Piato Agios Nikolaos Review: The Best Meal We Ate in Crete

Some meals you enjoy. Some meals you talk about for the rest of the holiday. Our dinner at Piato in Agios Nikolaos was firmly the second kind.

I was in Crete with my friend Pam and her dog Daisy, who travels in more style than most humans thanks to her stroller. We wanted one properly good dinner in town. Not a tourist trap. Not a menu with photographs. Somewhere the food would do the talking.

So yes, I will admit it. We asked ChatGPT for restaurant recommendations in Agios Nikolaos. It came back with Piato, sitting on a 4.8 star rating, and we thought, okay, we will give it a go. You can find it here on Google Maps. Best decision of the trip.

Piato was about a ten minute walk from our hotel, so we strolled round with Daisy leading the way from her buggy. When we spotted the front of the restaurant, I will be honest, we were not blown away. The entrance looks quite simple. A big sign that says Piato and not much else.

We were greeted by the loveliest front of house lady, polite, warm and an absolute delight from the first hello. We had not booked, which in hindsight was brave, because this place was heaving. She told us there would be a wait of around twenty five minutes and asked if we would like to sit at the bar in the meantime.

Would we ever.

She led us through to the garden at the back and honestly, my jaw went. Olive trees everywhere, beautiful styling, fairy tale lighting and a bar tucked at the rear with the seating slightly elevated. From our stools we had the best view in the house, watching plate after plate arrive at tables while everyone around us made happy food noises. The owner was working the room, greeting guests, checking in on tables. You can always tell a restaurant where the owner actually cares.

Pam went for a margarita, served with the fancy ice. You know the kind. One perfect, crystal clear cube that tells you the bar takes itself seriously. It is all about the details, and I do appreciate these things.

I went slightly off script and ordered the Floral Spritz, a rosé based number that is not my usual order at all, but I fancied something a little different. It was amazing. Genuinely one of the best cocktails I have had in a long time, and both of us sat there feeling very smug about our last minute win.

Twenty five minutes later, almost to the second, we were called to our table at the back of the garden. A perfect little spot with room to park Daisy's stroller, which is exactly the kind of dog friendly detail I notice.

Pam lives in Athens, so she knows her way around a Greek wine list far better than I do. We fancied a Provence style rosé and our waiter talked us through the options before helping us settle on the Gkirlemis Winery 9214, a Greek rosé. Provence vibes, said the waiter, and he was not wrong. Really good choice. Crisp, pale, very easy drinking and dangerously so.

Just as we were regretting our life choices with the loaf, our waitress appeared with a complimentary tomato soup. My first thought was, okay, that is random. My second thought, after one spoonful, was oh my goodness.

How delicious can tomato soup actually be? This delicious, apparently. Just a small taster, clearly designed to wake up your appetite and give you a preview of what the kitchen can do. Consider us warned, in the best possible way.

The menu at Piato is rooted in Cretan tradition with a modern twist, and it reads beautifully. Pam ordered the charred cauliflower, which sounds boring on paper and is anything but. I went for the grilled octopus. And then I spotted it.

All three dishes arrived together and I had strategically saved some bread for exactly this moment. The taramas came topped with fish roe and I can honestly say I have never tasted anything like it. If white fish roe spread is not your thing, fair enough, this will not convert you. But if it is your thing, oh my goodness. Sensational. I finished the rest of the bread purely so I could keep going.

The octopus was cooked beautifully. No chewiness at all, which is always a fifty fifty gamble when you order octopus, and getting it this right is a huge testament to the kitchen. Lovely charred flavour, and the avocado cream underneath was a clever touch.

The cauliflower deserves a mention with a caveat. It comes with almonds, which Pam is allergic to and did not clock when she ordered. Entirely her fault, as she cheerfully admitted, and no reflection on the restaurant since the almonds are listed clearly on the menu. What she could safely try, she loved. And because sharing is what girls do when the wrong dishes arrive, I happily helped out. Delicious.

Moral of the story: check your key ingredients, people.

There was a bit of a wait between starters and mains, and I will flag it because I promised you honesty. It was the only slight negative of the whole evening. But here is the thing. We could see straight into the kitchen through the lovely screens, and those chefs were not sneaking off anywhere. The place was packed, the waiters were back and forth constantly, and everyone remained warm and attentive throughout. Busy is a good sign.

