Avli Lounge Apartments

Eating

Food is Avli's trump card. Meals are served in the garden restaurant, from which Avli takes its name ('avli' is Greek for courtyard). Planted with palms, bougainvillea and vines, plus potted geraniums and aromatic herbs, it makes a lovely peaceful setting for breakfast, but gets quite crowded with non-residents in the evening, so reservations are recommended. Inside, there’s a dining room with exposed stone walls and a wooden beamed ceiling, where you eat in winter.

The menu features innovative Cretan cuisine, combining traditional ingredients with modern Mediterranean influences to create exquisite meat and seafood dishes – think skewered shrimps with avocado, lime and parsley vinaigrette; mountain goat with honey, thyme and baked potato; rabbit and spring onion pie.

Breakfasts are equally spoiling. Cretans firmly believe in a hearty and healthy start to the day, and Avli takes a local proverb to heart: 'Shame on he who gets up and does not immediately fill his belly'. So, to begin with, a spread of breads, homemade jams and cakes, thyme honey from Sfakia, a variety of fresh juices. Next, choose sheep's milk yoghurt with fruit or a freshly made rice pudding, then finish with a choice of traditional Cretan omelettes (with local smoked pork or baby zucchinis and tomatoes), Sfakiani (a pie filled with Mizithra goat's cheese, walnuts and honey), or Tiganopita (sugared, cinnamon pastries).

Later in the day, pop into the adjoining Avli Fusion Enoteca, a wine bar occupying a vaulted stone cellar, with a splendid mosaic Ottoman-era fountain and water channel set in the floor. Here the main draw is the spectacular wine list – with over 400 labels, Avli has one of the largest cellars in Greece. They also serve creative light meals; the green salad with smoked duck fillet and fig sauce is excellent, as is the service.

Nearby, and also owned by Avli, Raki Baraki is more informal, serving coffee, wine, raki and traditional Cretan mezedes (tapas) in a light and airy space with a tiled floor and whitewashed tables and chairs. It’s popular with local students and stages live Cretan music.

For a change of scene, Rethymno is packed with friendly informal eateries, many of which stay open all year thanks to the student population. A good spot for a seafood lunch is Pastopeion, which is set in an old stone building with tables overlooking Koumbes beach (1km west of the old town) and a view of Rethymno fortress.