On the road: Crete

On the wilder, western shores of this Greek island you’ll find rustic mountain restaurants serving flaky slow-cooked lamb, wines that taste of blackberries and cherries, and farmers’ markets full of wonderfully wonky veg

Discover mountain restaurants serving slow-cooked lamb and wines that taste of blackberries and cherries on the western shores of this Greek island

Just as I’m wondering what to rustle up for breakfast, sipping a strong coffee on the terrace, and gazing down over shimmering olive trees to Loutraki Bay, the doorbell chimes. I pad across the floor to the door. “There’s more to Cretan cuisine than moussaka.” George Koletsos, the owner of the modernist work of art masquerading as my villa, beams as he hands me a plate wrapped in tin foil. “Shepherd’s pie – cooked by my wife,” he adds. Not mince and mash but sfakian, flat pastry pancakes stuffed with mizithra, a crumbly white cheese, eaten hot and smeared with honey. As I tear off sweet, sticky, salty chunks, the silence broken by waves crashing on the beach below and the gentle jangle of goats’ bells, the life of a Greek shepherd doesn’t seem so hard.

Olea’s striking stone and glass construction is the colour of burnt sand. It soars out of an olive grove, one of two villas set high above the sea (oleavillas.com). George has around 130 straggly olive trees – and three pristinely pruned into tidy round balls – and makes his own oil. The villa is a showstopper with cathedral-high ceilings, an infinity pool, hot tub, a barbecue and outdoor dining area – and a state-of-the-art kitchen, handy for the private chef on call, or if you fancy whipping up a feast after staggering back laden with fresh produce from nearby Chania’s weekly farmers’ market.

The original Cretan capital and, today, its second largest city, Chania is charmingly low-key, the old town’s narrow streets tumbling down to a picturesque Venetian harbour. Its chequered history is still visible in its Minoan ruins, old city walls, Venetian lighthouse and Turkish quarter, but the harbour is now lined with fish restaurants and tavernas, while 16th-century Venetian townhouses, converted into chic boutique hotels such as Serenissima, hide down little backstreets (serenissima.gr).

The grand covered market hall, built in the shape of a cross at the beginning of the 20th century and modelled on the market in Marseilles, has butchers’ stalls in one arcade, fishmongers in another and speciality food stores stocked with salted sardines, glistening olives and golden oils, cheeses and charcuterie (chaniamarket.com). It’s open throughout the week, but on Saturdays there’s also an open-air farmers’ market nearby. »