For mains, I ordered the sea bass fillet a la polita, which is one of Piato's signature dishes. Pam went for the beef ribeye. At the time I remember thinking, we are by the sea, stick to the fish. Fish, fish, fish.

Then Pam tried her steak.

She nearly fell off her chair. She sliced a piece, put it on my plate and said, you have to try this. I was sceptical. How good can a steak really be? Then I tried it and said the exact words she did. Oh my god.

It simply melted. No sauce needed, no mustard, no pepper sauce, nothing. Just perfectly cooked beef doing all the work on its own. It was so good I genuinely questioned why I had bothered ordering fish at all.

For the record, the sea bass was superb. A huge fillet with crispy skin, a gorgeous egg and lemon dressing and peas that I could have eaten a bowl of on their own. If I had never tasted the steak I would have been over the moon with it, and I still could not finish it, though the bread must take some of the blame there. But I am not going to lie to you. I spent half of my main course thinking about Pam's steak.

By the end we were absolutely stuffed, so when our waiter asked if we wanted dessert, we waved the white flag. He returned with the bill and a little complimentary taster. A perfectly round mini cake that Pam clocked immediately as a lemon dessert.

One bite and I went from completely full to genuinely wishing we had ordered pudding. It was like the most delicate lemon drizzle, bright and fresh, and exactly what you want in the Greek heat.

So learn from us. Do not fill up on the bread, even though you absolutely will. Share a few dishes, because the portions at Piato are seriously generous. And whatever you do, leave room for dessert.

Now for my favourite little surprise. In the middle of the garden there is a door. Walk through it and you head down into what feels like a cave, the air getting cooler with every step, until you reach the cellar where they store their wine.

Old bottles line the walls and the whole thing feels wonderfully theatrical. The team actively encourage you to go down and have a look around, and you should. It is such a lovely touch and it sums the place up. Piato could coast on good food alone, but they have thought about the whole experience.

Ready for it? Two fancy cocktails, a bottle of rosé, a couple of bottles of still water, three starters, two substantial mains and all those complimentary extras came to 222 euros.

For the quality, I thought that was genuinely reasonable. At home this meal would have cost a fortune, and the cocktails alone would be around £22 each in London. In Agios Nikolaos, at this standard, it felt like money well spent.

Everyone, honestly. Take your family, take your friends, take your boyfriend, take your girlfriend. It works for a celebration dinner, a romantic evening under the olive trees or a long, giggly girls' dinner like ours. The lift makes it accessible with a stroller, which for us also meant it worked with a small dog in a buggy, and the garden setting means you never feel packed in despite how busy it gets.

Piato in Agios Nikolaos ticks every single box. Warm, genuine service from the moment you step out of the lift. A garden that makes you gasp. Cocktails with the fancy ice. Award winning olive oil, a taramas that will haunt me and a steak that nearly ruined my sea bass out of pure jealousy. Even the freebies, the tomato soup and that little lemon cake, were better than most restaurants' paid for courses.

If you are heading to Crete, make a reservation. I mean it. We got lucky walking in, but this place fills up for a reason. Book the table, order the taramas, try the steak and go and have a nose around the secret cellar.

Then come back and tell me it was freaking awesome. Because it is.

Yes, I would strongly recommend booking ahead. We walked in without a reservation and were lucky to get a table after a twenty five minute wait at the garden bar. The restaurant was completely full on a normal midweek evening.

Start with the taramas, the menu says just try it and it means it, along with the grilled octopus. The beef ribeye was the standout main at our table and the sea bass a la polita is a signature dish. If you like a Provence style rosé, ask for the Gkirlemis Winery 9214. And leave room for dessert.

It is good value for the quality. Our full dinner for two, including cocktails, a bottle of rosé, three starters and two mains, came to 222 euros. A similar meal in London would cost considerably more.

Yes. There is a door in the middle of the garden that leads down to a cave like secret cellar where the wine is stored. Guests are encouraged to go down and have a look around.

We visited with Pam's small dog in her stroller and had no problems at all. There is a lift up to the restaurant and we were given a table with plenty of space for the buggy. I would suggest mentioning your dog when you book.