Comments:

Quality of food & drink Character, charm & atmosphere Service Value for money Extra ‘specialness’

When we ate at the Maruvas Taverna after the summer season had ended and the tourists had gone home. The place was packed full with locals enjoying the food and drink served at this fabulous restaurant. There wasn’t a spare table to be had when we ate there. This is always a good sign as it shows that the restaurant isn’t too touristy and locals are more than happy to eat there.

The restaurant has a typical Cretan menu of grilled meats, fresh fish, salads, pasta and oven baked dishes. The décor in the indoor eating area is beautiful and the outside has wonderful views of the olive groves, hillsides and the bay at Kalyves.

Brilliant white table linen top the deep red tablecloths matching the traditional white cut work curtains at the windows. The waiters are both friendly and attentive, despite the demands of a full restaurant.

When we took our seats at a table for two we were brought a basket of warm homemade brown bread with a delicious dip made up of baked aubergine, pine nuts and garlic – very tasty. The restaurant had an extensive wine list to choose from but we noticed all the locals were ordering carafes of the local white or red wine. We plumped for the white wine and it was very good indeed for the incredibly cheap price.

After studying the menu we chose a mixed salad for starters along with a dish of cheese filled stuffed baked mushrooms. Both dishes were very well presented and tasted fantastic too.

For the main course I ordered the char grilled chicken fillet marinated in honey, wine and herbs. My partner ordered the grilled fresh local lamb chops with potatoes. Again both dishes were cooked to perfection, delicious to eat and well presented.

On asking for the bill we were brought, as always a complimentary carafe of Raki. It’s a good job that my partner likes Raki and wasn’t driving, as the homemade firewater was very strong!

The meal was inexpensive, as always here in Crete, for the amount and quality of food we had.

We cannot recommend highly enough the restaurant Maruvas to you and urge you to visit the next time you are in the Vamos, Kalyves or Almyrida area in western Crete.

Of Special Note
A special note of commendation for the toilets – they were spotless and very tastefully decorated.