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Three Kretans is named for three actual Cretans. Angelo and Doxa Makrydakis left Crete for Kitchener, raised three sons — Gus, Zack, and Niko — and the Greek dining room they built downtown carries the three of them in its name. The detail does more work than most signage. It tells a diner that the food on Frederick Street comes from one family and one island rather than a generic template, and the kitchen reads that way the moment the plates land: sure of the classics, uninterested in reinventing them, and generous with the kind of portions a family cooks for its own table.
The menu runs straight down the Greek comfort lane. Gyro anchors it — seasoned beef-and-lamb carved into a pita, a lunch plate, or a full dinner — and it is the easiest first read on the kitchen. The Chicken Souvlaki Dinner is the baseline order: marinated chicken breast skewers with Greek salad, rice, roasted lemon potatoes, and tzatziki, a complete plate rather than a lone skewer. Moussaka layers zucchini, eggplant, potato, and ground beef under a bechamel cream sauce, and Avgolemono brings the chicken, rice, and lemon soup that shows a kitchen paying attention to the quiet dishes. The Greek salad is the expected one done properly — tomato, cucumber, onion, Kalamata olives, and feta under a house dressing. Starters lean on the meze: dolmadakia rolled in grape leaf, spanakopita, and a three-dip plate of hummus, htipiti, and tzatziki with grilled pita. Saganaki Opa still arrives flambéed tableside with ouzo for the table that wants a little ceremony, and dessert holds the line — baklava layered with walnuts and honey, or bougatsa, warm custard in crisp filo dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.
What the menu makes plain is a place built for sharing, not for solo takeout reheated on a plate. The Three Kretans Pikilia gathers chicken and pork souvlaki, gyro, and dolmadakia onto one mixed platter, and the three-dip meze does the same work at the start — both are invitations to put something in the middle of the table before anyone commits to a single entrée. The souvlaki comes chicken, pork, or fresh spring lamb, so a table rarely has to negotiate its way to a shared order. That breadth is the point, and it scales: the same kitchen takes on catering and private events, the larger version of the job it already does on a busy night. A table can graze through starters, settle into souvlaki and lamb plates, and still have an appetite left for dessert. The menu is built to be ordered together, not apart.
The family arithmetic behind the name is also the restaurant's origin. Angelo and Doxa Makrydakis immigrated from Crete and opened Three Kretans in 1996, and three decades on it is still theirs — a Cretan family cooking Greek food in downtown Kitchener long enough that the neighbourhood has grown up around the address. The kitchen keeps a working rhythm to match: lunch through the early afternoon on weekdays, dinner every evening of the week. The recipes are the ones the family carried from Crete, and the same family still runs the floor.
Downtown Kitchener hands the restaurant its other role. Frederick Street sits inside the orbit of the city's theatre traffic, and Three Kretans leans into it with a dedicated theatre menu and a standing nudge to book ahead on show nights, when a held table and a curtain time have to be made to line up. The evening that follows is easy to picture: a shared meze and a Saganaki flare to start, a souvlaki dinner or moussaka in the middle, baklava if the table has paced itself, all of it timed so the walk to the show still has time to spare.
Angelo and Doxa Makrydakis opened Three Kretans in 1996 after immigrating from Crete, and the restaurant's name points back to their three sons. That family origin gives the room a clearer identity than a generic Greek menu with no local story.
The restaurant has a dedicated theatre menu, reservation guidance for show nights, and downtown Kitchener geography that makes timing part of the appeal. It is built for guests who want Greek dinner before a performance without gambling on the clock.
The strongest menu signals are not obscure: Gyro, Chicken Souvlaki Dinner, Moussaka, Avgolemono Soup, Saganaki Opa, and Baklava. The appeal is a full Greek comfort spread with enough starters, plates, and desserts to build a table around.
This is Restaurantica’s own read — synthesized from publicly available sources across diner signal and editorial research, last updated June 2026. It’s our interpretation of the evidence, not a crowd average — and placement is never for sale.
Three Kretans is built for dinner with a clock attached: theatre menu, reservation guidance, and a downtown location that make pre-show timing part of the visit. It is a practical Greek choice when guests want a real meal before the curtain, not a rushed compromise.
The restaurant has a real Greek identity story: Angelo and Doxa Makrydakis came from Crete, opened the restaurant in 1996, and named it for their three sons. That background gives the souvlaki, gyro, dips, and desserts a clearer frame than generic Greek comfort cooking.
The strongest dishes are classic Greek comfort plates: Gyro, Chicken Souvlaki Dinner, Avgolemono Soup, Moussaka, Saganaki Opa, and Baklava. The selection is broad enough for a full group, but its centre of gravity stays with familiar plates that regulars can return to.
This is an easy place to order communally: Three Kretans Pikilia, Three Dip Meze, Dolmadakia, Spanakopita, Saganaki Opa, and family-style catering all point toward sharing. Groups can start with the meze side, then split into souvlaki, lamb, fish, or vegetarian plates.
Lunch plates, pita sandwiches, shared dips, and classic dinners give guests several ways to control spend without leaving the Greek lineup. The value is not a gimmick; it comes from flexible formats for quick lunch, full dinner, or shared starters.
Restaurantica’s write-up above is synthesized from broad public signal — community reviews add the first-person layer. Share the nuances of your visit to Three Kretans Greek Restaurant in Kitchener: the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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