Fine Dining on Crete: Olives and Mint

That's the sign outside Olives and Mint, one of the best restaurants in Greece. Normally, delicious Greek food is served in a relaxed, casual atmosphere: a neighborhood taverna. The fancy restaurants I've seen in Greece tend to be fusion cuisine or something French. But Olives and Mint (located a short drive outside Iraklio) proves that you can take that same delicious Greek home cooking, refine the flavors and take it to the next level. This is the kind of restaurant I wouldn't be going to unless my parents were visiting, but it actually wasn't all that expensive considering the quality of the food. 

Enough talk. Here come the photos, get ready to drool.

Horta, boiled local greens served simply with a lemon wedge. My mom was crazy about this stuff and ordered it in every restaurant we ate at in Crete. She declared this one the best she'd had.

Rice cooked in lamb broth with nuts and liver. I'm normally not an organ meat person but the flavor of this was very clean and nice. Our menu mentioned something about this being a traditional dish at Cretan weddings.

Lamb meatballs in tomato sauce

For dessert, a chocolate souffle filled with molten chocolate and a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream. Trust me, if there is a heaven, Olives and Mint will be doing the catering.