Karnagio Agios Nikolaos Review: The Best Table on Lake Voulismeni

There is a moment at Karnagio in Agios Nikolaos when your main course arrives swinging from a metal hook and the whole evening suddenly makes sense. But let me start at the beginning, because we very nearly talked ourselves out of this dinner altogether.

Pam, Daisy and I were staying at the Niko Seaside Resort, a five minute walk from the lake, fresh from a brilliant dinner at Piato the night before, and we decided to do something we rarely do. Instead of scrolling reviews until our eyes crossed, we asked a local. Specifically, we asked Natasha, the manager at our hotel, where she would eat. That one question changed our whole evening.

Natasha did not oversell it. She said the restaurant had bright, colourful chairs, that it was quite tight inside, and that the atmosphere and the food were unreal. Then she offered to ring ahead and see if she could get us a table along the front, overlooking the lake. That, she said, is the best table to get. They are usually fully booked, but maybe she could pull a few favours.

It was a weekend in July, peak season in Crete, so when she came back with an 8.30pm reservation we were thrilled. There was no mention of the nice table. At that point we were just happy to be getting in at all.

Karnagio sits up a few steps, which gave us a brief pause with Daisy in her stroller, but we carried her up and there it was. Exactly as Natasha described. Packed to the rafters and full of mismatched chairs in every colour you can imagine, like a nursery had exploded across a Greek taverna. If I am honest, if I had walked past on my own I might not have gone in. We know I am a classy girl and clashing chairs are not usually my style. But a recommendation is a recommendation.

We gave our name at the front and the manager appeared with a flourish and an 'ah, my princess'. Then, before we could say another word, he took hold of Daisy's stroller and marched it straight through the middle of the packed restaurant with the two of us scurrying behind. The whole room was laughing. He parked us right at the front, at the best table in the place, with Lake Voulismeni stretched out below us catching the last of the evening light. We felt completely spoiled before we had even ordered a thing.

If you have not been, Karnagio Agios Nikolaos sits right above the town's famous lake, the deep, still one ringed with cafes and fairy lights, and the view from the front row tables is quite something as the sky turns navy and the water starts to mirror the lights. Around us, whole families were mid celebration, a birthday party was in full swing, and a steady stream of people stopped by our table to say hello to Daisy. It is that kind of place. Loud, warm and completely unbothered by formality.

We ordered a bottle of still water, as always, then faced the wine list, which as regular readers know is Pam's forte. We asked for a nice rose and the manager lit up. Two of his favourites were on the list, he told us, the ones he drinks all the time, and he would send the sommelier over to help us choose.

The sommelier talked us through both and gently steered us towards the slightly more expensive bottle. I promise you, he said, it goes with everything. Fish, meat, pasta, everything. When we asked about the colour he described it as rose but fuller, yet lighter. He admitted he could not quite explain it. Sold.

What happened next was a first for me, and I have eaten in some fancy places in my time. He brought out a huge glass decanter and ran the wine through it before pouring, explaining that it speeds up the flavour opening out. When I tell you the wine came out nearly orange, I mean it. We shot each other a look that said this might not be our bag at all. Then we tasted it.

It was extraordinary. The bottle was Blanc des Coteaux by Apostolos Thymiopoulos, the Cuvee Amphore, and it is unlike any wine I have had before. Full and light at exactly the same time, just as promised, and it really did go with every single thing we ate. At 90 euros it was comfortably the most expensive thing on our bill, and I would order it again tomorrow without blinking. I am still thinking about it now.

For starters we went for the fried feta saganaki with thyme honey and sesame seeds, which is Pam's forever favourite and is now also mine, because who can argue with warm cheese, honey and sesame in one golden slab? It arrived glistening, crisp at the edges and soft in the middle, and it disappeared fast.

I had been craving moussaka the night before and could not find it anywhere, so when I spotted moussaka croquettes on the starter menu it felt like fate. Imagine everything you love about a moussaka compressed into a crisp, golden ball, five of them lined up on a swoosh of cream with fine potato threads on top. One of the best things I ate all week. Order them.

We could not decide on mains, so we asked for a recommendation and got an instant answer. The lamb shank or the pork shank, cooked for ten hours. You will not be disappointed, he promised. Pam does not eat lamb, so pork it was, listed on the menu at 35 euros and billed as a dish for two.

