There are few Greek hideaways as effortlessly chic as Minos Beach Art Hotel. Set along two kilometers of Crete’s shimmering coastline, this whitewashed sanctuary has long been a favorite among travelers who crave both tranquility and creative flair. This year, the hotel deepens its reputation for blending culture and indulgence with Athenian Waves: a new culinary series that brings the capital’s most exciting restaurants to the Cretan shore.
The season culminates on 4 October, when Chef Charis Nikolouzos of Jerar, Athens, takes over the hotel’s iconic La Bouillabaisse Restaurant for a one-night-only dining event. It’s the grand finale to a summer that has seen Athens’ top culinary talent: Ex Machina, Simul, and Pharaoh among them, reinterpret the island’s sun-drenched ingredients with cosmopolitan flair.
Where Art and Sea Meet
Minos Beach Art Hotel isn’t just a resort; it’s a living gallery on the water’s edge. Founded in the 1960s as one of Crete’s first five-star escapes, it remains a masterclass in timeless Mediterranean design. The resort’s 125 bungalows, villas, and suites stretch across a private peninsula, each seemingly suspended between sea and sky. Whitewashed walls, handcrafted furniture, and stone paths are softened by olive trees and bursts of bougainvillea, while the turquoise Mirabello Bay laps gently at the rocks below.
Every detail pays homage to Cretan craftsmanship and understated luxury. Villas come with their own pools and direct access to the water; the interiors, airy, minimalist, and tactile, reflect the balance between contemporary Greek style and natural simplicity. Yet what truly sets Minos Beach apart is its soul: a deep commitment to art, sustainability, and local connection.
Introducing Athenian Waves
In 2025, Minos Beach launched Athenian Waves: a summer-long dining collaboration that brings Athens’ rising culinary stars to Crete. Hosted at La Bouillabaisse Restaurant, the resort’s fine-dining jewel perched directly over the sea, each event offers an exclusive tasting menu that fuses Athenian innovation with Cretan heritage.
At the helm are resident chefs Poppy Kourkouraki and Kyriakos Mylonas, who guide the visiting chefs through the region’s produce: line-caught fish, mountain herbs, and vegetables grown in sun-baked soil. The results have been revelatory: fresh, fearless, and distinctly Greek.
Previous evenings saw Ex Machina’s team reinterpret meze culture with avant-garde precision, while Pharaoh delivered a soulful mix of urban Athens energy and old-world technique. Now, Jerar’s Charis Nikolouzos closes the series with what promises to be its most imaginative night yet: a symphony of coastal flavors and contemporary Athenian artistry.
The Grand Finale: Jerar at La Bouillabaisse
Jerar, one of Athens’ most talked-about restaurants, has gained cult status for its refined yet playful take on Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Nikolouzos is known for weaving together texture, scent, and emotion: a culinary storyteller as much as a technician. For the La Bouillabaisse takeover, his menu will draw on the rhythm of the sea: delicate shellfish broths, foraged herbs, and rare Cretan ingredients presented through an Athenian lens.
As with all Athenian Waves dinners, the atmosphere will be intimate, just a scattering of tables under the night sky, waves whispering beneath the deck. Guests can expect pairings from Crete’s new generation of natural winemakers, each bottle reflecting the island’s evolving terroir.
The evening encapsulates Minos Beach’s ethos: creative collaboration rooted in authenticity. It’s luxury not as spectacle, but as refinement: a quiet invitation to savor the moment.
Culinary Creativity at Its Core
Beyond Athenian Waves, dining remains central to the Minos Beach experience. La Bouillabaisse continues to serve refined Mediterranean cuisine inspired by French technique and Greek soul, while Terpsis celebrates regional ingredients with a contemporary twist. La Cave offers an intimate tasting menu and wine pairing for oenophiles, and Bacchus transforms breakfast into an art form with freshly baked pastries, honeycomb, and fruit from local orchards.
Under the guidance of Executive Chef Poppy Kourkouraki, every menu honors Crete’s culinary traditions while embracing creative evolution.
Looking Ahead
As the series concludes on 4 October with Jerar’s final dinner, the resort enters autumn with renewed energy: a reminder that even after summer fades, Crete’s warmth endures. And for those who missed the season’s events, nightly stays begin at £220, offering access to everything that makes Minos Beach Art Hotel one of the Mediterranean’s most magnetic addresses: art, cuisine, serenity, and the endless horizon of Mirabello Bay.
