Akti Papanikoli 1, Chania, 731 31, Greece. Phone: +30 2821 076261
Worth visiting in a 45 mile radius.
Portes is ideally situated a little west of the main Chanian harbor where things are a little quieter, about 50 meters away from the town beach. There is outdoor seating both on a ledge right above a little harbor and right next to it, so diners can pick the height from which they want to gaze out over the ocean.
The menu is expansive. It includes every kind of seafood imaginable and also quite a few appetizers and meat entrees, not to mention a long list of daily specials.
I highly recommend the “Dip in the Sea” appetizer. It consists of mussels and various kinds of fish with pepper slices and herbs in an olive oil sauce. The fish and peppers were fresh and delicious. This is a good dish to order for the taste of a variety of seafood. Another appetizer that I enjoyed was the fried anchovies wrapped in grape leaves. At first, I was unsure about eating anchovies whole, but this is great snack food. The anchovies are crispy like french fries and are nestled inside the grape leaves like little rolls. The octopus carpaccio was also tasty, though I didn’t like it quite as much as the others. The raw octopus was very juicy and delicious, but I think too much dill was used in this dish.
The beef with wine sauce was an excellent entree. The meat was cooked perfectly and the wine sauce added a lot of rich flavor. The accompanying mashed potatoes were my favorite kind: not completely pureéd, with a few chunks of potatoes, but still creamy. I enjoyed the combination of potatoes with wine sauce. The other entree, chicken kiev (a fried roll of chicken with butter, garlic, and herbs), wasn’t Greek at all, but still amazing. Although the kiev was crispy on the outside, when I bit into it, chicken juice coursed into my mouth, along with the wonderful flavor of garlic. Alongside this dish were a cluster of Greek fries, which are larger and taste more like actual potato than French fries. Dill was also used to season these fries, but not in excess.
For a complimentary dessert we were served a delicious custard tart with sweet apricot on top. With it came a little bottle of ouzo.
Portes is my overall favorite restaurant in Chania. It has fresh seafood, a perfect location, a great views, delicious entrees, very reasonable prices, and polite service. What’s not to like?
Bluebell Reviews 