The earthly pleasure of great food and wine take centre stage at Epico, the new destination diner at Deos Mykonos, the latest addition to the Myconian Collection. Although just two minutes from the doof-doof-doof of the afrobeats drifting through the soundscape of the Old Town of Mykonos, Epico feels as if it’s a world away.

For the Daktylides hotelier family, both the restaurant and hotel have been conceived as a place to echo their ethos of delivering great Greek hospitality. And what’s helping to attract foodies to this new restaurant with rooms is the fact it’s being led by Michelin-trained executive chef Ilias Malsaris, who also oversees Efisia at the Myconian Ambassador, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, and Sunrise, the reimagined toes-in-the-sand eatery at the bougie Sunrise Beach Hotel.

Deos is named after the ancient Greek word for ‘a profound sense of awe inspired by the sublime’. And I discover the essence of this awe-inspiring beauty when I sit down to eat at Epico. 

It’s here in this exceptional setting that I enjoy the thrill of my first Greek salad in situ, featuring some of the Mediterranean diet’s most prized ingredients. Although it’s a contemporary take on the iconic salad, all the elements are there, albeit slightly elevated: the perfectly ripe tomatoes are basking in basil oil and the dish is dotted with kalamata olives and a creamy mousse of Myconian cheese and yoghurt. 

“The very best Greek cuisine relies on the very best ingredients. Those great ingredients also rely on great relationships with local farmers and producers,” explains Malsaris.

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That ingredient-led approach is also evident in signature seasonal dishes such as the lavraki fileto (sea bass fillet) with its decadent zucchini, fennel and lemon malagouzia sauce, and the sfirida frikase (grouper fillet fricassée) with buttery potatoes and wild seasonal greens cut with capers and dill. 

While the Myconian Collection hotels all vary in size and style, they are all characterised by context and offer a strong sense of place. The dining experience at Epico is an extension of that, a celebration of tradition and innovation that captures the very soul of Greek hospitality.

Malsaris says his vision for Epico, led by head chef Krystallia Vusmaki, is to celebrate the culinary heritage of Greece by taking it back to its roots. In addition to fine dining at Epico, I enjoy a light breakfast of poached eggs and Myconian sausage by the pool and a fresh fruit on my private deck post-Jacuzzi.

What makes Deos Mykonos so good is a feeling as much as a philosophy. It’s also an aesthetic that extends to every aspect of my two-night stay.  While those outstanding views over the islands of Delos, Syros and Tinos are the first thing that charms me about Deos Mykonos, it’s everything else from that moment on that holds me captive. In addition to nurturing ties to local farmers and fishermen, Deos is dedicated to supporting the island’s artisans and is filled with handcrafted furniture, sustainable materials and original art.

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It’s both a study in geometric abstraction and a celebration of a very distinct form of Cycladic architecture. I’m lucky enough to be staying in one of the 40 suites with sea views at Deos, which cuts into the fall of the hillside from a vantage point that inspired the island’s first postcard.

I spend much of my downtime here lying on my day bed under the fading blue sky of a Mediterranean summer contemplating this postcard-perfect view. Despite the roar of the wind, my balcony is protected as I lie warmed by the sun, shades of blue on every side, watching the craggy landscape picking up the peach and pink of dusk. I watch as these tones of colour track across the wall of my balcony, knowing that this play of light is one of many deliberate design elements introduced by GM Architects, the firm known for its collaborations with the Myconian Collection. There is a layering around Deos that you see mirrored in the ripples of the ocean, in the walls featuring natural stone that was quarried onsite, the elegance of the interiors, the native grasses shivering in the wind and in the understated simplicity of a Greek salad where colours from the garden overlay across each other.

Above all, the design-led Deos is emblematic of the great hospitality that is at the heart of a family-run operation that has helped put this island with the blindingly bright whitewashed buildings in the Mediterranean on the map. While Mykonos might look different from what was captured for the island’s first postcard, the Daktylides family have simply added to the picture, brightening it with daubs of colour over decades. In doing so, they have managed to preserve both the magic and mystique of Mykonos. Awe-inspiring (and delicious) indeed.

For more information or to book, visit deosmykonos.gr

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