The Italian restaurant located at Istron Crete is owned by two Italian young guys: Valeria & Michele. They opened the restaurant at the beginning of Covid-19, and it was not easy for the two young restaurateurs to start the business.
Valeria tells us about her authentic Italian cuisine in its traditional expressions. “The strong passion for our origins drives us to propose a very simple and homemade cuisine, where the most famous recipes of the Italian tradition are cooked with love and with respect for our excellent ingredients,” she said. “Ingredients that are not always easy to find abroad, but enouth to honor our recipes” she adds.
How did the idea for the restaurant come about?
We moved here before the pandemic, and we met an Italian guy who was running his own small place. Since he had other plans, we decided to take over his business, even though it was not the original plan!
What kind of cooking do you do? Describe to us a dish that is particularly popular with customers at your restaurant.
In our small and cozy place, we offer pizzas, pasta, gnocchi, lasagna, and some salads. Pastas and Pizza are simple and tasty. The most successful dishes we certainly have is pizza “Rustica” which is a Margherita with cherry tomatoes, crudo, and arugula, and the Pappardelle with Bolognese ragout.
The restaurant is located in a tourist area, and many customers appreciate that we are a true Italian restaurant, offering Italian wines and beers, We are distinguishable by the use of strictly made-in-Italy ingredients, such as Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano cooked and raw hams, Guanciale, a meat sauce with 6 hours of cooking time, off-menu dishes such as ravioli and Mozzarella di Bufala.
Valeria, who serves at the tables, explains and recommends pasta with various sauces, or what wine or beer best accompanies the chosen dish.
What do you think is the secret of the worldwide success of Italian cuisine?
Italian cuisine is appreciated all over the world, our good fortune is to have grown up in a country where, since childhood, the multitude of combinations and experimentations, with simple and fresh ingredients, leads us to create, to dare, to have an insatiable curiosity towards good food, and, at the same time, keep alive the memory of our grandparents, their traditions and teachings, passing down colors and flavors.
Is there any advice you would give to tourists choosing an Italian restaurant in Greece?
“I feel at home” is the most grateful feedback we can receive from our guests. It means that we have hit our goal: customers enter our home, they smell the scents, and they taste our cuisine. What we want is to convey our sincerity, simplicity, and imagination. We hope to transmit emotions that awaken memories. This is how we want to be reminded.
Livello di certificazione: SILVER 
