Othonas Taverna
Location: Rethymno, Greece
“Staff was helpful and knowledgable about the menu. They made sure what I was ordering was made with olive oil, too! We ended up going back a second time and the waiter remembered us and had the chef make some items that are normally not made in olive oil in olive oil, specifically for me.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
PALLAS
Location: Chania, Greece
“On another night in Chania, we went to a restaurant that had more of a chic modern vibe, compared to the more traditional spots we’ve been dining at. We were lucky to get a table, but definitely make a reservation if you’re going, it was packed. We ended up eating near the kitchen. It was open so we were able to see the chefs preparing the meal, which was a fun experience.”
@gflivingbk, who manages celiac
MAGK Kontaros Market Snack Cafe
Location: Pazinos, Greece
“This was a market that we stopped at on the way home from the beach. They have a good selection of groceries of packaged food with labels. They didn’t speak a lot of English, but we used our Equal Eats cards and Google translate. They do have big refrigerators of small ice creams that are in open bins—that to me are not really safe. If we had a younger child I would try to avoid them seeing it, as to not disappoint them… my daughter got a pre-packaged ice cream bar and all was good!”
@susie, who manages peanut and tree nut allergies
Patrelantonis Marathi
Location: Marathi, Greece
“‘Patrelantonis’ taverna is a beach side taverna at Marathi beach in Chania. It’s off the beaten path but very popular, so try and make reservations. The food was DELICIOUS! And they took our allergies seriously. Highly recommend this food GEM if you are in Chania area.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Taverna Kalyva
Location: Malia, Greece
“A wonderful beach side taverna with delicious fresh food! Next to Potamos Beach, we ate here and loved all the food. We showed our waiter (the owner) our Equal Eats allergy card and he immediately asked if he could take it to the kitchen. He told his kitchen staff AND actually taped the card to the wall above where the cooks were working. They took our allergies very seriously.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Ippokampos
Location: Iraklio, Greece
“We flew to Crete and rented a car for our adventure across the island. Our first stop was in Heraklion. We spent one night here and had dinner at a great spot along the water. One of our favorite meals! Mussels and grilled squid. Here is where we learned of Greek Hospitality. Everyone was very kind and we were served ouzo and grapes at the end of the meal. We caught the sunset before strolling back to our hotel.”
@gflivingbk, who manages celiac
Sea Salt and Rosemary Restaurant
Location: Agia Pelagia, Greece
“We stumbled into this restaurant while driving from Elounda to Chania. We were hungry for lunch and wanted something by the water. We were very pleasantly surprised to see allergy icons on the menu and they listed the kinds of oil that they fried in, olive and sunflower. Our daughter safely had spaghetti bolognese. They said some of the bread in the bread basket had nuts and we asked which ones, and they pointed to one with corn and seeds. Not sure it had nuts but they brought her plain white bread. She also had a few bites of my daughter’s potatoes, my husband’s grilled tomatoes, and some fried zucchini. Great view and the seats are all big cushy couches. Very hip vibe and it’s actually at a resort, which we had no idea, we just googled restaurants near us. So glad it was so safe!”
@susie, who manages peanut and tree nut allergies
Bakalogatos
Location: Rethymno, Greece
“Staff was very helpful and knowledgable of the menu. They fry in sunflower oil so they were able to tell me which dishes they cook with only olive oil.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
Chrisostomos
Location: Chania, Greece
“This was recommended to us several times as THE place to go for classic Cretan food and it did not disappoint! Hardly any nuts on the menu and we did use our Equal Eats card here, just in case. Everything was absolutely delicious. It was filled with locals, families, and tourists, and had a few truly Cretan specialities on the menu.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Blue Monkey
Location: Agia Pelagia, Greece
“This is an Asian inspired restaurant at the Amirandes hotel we stayed at for 5 nights. We presented cards to the waiter with our allergies in Greek, and she immediately took it into the kitchen to discuss what we could and could not order. My son ordered a teriyaki style beef dish and they changed the sauce for him so he could enjoy it safely. We felt very comfortable there and the food was delicious.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Raki Ba Raki
Location: Rethymno, Greece
“Staff was super helpful but I unfortunately was limited to a few items on the menu due to them using mostly sunflower oil.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
Mesostrato
Location: Chania, Greece
“I ate here with my family and were impressed with the menu and the authenticity of the food. The waitstaff was very knowledgeable, the only nuts that I saw on the menu was walnuts. I am allergic to cashews and pistachios, and I felt safe eating here. To be safe we showed them our Equal Eats card (Which I HIGHLY recommend if you are traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language) just to be safe. Overall, delicious food and great service!”
@joellereif, who manages a tree nut allergy
Karpós
Location: Chania, Greece
“We stopped here to buy Cretan olive oil and honey to take home. There was a father and son that could not have been nicer and the son spoke very good English, and offered us samples and made sure there were no nuts. After we made our purchase they poured us some Raki that was lemon and melon flavored—Raki is served everywhere after meals and is like moonshine but this was delicious—it was the morning and we honestly couldn’t stop laughing! Such a fun experience!”
@susie, who manages peanut and tree nut allergies
TAMAM RESTAURANT CHANIA
Location: Chania, Greece
“My Family and I ate here and were able to be seated right away. I’m sure the later it gets the harder it will be to get a table, as Tamam is a very popular restaurant. We showed the waitstaff our Equal Eats card and they clearly understood the meaning of my allergy. The food was very good, I would highly recommend the zucchini and tomato fritters for an appetizer. However, the on the house dessert has walnuts, which we had to ask what the dessert was. I did not eat it even though I am not allergic to walnuts just to be safe.”
