The best restaurants in Mykonos

From chic restaurants to discreet tavernas, this is the lowdown for foodies on Mykonos’ must-visit addresses

21 February 2024

This Cycladic isle is the Aegean's party island – but beyond the glitzy Mykonos hotels and buzzing beach clubs, where can you find the best restaurants in Mykonos? From seafront restaurants with widescreen views of the water to tiny, authentic tavernas set further inland and farm-to-fork spots deep in the countryside, we asked an island insider for their hottest tips on the tables to book. Some are touching distance from the prettiest places in Mykonos, while others require venturing a little off the beaten track – but all serve delicious food in beautiful settings.

How we choose the best restaurants in Mykonos

Every restaurant on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has eaten at that restaurant. When choosing restaurants, our editors consider both high-end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We're always looking for stand-out dishes, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new restaurants open and existing ones evolve.

Best restaurants in Mykonos

Sophie Knight
M-Eating
Blending Cycladic traditions with a twist of modernity, Panagiotis Menardos is considered by his peers to be one of the finest chefs in the archipelago. Others on the island strive to be the most luxurious, but Menardos opted to serve quintiessential local food when he opened his restaurant in 2019. Every recipe has its roots deep in the Mykonian and Cycladic heritage and like the narrator of an epic, every year he adds a new culinary chapter to his gastronomic menu. Try the sea bass filet in a sweet and spicy tomato sauce served with baby potatoes and a freshly baked Mediterranean bruschetta, or vacuum-cooked pork fillet with a light mushroom sauce served with a parsley root puree and a rich Naxos graviera mousse. With just one exception, all the ingredients are produced in the Cyclades from the meat to the cheese. Even the shiitake are grown just a few miles away. As Mykonos doesn't produce enough lamb to meet local demand, for the bestselling dish, cooked at low temperature for 40 minutes, it has to be sourced from off the island. It is nevertheless superb.
Address: M-Eating, 10 Kalogera Str., Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Website: m-eating.gr
Rizes
Secluded out in Mykonos' beautiful countryside is Rizes, a farm-to-fork paradise. Surrounded by fields, tiny farmhouses, chicken coops and a stable, the restaurant resembles a rural village with its wide square. Under the pergola, a light breeze brings freshness together with the scent of freshly cut wheat to delight the senses. Panagiota and Nikos the owners, both from the island, left the crowded coast three years ago to settle a few miles away near Ano Meria. Nikos built the farm on Barba ("Grandfather") Giannis’ best piece of land to propose a wholly different Mykonos experience, a celebration of the island's agricultural heritage, a place to eat and share, to learn how to cook sourdough bread and sometimes to listen to live traditional music and dance until late at night. With hand-picked biological vegetables from the garden, cold cuts, local cheese, revisited traditional recipes and bread baked in its wood-fired oven, every last thing from the stuffed zucchini blossom to the delicious braised lamb and thyme-seasoned sausages is a riot of flavour.
Address: Rizes, Ano Meria, Mykonos, Greece
Website: rizesmykonos.com
Kivotos
Nero Nero
No one ever imagined a more romantic experience than dinner for two in a single-table restaurant over the sea. At Nero Nero, on Ornos bay, diners may arrive either by private boat or via the candle-lit flight of steps that lead to the wooden deck. When patrons are seated beneath the slightly baroque black Barnum, the punctilious waiter will present the menu. From lobster to scallops with foie gras, the turbot and wagyu beef, this is an extravagant table to book. Feeling like a pampered celebrity or a footballer is perfectly normal – just listen to the whispered names of those who've eaten here these last few years. Suddenly, as if in a fairytale, the huge moon has risen opposite the table just as pudding is served and we wonder if the waiter is not, in fact, a magician. After the last drop of Champagne, while taking a midnight dip in the sea, the only concern is that the boat (or, more prosaically, the car) has not turned into a pumpkin.
Address: Kivotos Hotel & Villas, Ornos Bay, Mykonos, Greece
Website: neromykonos.com
Maereio
Situated in the beating heart of Chora for almost twenty years, Maereio is a tiny but truly Mykonian taverna. Owned by twin brothers Isidoros and Dimitris Monoyios, the restaurant is open eight months of the year, and is proudly “the first to open and the last to close”. Don’t ask the brothers which is their favourite dish – their hearts are torn between the Asemina’s meatballs (based on their mother's recipe), Maereio’s local sausage with feta and vegetables, and a plate of louza, local cold cuts. The menu is a delectable mostra of the Cycladic essence, simplicity and authenticity. Sitting at the bar with a glass of the house wine, empathising with neighbours comes naturally as patrons slip easily into the barefoot conviviality. As there are no secrets that can be kept on Mykonos, the taverna is almost packed every night. Grin and bear it but do try it.
Address: Maereio, 16 Kalogera Str., Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Beefbar Mykonos
Completely revamped by the talented interior designer Stamos Hondrodimos and located in the Bill & Coo Coast Suites on Agios Ioannis Beach, the new Beefbar Mykonos exudes an atmosphere of Riviera barefoot luxury. On the restaurant's terrace overlooking the magnificent bay with its tamarisks and tiny little whitewashed churches, a whole palette of ochre tones from stately terracotta to dapper yellow can be admired in the striped shade of the pergola. Every detail, from the cosy corners to the red marble table dressed with Bernardaud porcelain dinnerware, breathes refinement. In Mykonos, the Beefbar has reinvented its concept by offering a wider selection of fish-based finger food dishes for a light Aegean lunch. The chef, Yiannis Babalis, proposes a farandole of seafood – tartare, ceviche and aquachile, fish, tasty little red shrimps from Symi, blue crab bites and crunchy calamari. Savour them with a glass of Assyrtiko from Santorini’s best cellars, an experience that will make all seafood enthusiasts yearn to return. Evenings are still for meat aficionados with fine cuts of carefully cured pieces from the best origins.
Address: Beefbar, Agios Ioannis Beach, Mykonos, Greece
Website: mykonos.beefbar.com
Cerruti Draime
Bagatelle Mykonos
The newly opened Bagatelle Mykonos, designed by Fabrizio Casiraghi, has one of the best locations in town. Right on the seafront, two minutes away from the iconic windmills, well-groomed guests gather to dine and party “à la française” in the open-air lounge or restaurant. At sunset, everyone will set down their cocktail or glass of wine and stroll joyfully to the seafront for a selfie in front of Bagatelle’s already famous front door. Joseph Kahat, the Greek-born Polish chef, comes out to greet guests who enjoy his elegant but still simple Mediterranean cuisine. Tartare fish and meat are featured as starters while the signature main course is a whole free-range crusted chicken with its aroma of tarragon. 90 perfectly trained waiters and waitresses twirl between the tables cutting and dressing fish and poultry in a well-choreographed ballet worthy of a Michelin-starred Paris restaurant. And when the DJ turns up the volume, led by the staff, all the guests start to dance under the stars. Bagatelle is more than a restaurant – it's the place to experience French joie de vivre in Mykonos.
Address: Bagatelle, Fabrika Mykonos, Windmills area, Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Website: bagatelle.com

