RAKOMELO Cretan Cuisine — Restaurant in Region of Crete

Rakomelo is a lovely cosy taverna on the edge of the Mediterranean in the small town is Elounda, Crete.

We arrived on a very windy day in early May, quiet in the early tourist season. The host, Panos, welcomed us in with a smile and assured us about the availability of vegetarian foods for those who needed them.

We sat in the main restaurant upstairs, with lovely views over the harbour and mountains, but they have nice waterside tables which would be suitable if it wasn't blown a literal gale (to the surprise and dismay of the staff). There was even a welcoming wood fire to warm yourself by if necessary!

Rakomelo serve the local Cretan beer, which I'd been recommended to try by a friend - clean tasting and with a nice malty flavour. The house white wine is also delicious.

The food didn't disappoint either. I'd recommend the special broad beans in tomato and red onion sauce (really rich and tasty), and the deep fried courgette (zucchini) with cheese. The house salad was also amazing. But I'm sure all the food would have been amazing - it was all obviously home cooked. If you are vegetarian there's loads of options, and the staff understand.

We had a lovely relaxed lunch, watching the windy waves and sheltering from the weather. Panos joined us for a glass of wine while we had a delicious egg custard tart for dessert, and the obligatory shot (or two) of raki at the end of the meal before we left.

I would definitely recommend Rakomelo for the food and...

During our vacation in Crete, we had the good fortune of dining at this lovely seaside restaurant in Elounda — and it turned out to be one of the most memorable evenings of our trip. The seafood was absolutely delicious — calamari, cuttlefish, marinated anchovies — all incredibly fresh and prepared with love and simplicity.

But the true gem was Manos, the owner: a wonderful, genuine, and welcoming person. He made us feel not like customers, but like guests. He spoiled us, made us laugh, and kept the drinks coming for hours…

This is why we travel: to meet people like him, who make you feel at home and create a sense of brotherhood that goes beyond borders. Greece 🤝 Italy

Sometimes people forget that behind every dish and every smile, there are people putting their heart, soul, everything into what they do, but I don't.

Thank you, Manos — we’ll be back. And until then, we recommend this place with all...

Went to this place because of all the good ratings it has, thought left quite dissapointed. We got a small snack, which we didn’t order - 8 olives, olive paste, some pea puree and not that fresh bread. Snack on the house is very usual in Greece, unusual is to add it to the invoice at the end (€4). A fish fillet with greens - €32. Crazy price for a simple sea bream, when on the side you can only choose greens or potatoes. Overall, quite overpriced place with pretty simple food. I suppose you pay for the sea view. Update: we didn’t order 1 kg of fish fillet, we ordered fillet. So it was quite a surprise to pay eur32 for it when nearby you can get the whole fish for eur15. And owner gets quite rude when rated under 5*, also lying regarding our order. So changing my rating because of the...