A lovely hippie place with a great view onto the sea and superb dishes: Restaurant Plaka (3. May 2026)
If you’re into hippie cities, then Matala is your place to go to on Crete. It’s quite interesting as you can visit the caves in which they apparently have lived (how??) – bring good shoes, though. Given after all that climbing in semi-optimal shoes (as it wasn’t expected) we were a little hungry, we decided to do a quick stop in one of the restaurants facing the sea. There, we went for the “Greek steamed greens (chorta)” (EUR 8.90), which were nice …
… as well as the “plaka salad (lettuce, iceberg, red cabbage, rocket, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, dried nuts, with homemade orange-balsamic dressing)” (EUR 12.50), which was extraordinary. It had so many ingredients and felt like a proper portion, and it was tasty, so, definitely something I can recommend you to try.
Even the “small fried fish of the day” (EUR 9.50) were excellent – a bit of lemon squeezed on it, and it was absolutely lovely.
The only thing, which wasn’t too enjoyable was the “Greek halva” which was the “goodbye dessert”. It was way too dry for my personal gusto.
The place is simple, made for tourists as the main guy speaks all languages to converse enough with the guests to ensure that they are coming in. And it works! So, all in all, the Plaka is the perfect place for a walk-in and offers absolutely decent food (yes, I was surprised!) with friendly service and with a good view onto the sea and the caves.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Plaka
Wanderweg zum Red Beach
702 00 Matala (GR)
Tel.: +30 28 92 02 96 98
Homepage: https://www.instagram.com/plaka.matala/
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
