the bread that reminded us of a colorful infinity of taste…

Thank you again and again, to every single member of Barrio for your talented work.

P.S. We’ll be back — and we won’t be...

We visited the town and was looking for something to eat we saw the reviews and thought we would give it a try. The food was a great price for what you get I have a severe nut allergy and asked for the chicken nuggets but they said I could not have them as they are marinated in a spice mix (if anyone has the same allergy reading this, this has happened a few times since visiting Crete) I personally do not think that it is marinated in nuts but I think they are not sure on the spice mix so advise against it. If you are visiting Crete with a nut allergy be sure to look at my other reviews for where I have eaten 😊 They advised me on a Turkey club sandwich instead think this is because it was pretty plain It was nice just way too much sauce of some kind for my liking think it was mayo but didn’t say that on the menu as I am not actually a fan of mayo My partners was nice and for the price you cannot argue we would not get anywhere like it back home The staff were friendly and it’s a nice...