Dining at Vegera
Greece Travel Secrets eats at Vegera in Zaros and finds a cheap but
wonderful feast of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes cooked daily with fresh
local food.
The Vegera Restaurant in Zaros
We were staying in Zaros on Crete at the lovely Keramos
Studios, where they only serve breakfast, so we walked a minute round the
corner and found the Vegera Restaurant. It had been recommended to us by our
Cretan guide, Isi from Go Crete, who we knew by now could be relied on to find
the best eating places around.
Vegera is run by the vivacious Vee-Vee, who is part of the family that also runs the Keramos Studios. Not only is vee-Vee quite a character, we were soon to discover that she is also quite a cook.
Part of our Feast at Vegera
Dining at Vegera –
the Menus
Vee-Vee doesn’t have a regular menu, but three basic set-price menus and you choose one of these: Full Menu with Fish, Full Menu with Meat, or Full Vegetarian Menu.
When the restaurant opened in 2011 they decided they would only serve food cooked fresh that day. Zaros doesn’t get many visitors so it’s difficult to have a big menu and make everything fresh. They didn’t want to serve people yesterday’s moussaka but instead cook like you would cook at home.
We ordered some red and white wine and told Vee-Vee we would eat anything, so she offered us a mix of all menus. She then disappeared into the kitchen, where somehow she managed to conjure up a feast for each of the several tables that were full.
The Feast at Vegera
Lentil Soup
Stuffed Tomato, Stuffed Zucchini, and Moussaka
Vee-Vee Makes Great Pies Too!
Stuffed Cabbage and Stuffed Vine Leaves
We started with a dish of lentil soup, which smelled and
tasted fantastic. Then some cheese pies arrived, followed by spinach pies, a
plate of wild greens, some cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, some stuffed vine
leaves, a green salad, stuffed zucchini, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, several
mini moussakas, and finally a main
course which was a bigger dish of
beef, onion and rice.
Beef Stew
We thought that was it, but no. Finally came a whole trout,
which the town is noted for as there's a trout farm here. It’s one of only two
places on Crete where they farm trout. To round off the meal, Vee-Vee produced
a bottle of raki, and a piece of chocolate cake. When we came to pay I think
Vee-Vee simply made up a figure. As it was a remarkably small figure for such a
feast, we didn’t worry.
Local Trout
Dining at Vegera
Vee-Vee is very enterprising and also gives cookery courses,
organises cooking and wine-tasting holidays, and can arrange for people to eat
with the locals. Find out more on the website for the Vegera Restaurant
in Zaros.
And Finally (Really) Chocolate Cake!
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Other Crete pages
This tour around central Crete lists some of the area’s highlights such as the traditional village of Arolithos, Minoan remains at Tilisos, and Agioi Deka.
This Rouvas Gorge walk starts and ends in Zaros in southern Crete and should take three to four hours with a distance of eight kilometres or five miles.
The area east from Paleohora along the south-west coast of Crete includes resorts like Agia Galini, gorges like the Imbros Gorge and quieter towns like Sfakia.
Greece Travel Secrets goes hiking in southwest Crete with Ramblers Walking Holidays based in Paleohora and hiking the E4 footpath and to Anidri and Azogires.
Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
Greece Travel Secrets chooses ten of the best beaches on Crete including the beautiful beaches at Vai and Elafonisi.
The Samaria Gorge is one the longest gorges in Europe and doing the hike is one of the best and most popular things to do on Crete.
These shopping tips for Crete include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, icons, jewellery, leather, weavings, wood carvings, and food and drink.
Visiting Knossos near Iraklion is one of the best things to do on Crete, and this page has a history of the site with visitor information.
Rethymnon is the third-largest city in Crete and has a Venetian fortress, Archaeological Museum, Old Town area and Venetian harbour,
Greece Travel Secrets suggests where to stay in Eastern Crete with our favourite hotels in Zakros, Elounds, Sitia, Agios Nikolaos, Istron Bay, Myrtos, Neapolis.
Malia on the north coast of Crete is renowned for its nightlife and beaches but also has the Minoan Palace of Malia, one of Crete's many archaeological sites.
Lonely Planet Crete is an excellent and thorough guide of almost 300 pages to the largest of the Greek islands.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
The largest of the Greek islands, Crete has four ENUESCO sites, which are Sitia, Psiloritis, Asterousia, and the Gorge of Samaria.
Agios Nikolaos is a pretty and popular town on the north coast of Crete and this page on Greece Travel Secrets covers its history, museums and beaches.
Greece Travel Secrets’ potted guide to Eastern Crete and why you should consider it for a holiday, including seeing Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, Vai Beach and Zakros.
The Byzantine Church of Panagía Kerá near Kritsa and not far from Ayios Nikolaos is one of the most famous in Crete, and close by is the site of Ancient Lato.
Driving central Crete in three days gives you time to see the highlights including the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the beaches and the Diktean Cave.
Icon painting is a centuries-old tradition in Crete and the rest of Greece, and Greece Travel Secrets meets a modern-day icon painter in Elounda on Crete.
How to make Petimezi, the sweet Cretan syrup made from wine must, is explained to Greece Travel Secrets.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Zacharioudakis Winery near Ancient Gortina in southern Crete, and does a vineyard tour arranged by our guide from Go Crete.
Crete’s wildlife and landscape are two of the island’s attractions, including gorges for hiking, rare raptors like the lammergeier, wildcats and ancient trees.
Elounda on Crete's north coast is a popular holiday town with a pretty harbour, from where you can take day trips by boat to see the island of Spinalonga.
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