Lisa Browder

I’m one of those people who thinks I like Greek food but if you ask me which foods in particular, I’m likely to give you my limited list – olives, feta cheese, grape leaves (okay but won’t make my favorites), baba ganoush (which is actually Lebanese – I looked it up, mostly to figure out how to spell it), and hummus (which is middle Eastern). So when I’m faced with names like keftedes, soutzoukakia, souvlaki, melitzanosalata, and patatokeftedes, I’m a little lost. However, I’m also the girl who, when traveling in Japan, would walk down small alleyways until I located a restaurant, point at something on the menu and wait to see what arrived. In other words, I’m willing to try new things.

Mykonos is located along the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs. The Salivaras family opened the restaurant in June 1991. They followed this up with their own bakery in 1999. Over the years, they’ve racked up a few awards for their cuisine. Those awards, along with my friends’ recommendations, prompted me to give it a try.

First impressions? The restaurant is fairly small and could use some sprucing up. Yes, it’s hard to maintain a crisp white exterior in Florida’s sodden summers but the interior, with its scuffs along the baseboards, dings in the plaster, and fast-food style seating, doesn’t have that excuse. I have a bad habit of wondering if that sort of inattention to the dining experience is going to carry over into the food preparation (not in this case).

When I walked in, no one seemed to notice me standing there. I chose my own table and checked out the surroundings while I waited for service. There was a noisy family at a nearby table preparing to leave and they had a baby, still seated in a highchair, that had systematically tossed food on the floor. When they left, their waitress sort of nudged the food under the table – a less than stellar impression. Fortunately, that one person didn’t end up ruining my lunch experience.

I turned my attention to the menu. It has almost 2 dozen appetizers, a handful of salads, a few soups, several side orders and sandwiches, and a nice long list of dinners. Most important for those of us who live for dessert, they have baklava, rice pudding and galatoboutiko (although I have no idea what that one is).

A very friendly, helpful waitress approached and, in short order, made up for my first impressions. I took her advice and settled on the lemony chicken soup followed by a fresh fish topped with a fabulous sauce and served with a combination of rice and potatoes (since I couldn’t make up my mind which one sounded better). Everything was delicious. The food lived up to every recommendation I’ve ever been given.

Then, of course, there was that baklava dessert. I only managed about half of it, but that half was wonderful.

There’s that old saying about not judging a book by its cover. That applies to Mykonos. I can attest to the fact that the food is scrumptious. Even though it’s pricey, it’s worth it. I loved it and would recommend it.

• 628 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs, Florida
• 727-934-4306
• Wheelchair accessible through back door (front entrance has 3 steps)