PATERAKIS VANGELIS
Gastronomy Project
A stone’s throw from the bewitching, bustling Chora, overlooking the beach of Megali Ammos and the famous windmills, Bill & Coo is a must for both foodies and connoisseurs of up-market hotels. In the evening, opposite the hotel's sparkling pool, the Gastronomy Project plates up a menu that changes every season. Aggelos Bakopoulos, the new chef renowned for his 80 per cent fish-based restaurant in Athens (Dear Manouka in the trendy Pangrati district) dreamt up the concept of an imaginative culinary experience that fuses inspiration taken from conventional Greek recipes with modern innovation. Each dish is as beautiful as it is delicious and combines perfectly flavours and textures. Don’t miss the exceptional wine pairing proposed by the sommelier, who will take you on an initiatory journey across the incredible richness of the Greek terroirs, making supper a unique experience.
Address: Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge, Megali Ammos, Mykonos, Greece
Website: bill-coo-hotel.com
La Cantine du Faubourg
Cantine du Faubourg
From Paris to Dubai, at one time in Ibiza and now in Mykonos, La Cantine opened in summer 2022 at its new venue facing the sea on trendy Ornos beach. Settled on a wide open-air terrace planted with olive trees in whose branches lanterns bob and sway at night, the decor has a distinct whiff of the French Riviera. Elegant patrons enjoy fine cuisine with both Japanese and Mediterranean influences to the music of the DJ. After a starter of a sushi selection or an excellent miso black cod, chopsticks are swapped for a more conventional knife and fork for a feast of the catch of the day or delicious lamb chops with cashew nuts, dried apricots and red curry. Do not even think of skipping one of La Cantine’s signature desserts, roasted honey or anything pineapple. Smooth and crunchy they epitomise the dinner.
Address: La Cantine du Faubourg, Ornos Bay, Mykonos, Greece
Website: lacantinemykonos.com
Robert Rieger
Nōema
In the heart of the bustling Chora, Nōema's lush courtyard offers an oasis for chilling out. Mineral tones, beautiful costumes inspired by orthodox cassocks and a good mix of electro and ethnics beats are the signature of Scorpios’ dream team. In this acme of bohemian-chic atmosphere, the award-winning chef, Athinagoras Kotsakos (food consultant to numerous restaurants in Greece) pays homage to the simplicity of traditional Greek taverna food and locally sourced products. Tarama, Greek salad, juicy meatballs and marinated chicken breast, recommended by the polite waiter, will sound familiar to those who like to wander the winding streets of the Cyclades, as will the delicious pistachio ice cream. After 90 minutes guests are kindly requested to move to the lounge area to indulge in a last glass. Far away from the crowd, surrounded by high walls, one would almost feel privileged to dine at Nōema, last year's most-awaited venue.
Address: Nōema, Panachra, Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Website: noemamykonos.com.com
Fokos
On the remote beach of Fokos in the north of the island, this off-the-beaten-track taverna might never have seen the light of day had Chronis and Kate not stumbled on a “for sale” sign while gathering fresh herbs to prepare a Greek horta one beautiful winter day. Chronis built the place and Kate gave it its energy and soul. The Canada native had always loved Mykonos and its ambience and had in mind to one day open a restaurant here. More than 20 years later their daughter, Marissa Taboulchana, is the elegant boss of one of the best day-taverna on Mykonos. If you are looking for lobster, caviar and bubbly, pass by and go your way. But if the prospect of small fried red mullets, grilled fish, crab au gratin, hummus or tabbouleh thrills you, you have come to the right place. After your meal, take a dip in the pristine sea, a world away from crowded sun beds and loud music.
Address: Fokos Taverna, Fokos Beach, Mykonos, Greece
Kalita
Hidden in a secret courtyard surrounded by magnificent trees (yuka, pomegranate, giant araucaria), it is hard to understand that the buzzing Chora of Mykonos is just behind the door. Tucked away from the crowded streets, Kalita is a peaceful haven with a cosy and serene atmosphere. Vaios Ntousias, the chef, opened the restaurant in 2010; he enlightened the Greek gastronomy by adding a twist of modernity and cosmopolitism. All the products he uses come from all over Greece, like cheese from Naxos, mushrooms from Grevena and even black truffles sourced in the forests nestled at the footpath of Mont Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. The terroir inspires his best recipes, such as the tremendous suckling pig with crispy skin, celeriac puree, figs and sun-fermented wine sauce. Chilled-out music takes precedence over techno music here, making it a great spot for a romantic dinner date.
Address: Kalita, Kalogera Street 31, Mykonos, Greece
Website: kalitamykonos.com

