Kapetaniana is a place which wasn’t originally meant to be attracted by tourists. It is a small mountainous village in which you will find a traditional family tavern. All of its food is either from the sea or from the small village itself.
The Greeks have been taking their colleagues and friends for such a long time here that it has become a famous tourist attraction. Nowadays, it is visited by quite a lot of tourists each year so you won’t have any problems with the english language and they even have all the menus in english. You will find all of these facilities in this tiny village with narrow streets which is about 1 kilometer away from the sea but itś still 800m above sea level.
This tavern offers mainly traditional greek food which you should really try. Every day they will serve you fresh fish and different types of meat. You should definitely go for the goat meat from mountain goats. Of course, there are many delicious salads and specialties from goat cheese and feta cheese. They serve the finest quality feta cheese with their greek salad.
It is a greek custom that they will serve you a starter and the waiters will, of course, tell you what it consists of, how you should eat it and all the other know-hows. And you cannot forget a fruit bown and some raki to enjoy your dinner. The tavern officially opens up at half past seven, however, if you come earlier, you will get the usual service, you just won’t have the full menu available - that’s why some fish may be missing.
When you enter the narrow streets, you will have a view of some terraces, where you can spend some time, but the best view of the mountains is from the inside of these taverns in the upper floors.
The car park at the tavern isn’t one of the biggest in the world so the parking during season may be a bit of a problem. The road to this place is quite difficult so maybe it will discourage a couple of other tourists which will be to your advantage. You can park either right in front of the tavern on the hill which leads to it, or above it near the bins.
The Tavern Kapetaniana is the ideal place where you can relax on your way to Matala, which isn’t very far away from there. All you need to do to get there is to follow the signs to Heraklion, you will pass Mires and reach the village Agii Deka and from there, just follow the signs to Loukii. When you get through this town you will reach Kapetaniana which is written on the signs marking the tavern. This village is quite misleading so you will probably get lost in some of its streets. You do not need to worry as everyone knows where Kapetaniana is and they will gladly tell you the way.
Just after you get out of Loukli, the adrenaline will begin. You will need to get up about 8km through sharp turns and it is not unusual for drivers to honk before entering one of them to make sure they won’t end up in a car accident so you should probably do it too. When you reach the top, after a small descend you will get to a junction in the shape of Y. There, you will turn right almost in a 360 angle. You will continue descending until the road ends and this will be the final destination.
34.961684 N, 25.041634 E