@joellereif, who manages a tree nut allergy
Creta Luxury Cruises
Location: Chania, Greece
“We hired this private boat with captain for the day to take us to a few of the famous beach and swim spots in Crete. We highly recommend the experience, HOWEVER, there was a breakdown in communication regarding the lunch provided. Just be sure to contact the company directly to order your food ahead and specify what you are allergic to. It was not communicated to us beforehand that we had the option to order our own food. Apparently, it’s all homemade for the trip, and they take great care and pride in the lunch. Nikos, our captain, was terrific and the food was delicious, but only my husband and I ate it to be safe. The travel company is called Diktynna Travel.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Loutraki Beach
Location: Chania, Greece
“This is a small family beach that is nice and clean and *organized* which means you can rent chairs and umbrellas. They have a small place to buy lunch including gyros, sandwiches, Greek salad, drinks and ice cream bars. We did use our Equal Eats card to communicate, which at first they seemed overwhelmed by, but read it and said no nuts anywhere. My daughter safely had a pork gyro with French fries and a lemonade. Very grateful to have the card! You could very easily bring your own food and eat it at the beach too!”
@susie, who manages peanut and tree nut allergies
Veganato
Location: Iraklio, Greece
“If you are looking for a healthy Greek street food option, I’d try Veganato. The restaurant is entirely vegan, but they offer homemade gluten-free wraps to go with the gyros. The owner was very knowledgeable and was able to accommodate me with celiac.”
@gflivingbk, who manages celiac
Sofra
Location: Rethymno, Greece
“Staff was knowledgeable about everything on the menu. There was a slight mix up with what they served me (I think because the server changed), fortunately, when I asked they made me another meal with the correct items the original server and I talked about.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
Kariatis Restaurant
Location: Chania, Greece
“This Chania restaurant is Italian and we chose it because it was recommended, and because we wanted a “break” from the Greek food we had been eating for days. We had pizzas and pasta dishes, and everything was delicious. We used our Equal Eats card here and there were very little nuts on the menu. We felt safe and it was very enjoyable. Very popular, you need a reservation.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Salis
Location: Chania, Greece
“This is a positive review however, my daughter did have an allergic reaction to the chimichurri that contained pistachios—she tasted the sauce off my other daughter’s dinner and while we asked about nuts on all of our appetizers and her meal, we had not also asked about our other daughter’s meal. This was a big lesson for us all, and while we normally do ask about all of the items since we know she likes to try other people’s meal, she had wanted to eat vegetarian that night and our other daughter order steak and I felt it was our fault, not the restaurant. Just to give some additional color, our daughter right away said I think I’m having a reaction, we asked what she ate, she said the chimichurri, something at home she eats regularly and we have not known it to contain nuts, we rushed to ask if it contained any nuts and the manager ran to ask and quickly came back to say pistachios—one of her worst allergies. She gave her self the auvi-q. The restaurant was very caring running to get water, standing by to see if she was okay, the server was quite upset, and I heard the manager talking to the server. He explained that he knew she had a nut allergy, but didn’t know she would be eating from that meal. I do always appreciate when a restaurant knows that we have a nut allergy to let us know if anything we have ordered also has nuts, but I do believe that is our responsibility to ask. It was quite stressful and especially being in a foreign country, although our daughter said that the recent conversation she had with our allergist was top of mind—he had told her allergic reactions are like fire and easier to put out right when they start, compared to when they get larger and it’s far harder to control, which is why she reacted so quickly. We were so proud of her. Prior to her reaction she was safely able to eat bread and our appetizers including a deconstructed pastitsio (which was like a mac + cheese with black truffles), eggplant with fermented fava and thyme honey (outstanding!), black nightshades, which was a green vegetable with a brittle that has sesame (we didn’t like this dish btw), and a side of Greek fries (very good!)
Her meal was peinrli with zucchini flower, buffalo mozzarella with pine nuts—that they suggested no pine nuts even though she isn’t allergic to them—this was like a oval shaped pizza and was delicious!
The location is perfect, right on the marina, and we went on a Saturday night and the whole area was so fun and hopping!
I have a very mixed feeling here as the restaurant was very helpful in making sure what she had was safe, the food was amazing and I didn’t think it was their fault in any way—that said, I don’t think my family given the situation, would go back to the “scene of the crime” given the circumstances.
The meal that my other daughter ordered, that was not safe, was the Black Angus Inside Skirt (skirt steak) and the Cretan Chimichurri sauce.”
@susie, who manages peanut and tree nut allergies
Petrino
Location: Chersonisos, Greece
“We had lunch at this lovely restaurant located at the Amirandes hotel we were staying at. The waitress was VERY helpful and took the allergies very seriously. They even skipped the fryer for french fries and made delicious oven potatoes for us specifically. We were stuffed after lunch, HOWEVER, the waitress took it upon herself to find 2 desserts that were absolutely safe for my kids. She insisted we have them! Which was a real treat because we mainly skip dessert out of an abundance of caution.”
@jlev, who manages celiac and peanut, tree nut, and coconut allergies
Vatalos
Location: Fragkokastello, Greece
“Staff was very helpful and knowledgeable of the menu. They fry in sunflower oil, so I was limited to the grill.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
Kapilio
Location: Rethymno, Greece
“Staff was very helpful and very knowledgeable of the menu.”
@adrianapalucci, who manages peanut, tree nut, and sunflower allergies