Rusne Draz
Zuma Mykonos
Facing the cobalt blue seas of Tourlos Bay, Zuma Mykonos is the ideal noon-to-night hangout. Afternoons are spent on a floating sunbed near the infinity pool; indulging in lunch while little ones play together at the kids’ area. After hours in the sun (the Greek word for sunbathing is ilio therapia, sun therapy), the sunset arrives with DJ sets and cocktails. Try the Raspberry and Passionfruit Martini, Zuma’s bestseller. Forget Greek salad and zucchini balls – Zuma is for Japanese izakaya. This recently opened spot, s member of the 20-year-old Zuma group, serves the brand’s classic dishes adapted for a summer Mediterranean destination. The sushi and sashimi, robata grilled meat or seafood, wagyu selection and signature dishes like the marinated black cod wrapped in hoba leaf or the spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, red chilli, and sweet soy made Zuma the most visited restaurant in Mykonos last year.
Address: Zuma Mykonos, Mykonos, Greece
Website: zumarestaurant.com
Petros Karakasis
Nolan Mykonos
Since summer 2023, this Bib Gourmand-awarded Athenian restaurant has also set up shop in Mykonos, as some staff left the capital to snugly settle in the windy Cyclades. In a lush Mediterranean garden, to the soundtrack of a live DJ set, Nolan’s menu transcends borders and spotlights the influences of chef Sotiris Kontizas, a young chef born and raised in Athens by a Japanese mother and Greek father. Don’t miss his Cretan rooster gyoza or tuna and langoustine in rice paper.
Address: Nolan Mykonos, Kalogera 25, Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Website: nolanverse.com
Alamy
Katrin
Over 50 years ago, the Giziotis family opened a small tavern in the still-quiet Chora of Mykonos. They named it Katerin in homage to the family’s matriarch. Who could have imagined that the former everyday haven would become one of the island’s institutions? Recently Katrin relocated to a pebbled street near the adorable Byzantine Panachra Church and its red-painted roof. During the long starry summer evenings, the waiters hectically bustle up and down the stairs between the cosy open-air courtyards. Meat lovers: don’t miss the Chateaubriand served with French fries. Or order the delicious local zucchini with Mykonian tyrovolia cheese and dill or the braised octopus in red wine. If you come off-season – what every Mykonos lover will recommend – the restaurant is also open at noon in April and October.
Address: Katrin, 23 Panachrantou Street, Chora, Mykonos, Greece
Website: katrinmykonos.com
Bakalo
At the foot of an old 18th-century mansion in Chora, the few tables at Bakalo are always busy. Old cement tiles and former Greek advertising cover the walls, and the colours, fabrics and patterns throw things back to the golden ages of Mykonos in the 1960s. Order finger food like marinated sardines with sea fennel from Tinos or Mykonian spicy cheese and pepper spread, or traditional Greek dishes like grilled octopus served with Santorini split fava and lime marinated green lentils or roasted lamb shank with braised vegetables. Recently, the team opened a Bakalo in Miami, thus exporting the spirit of Mykonos to the United States.
Address: Bakalo, Lakka Street, Mykonos, Greece
Website: bakalo.gr

TopicsGreece Mykonos Europe Restaurants Eating & Drinking