Crete Island Local Custom Tips by AcornMan Top 5 Page for this destination

Cover charges for meals Food and Drink Review

There was almost always a cover charge for the meals we ate on Crete, something I don't recall seeing on Santorini, Naxos, Aegina, or in Athens. It was typically anywhere from 40 to 80 cents, the idea being, I suppose, that it pays for the bread, water, raki, and dessert (so I guess the raki and dessert aren't really free after all). Many menus list the cover charge, and it's always on the itemized receipt you'll receive after your meal. Just look for "KOYBEP" on it.

Free dessert! Food and Drink Review

Unlike other places I have visited in Greece, it was very common on Crete to receive a small complimentary dessert after a meal. We were most often given halva, ice cream, or fruit, all of which go great with the complimentary raki we also received. In Elos we received fresh cherries that were the best I have ever tasted. In fact, we even brought the seeds home and planted them. With any luck we'll have our own Cretan cherry trees in a few years!

Raki Raki (tsikoudia) Review

Nearly every single meal I had on Crete (except breakfast) was followed by a complimentary shot of raki, and in many cases an entire carafe of it. In other parts of Greece I have been served ouzo, but this was my first taste of raki. I got kind of used to it, but in all honesty I thought it was like swallowing an angry porcupine that has been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. In my tour book it said it's insulting not to drink raki that is given to you, but I asked a waitress about this in Paleochora and she said they only serve it to tourists, never to Greeks, and that it's no big deal at all if you don't drink it.