Well of the Turk Menu — What to Order
Published
Order across the border this menu draws: shish kebab with avocado-orange salad is the house signature, slow-cooked lamb with preserved lemons and couscous the main to share, and a Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka the dish that converts carnivores. Dinner lands around 25 to 30 euros a head. Here is what to order in the prettiest courtyard in Chania's old town.
What the Well of the Turk Cooks
The Well of the Turk is a Cretan-Levantine kitchen inside an Ottoman-era stone house at Kallinikou Sarpaki 1, in the Splantzia quarter, with the namesake well in the middle room. Founder Jenny Payavla built the menu around her summers in Tangier, and owner-chef Elina Manoursaridou has kept the Moroccan and Middle Eastern thread running through Cretan produce, pulling in flavours from Greece, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon. Tripadvisor named it a Travelers' Choice in 2024 and 2025, and it ranks around 36th of nearly 500 restaurants in the town. Our Well of the Turk review calls it the most transporting room in Chania; the reservation guide covers the phone-only booking.
What to Order at the Well of the Turk
Shish kebab with avocado-orange salad is the first order and the dish that explains the project: char-grilled meat against a cool, citrus-bright salad you will not find at the taverna next door. From there the kitchen's tells are clear.
Slow-cooked lamb with preserved lemons and couscous is the Moroccan heart of the menu, and the Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka is the plate that converts committed carnivores. Build the table from the meze: aubergine meatballs, a beetroot dip, mushroom saganaki, hummus, and stuffed courgette flowers in season. There is a well-liked smoked-salmon pasta with dill and ouzo for a lighter main. Close with Moroccan mint tea poured high.
What Dinner Costs
Dinner runs about 25 to 30 euros a head for a full meze-and-mains meal with Cretan wine, mid-range for the old town and well under resort prices. It is the rare room that looks like a splurge and prices like a neighbourhood taverna. Exact menu prices are not published online, so treat the figure as a guide and let the meze list, which is where the value sits, carry the meal.
The Smart Play
Book for 20:30, open with three or four meze, share the signature kebab and the lamb, and add the moussaka for the table. It is a first-date and proposal room in the candlelit well chamber. The rest of the town sits in our Chania dining guide; the Adriatic sibling in old stone is Galion in Kotor and what to order there, with Ninia's Garden in Tbilisi as the courtyard cousin. For the wider field, see our best seafood restaurants worldwide.
View the Well of the Turk on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Well of the Turk review.
- How to get the table: Well of the Turk reservation guide.
- The wider town: Chania dining guide.
- Old stones elsewhere: Galion in Kotor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you order at the Well of the Turk?
The shish kebab with avocado-orange salad is the house signature and the dish that explains the whole Tangier-via-Crete project. Add the slow-cooked lamb with preserved lemons and couscous, the Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka that converts committed carnivores, and aubergine meatballs from the meze list. Finish with Moroccan mint tea poured high. See our full Well of the Turk review for the room.
How much does dinner at the Well of the Turk cost?
Dinner runs about 25 to 30 euros a head for a full meze-and-mains meal with Cretan wine, which is mid-range for Chania's old town and well under resort prices. It is the rare room that looks like a splurge and prices like a neighbourhood taverna. Exact menu prices are not published online, so treat the figure as a guide.
What kind of food does the Well of the Turk serve?
Cretan-Levantine cooking that draws on Greece, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon. Founder Jenny Payavla built the menu around her summers in Tangier, and owner-chef Elina Manoursaridou has kept the line: shish kebab with avocado-orange salad, lamb with preserved lemons and couscous, a Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka, beetroot dip, and mushroom saganaki.
Is the Well of the Turk good for vegetarians?
Yes, unusually so. The Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka is a headline dish rather than an afterthought, and the meze list carries beetroot dip, aubergine meatballs, hummus and seasonal stuffed courgette flowers. A vegetarian can build a full meze-led dinner here without touching the kebabs, and gluten-free diners are catered for as well.
Where is the Well of the Turk?
Kallinikou Sarpaki 1, in the Splantzia quarter of Chania's old town, opposite the sunken church of Agia Irene and a ten-minute walk east of the Venetian harbour. Dinner only, 18:00 to 23:30. Read our full Well of the Turk review for the room and the history of the well inside.