It arrived at the table hanging from a hook on its own metal stand, glazed, burnished and frankly showing off. All around us, other tables were getting the same theatre. Chicken came through the room dangling from hanging skewers. At Karnagio, everybody's dinner is an experience.

They told us it would serve two people. It could have fed a family of five around a Christmas table, and I do not say that lightly. Our waiter shredded the whole thing off the bone at the table and set it between us with skin on potatoes that sounded humble on paper and ate like the crispiest roast potatoes of your life. And the crackling. Not chewy, not greasy, just shattering, glassy crackling that any British Sunday roast would be proud to serve. The pork underneath simply melted. No sauce needed, no gravy missed. When we surrendered, the waiter looked at the plate and asked if we had even touched it. We had. We packed the rest to go, because leaving it behind was never an option.

Just as we were admitting defeat, a saucer, knives and small bowls appeared, which could only mean one thing. A completely complimentary dessert platter followed: little pots of chocolate and hazelnut mousse, pastries soaked in honey, baklava, fresh cherries, slices of melon, and a bowl of thick yoghurt with peaches and honey. All of it delicious, all of it far too generous for two people who had just lost a fight with a pork shank.

Daisy was welcomed like a regular. The stroller was wheeled through the restaurant by the manager himself, staff and guests came over to fuss her all evening, and nobody batted an eyelid at a small dog holding court at the best table on the terrace. If you are travelling Crete with a dog, Agios Nikolaos in general is wonderfully relaxed, and Karnagio is as warm a welcome as Daisy received anywhere.

Dinner for two at Karnagio Agios Nikolaos came to 150.50 euros, of which 90 euros was that unforgettable bottle of wine. Strip the wine out and two starters, a showstopping main for two and water came to around 60 euros, which for cooking and theatre of this standard, in the best seat in town, is remarkable value.

As always, we paid for our meal in full. Natasha did mention when booking that we create content, and the team knew we were filming, so I will be straight with you: the dessert platter and the raki were on the house. From what we could see, though, complimentary treats were landing on tables all around us. Generosity seems to be the house style.

Book ahead. This is not a stroll in and hope situation, especially at weekends in peak season, when I would message at least two weeks before you arrive. You can find the restaurant on Instagram at karnagio_pitatouriga, or contact Giorgos Markakis directly and ask, very politely, for a table along the front overlooking the lake. Trust me on the table. The food would carry the evening anywhere, but that view turns it into something you will talk about for years.

Couples who want atmosphere over hush. Families, because the room is full of them and the staff clearly adore children. Groups celebrating anything at all. Dog owners, obviously. And anyone who believes dinner should occasionally arrive on a hook. If you want starched linen, murmured conversation and a pianist, this is not your room. Everyone else, get in.

Karnagio Agios Nikolaos is everything I hope for when a local says trust me. The room should not work, the chairs should not work, and yet the whole thing hums with a joy you cannot fake and cannot book. Add a ten hour pork shank, the best crackling I have eaten outside Britain, a complimentary dessert spread and a bottle of Blanc des Coteaux I will be chasing for the rest of my life, and you have one of my favourite meals in Crete. I am writing this months later and I still think about that pork shank more than I care to admit. Five out of five. I do not hand those out often.

If you only book one table in Agios Nikolaos, make it this one. And tell them the ladies with the little dog sent you.

Yes, especially at weekends and in peak season. Karnagio is extremely popular with locals and visitors, so message the restaurant on Instagram at least two weeks before your trip and ask for a table along the front overlooking Lake Voulismeni.

Very. Our dog Daisy was welcomed warmly, the manager wheeled her stroller to the table himself, and staff and guests came over to say hello all evening. Agios Nikolaos as a whole is a relaxed town for travelling with a dog.

The ten hour pork shank for two is the signature, served hanging from a hook with crispy skin on potatoes. Start with the fried feta saganaki with thyme honey and sesame, and do not miss the moussaka croquettes. Ask the sommelier about the Blanc des Coteaux if you enjoy unusual wines.

Karnagio Gastrotaverna sits just above Lake Voulismeni in the centre of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, up a few steps from the waterfront. The front row tables look straight over the lake, so ask for one when you book.

Our dinner for two came to 150.50 euros including a 90 euro bottle of wine. Without the wine, two starters, the pork shank for two and water came to around 60 euros. Starters are around 8 to 14.50 euros and mains run from 13.50 euros to 40 euros.