There’s More To Mykonos
By Simon Mills
Simon Mills is an editor at Wallpaper* and a writer for The Times and Esquire magazine. We asked him what he loves about Mykonos, and where his favourite spots in town are.
Scorpios
Mykonos changes every year; the island keeps getting more developed and sophisticated but still manages to maintain a unique charm and simplicity. It’s also now establishing its own unique identity and personality as not just an alternative Ibiza anymore, but a destination with its own aesthetic, lifestyle, food and music. I keep going back because the sea is warm... for six months of the year!
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DANCE
For dancing you have to go to Tomas Heynes and Mario Hertel’s Scorpios - a fabulous thunderdome of Myconian pleasure decorated in jet-set Mayan style. It’s like being on the set of the most expensive Sting video ever made. After a session of holotropic breathing or Kundalini yoga, you can eat healthy but robust food—huge pieces of wagu beef meat and massive plates of seafood—and then dance to tribal rhythms on the terrace as the sun goes down. To maximise the experience, you’ll probably need to accessorise with a feathered headdress.
RELAX
The second time I went to Scorpios, I discovered the San Giorgio hotel, also owned by Tomas and Mario and just a short beach walk away. It’s a really lovely whitewashed escape—a quiet pool area with an organic restaurant and big soft beds to lie on. All the DJs stay here. Take a walk down to the sea and you’ll discover a cluster of private, decked areas hidden amongst the rocks for secret swimming and sunbathing. If you’ve misbehaved the night before, San Giorgio even has its own little chapel where you can make a morning-after confessional.
EAT
My friend Nick Allot, a repeat Mykonos vacationer, told me about Kiki’s Taverna on Agios Sostis Beach. It’s not much to look at—just a simple shack down a wiggly, sandy path—but the lines of hopeful diners outside, a full hour before it opens at 12.30pm, tell you everything. The best food on the island is cooked on an open grill as Kiki’s doesn’t even have electricity, and it is utterly delicious. Order the grilled octopus with Greek Salad, then the pork chop with creamy roasted beetroot. And don’t worry about the queue because the owners will give you a free glass of rose to drink while you wait. Arrive early and stay all day.