We arrived at dusk in Heraklion during our latest tour of the Grecian islands.
It was a comfortable ferry ride from the isle of Santorini to Crete. It being the evening already, we wanted to peruse a wonderful dinner that featured Crete’s local recipes. We chose the Vetri restaurant in the Galaxy Hotel because it was one the most modern and attractive spots in the city, although parking was somewhat difficult to find. The hotel lobby was very clean and superbly designed. The biggest difference between Crete and the other Greek Islands we visited (Santorini & Mykonos) is that Crete is open to receiving tourists conveniently all year long. Santorini & Mykonos gets tougher to get to in the off-season because of the reduced availability in hotels and ferry connections.
I am pleased to share my delightful experience with Galaxy Hotel & Villa’s Vetri Restaurant. The restaurant looked so good, we wanted to try its large variety of fresh food. Luckily, we were blessed enough to taste 7 courses of delicious food! Here we go!
We started off with a simple breadbasket served with the most delectable olive oil. One sure thing Greece can spoil you with is its abundance in olive oil. The server surprised us by serving two Cretan dakos (essentially small biscuits) that had fresh tomato, extra virgin olive oil, capers, olives and mizithra cheese. It was a lovely surprise as it was crispy, rich, and savory with the combinations given by its ingredients. It certainly got us looking forward to what’s to come.
The next dish we had was the sea bass ceviche, marinated with coriander, lemongrass and lime, cauliflower cream, fresh peas and roasted beets. This was a very flavorful dish, which was soft and moist while enjoying some texture contributed by the roasted beats.
The next dish was certainly hearty as it was their traditional ‘biftekia’ beef burgers served with fresh roasted vegetables, fried potatoes, grilled pita breads with olive oil and oregano. I was quite happy as the beef burgers were wonderfully lean yet flavorful. This is definitely enough to be a meal on it’s own.
Now, putting lean aside, the next dish that arrived is pork tenderloin wrapped in mildly smoked Cretan ham, cream of pumpkin and trompette mushrooms. Wow, talk about flavor and richness! This dish was amazingly delicious!
The last main dish is certainly a much healthier option, the dorade (sea bream) ‘sofegada’ style with Cretan wild greens, new potatoes and herbed olive oil. The dorade was light and flakey. It also blended very well together with the herbed olive oil. For desserts, we enjoyed two different types of sweets. The first confection was served cold and the second was served fresh off the oven.
The first confectionary was Greek-style tiramisu. After travelling to so many different countries, I’ve discovered that everyone does the tiramisu with their own flair. This one was a smaller, fudgy tiramisu. It didn’t really have much of a cake texture but the traditional tiramisu flavors are definitely evident. I’m also thankful that it was not overwhelmingly sweet.
Finally, I had the banoffee soufflé. The server recommended this one to us and stated that if we wanted it, we would have to instruct the chef in advance as preparation takes 20 minutes. I love the entire hot and cold dessert experience. The soufflé came in wonderfully warm where the contents remained so flavorfully moist. It was served with a side of vanilla ice cream drizzled with a red fruit sauce (coulis). An iconic dessert, it definitely did not fail to enthrall us.
As a guest of Hotel Galaxy for an evening, I feel happy and satisfied that I got to taste Cretan food with the large variety of dishes we were able to experience. When in Heraklion, stop by at the Vetri Restaurant and experience a contemporary yet festive meal the Cretan way!
Thanks to Galaxy Hotel Iraklio | Dimokratias 75, Heraklion, Crete 713 06, Greece
