Taverna-Restaurant Ilios — Restaurant in Municipality of Rethymnon

What a surprise experience we found trying to get lost on Crete's Northern shore. For years I've wanted to find out what's in the tiny seaside village of Skaleta. As often happens on Crete, what we discovered was another hidden gem of paradise. I seldom giver 5-star reviews anymore, since perfection is found in every corner of Crete. But Stelios' seafront restauarant deserves 6-stars.

Check it out. In Greece, people simply do not eat breakfast. When we saw the owner of IIios Taverna sitting at the front checking out his phone, we figured, "Why not ask?" The kind Cretan gentleman resonded to my request, "Of course. Eggs and bascon? Give me 10 minutes." This was ordinary behavior 10 years ago, but since COVID Crete filoxenia is not what it once was. Not so at Stelios' place.

The view of the Cretan Sea and Rethymno in the distance from the taverna was spellbinding. However, what impressed me most was that the lady who cooked my eggs over easy with bacon, can actually make them better than I can. And I was a breakfast chef decades ago.

Anyway, to make a long and wonderful story short. Go eat here even if you are just passing by on the main highway up the hill. It's great food, atmosphere, and authentic...

Easily the best place I ate whilst in Crete with my family! 🇬🇷 I tried Swordfish for the very first time here. 🎣 Enjoyed multiple cocktails and smoothies. 🍹

But best of all they catered to my Celiac Disease. 🤩 Starters have a no gluten symbol beside them on menu and there is a fair choice. 🌾🚫 For some reason mains do not have this symbol. I asked if I could have the mixed seafood platter- the waiter explained that I couldn’t have the battered calamari and that some of the fish on the dish was battered. 🦐 To cater to my needs he instead had the chefs grill all the fish and substituted the battered calamari rings for extra sardines! 😍❤️

(Note: I had a card from Equal Eats- one side is in English and the other is in Greek which helped them understand the severity of...

We stopped by here pretty late (11pm) for some food because we couldn’t get any in our hotel. There were not too many people inside and we thought they would not have any food but to our surprise they did! And the owners were very friendly.

We ordered traditional Greek spinach pastries and a baked goats cheese dish with tomato jam. Both were delicious and served to us very quickly. We had some extra left at the end so they packed it in a box for us to take too.

The place seems very authentic and has a beautiful view of the sea. I think it is run by a family which is a nice touch and I’m glad to support a local business.

Prices are very reasonable, atmosphere relaxed. Order something traditional Greek and you definitely won’t be...