My first and only restaurant review from when I was in Crete features Lemonokipos, or The Lemon Tree Garden, a small and chic place to visit if you’re ever in Rethymno.
Rethymno Old Town
During our first week, we found Lemonokipos nestled within Rethymno Old Town, amongst souvenir shops and precious jewellers. It had been recommended to us by the owners of the villa we stayed at, and considering their knowledge of the area and Cretan food, it was a must!
Hidden delight
The restaurant is fronted by a standard entrance, but once in we were led to the back of the building where tables and chairs sprawls out onto a communal square, under a canopy of lemon trees. Around dinner time, the sun slowly dips below the trees and the light catches on the cutlery and glassware… it’s just beautiful.
However, Lemonokipos wouldn’t have made the blog had it not been for their menu. I love a beautiful place as much as anyone, but I’ll be honest, whenever I travel, I worry about how I’m going to maintain my diet (both in terms of healthy diet, and pescatarian diet). I’m happy to enjoy myself more, indulging in a lot more cheese (who can deny fresh Greek feta?!) but I don’t want to eat cheese, or fish, at every outing.
Well-thought menu
Thankfully, the staff at the restaurant had already thought of that, and their menu extended over seven pages, two of which being dedicated to vegetarian and vegan food. They even had a vegan set menu!
In the end, I enjoyed three types of vegan mezze (made from fava beans, aubergine, and beetroot), fresh bread, olives and sundried tomatoes, and then a main of stuffed tomatoes and peppers. They even brought us fresh cherries and strawberries on the house!
Suffice to say, we returned to the restaurant again, spending two nights out of the fourteen we briefly had in Crete. If you’re ever staying near Chania, or in the north of the island, it’s worth a visit!
