My Plate of Mikonos

My Plate of Mikonos is a restaurant in Ano Mera, the island's only proper inland village, roughly 7 km east of Mykonos Town. While most of the island's dining scene concentrates along the waterfront in Hora or the beach clubs of Psarou and Paradise, this place takes a different approach: straightforward, locally rooted Greek cooking in a quieter setting.

With a 4.2 rating from early reviewers, it has built a modest but positive reputation for the kind of food that anchors a Greek meal — dishes drawn from the island's own culinary traditions rather than an international menu designed for passing tourists. The address puts it squarely in Ano Mera at the 846 00 postal zone, within walking distance of the village square and the landmark Monastery of Panagia Tourliani.

For travelers who want a break from the frenetic pace of Mykonos Town or the beach-club circuit, Ano Mera and a lunch stop at My Plate of Mikonos offer a noticeably different rhythm.

What to Expect

My Plate of Mikonos focuses on local and traditional Greek dishes — the kind of cooking that draws on Mykonian pantry staples rather than generic taverna standbys. Mykonos has a distinct food culture: kopanisti, the island's sharp, fermented cheese, appears across menus; louza, the cured pork fillet, is a local specialty; and fresh fish sourced from the Aegean is a constant. A restaurant rooted in that tradition will likely work these ingredients into its menu in some form.

The setting in Ano Mera matters as much as what's on the plate. The village has a functional, lived-in quality that stands apart from the whitewashed-for-Instagram streets of Hora. The square in front of the Panagia Tourliani monastery is the social center of the village, and the area around it has a handful of cafes, tavernas, and small shops catering to locals and day-trippers rather than yacht arrivals.

The restaurant is described as a place suited for a relaxed meal — not a high-tempo dinner reservation environment. Expect a pace that matches the village itself: unhurried, informal, and grounded. Given the low review count, this is still an emerging spot on the wider Mykonos dining map, which typically means a more personal, less formulaic experience.

How to Get There

Ano Mera is accessible from Mykonos Town (Hora) by the island's public bus network. The KTEL Mykonos bus service runs a route from the main bus station at Fabrika Square in Hora directly to Ano Mera, with departures throughout the day during the summer season. The journey takes around 20 minutes.

By car or scooter, the route from Hora follows the main inland road east — it's a straightforward drive with clear signage for Ano Mera. Parking in and around the village square is generally more available than anywhere near Mykonos Town or the popular beaches, so arriving by car is practical here.

Taxi service from Hora to Ano Mera is available; Mykonos taxis operate from the stand near the port and Old Town. Agree on the fare before departure or confirm the meter is running.

The coordinates (37.4476, 25.3293) place the restaurant centrally within Ano Mera, within a short walk of the village square and the monastery.

Best Time to Visit

Ano Mera operates year-round as a functioning village, and restaurants here tend to have longer seasons than the beach-dependent spots on the coast. For the full context of a Mykonian summer, visiting between June and September puts you in peak season — the village is busier with day-trippers, especially around midday when tour groups visit the Panagia Tourliani monastery next door.

For a quieter lunch, arriving before noon or after 14:00 avoids the midday group-tour rush at the monastery. In shoulder season — May, early June, October — Ano Mera is noticeably calmer and the village feels closer to its everyday self.

Mykonos is one of the windiest islands in the Cyclades; the meltemi wind blows hard from July through August, making inland Ano Mera a more comfortable lunch spot than exposed beachfront terraces on those days. Dining in a sheltered village setting when the coast is gusty is a practical reason to make the trip east.

Tips for Visiting

• Combine with the monastery. The Monastery of Panagia Tourliani is a 16th-century working monastery in the Ano Mera square, roughly a minute's walk from the restaurant. It's worth visiting before or after your meal; dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees) to enter.
• Call ahead. With a small operation and no confirmed published hours, a quick call to +30 2289 028770 to check they're open and whether a table is needed is worth the effort before making the trip out from Hora.
• Don't rush the meal. Ano Mera is not a place to eat quickly and leave. The village pace is slow by design — build an extra 30–45 minutes into your stop to walk the square after eating.
• Try Mykonian specialties. If kopanisti (the island's tangy fermented cheese) or louza (cured pork) appear on the menu, order them. These are products specific to Mykonos and not easily found in the same form elsewhere.
• Bring cash as backup. Small restaurants in Cycladic villages sometimes have card-reader issues. Having euros on hand avoids any awkwardness at the end of a meal.
• Pair with a beach on the east side. Ano Mera is close to Elia Beach and Kalafatis Beach — both significantly less crowded than the south-coast party beaches. A lunch stop here fits naturally into a day exploring the quieter eastern end of the island.
• Low review count means direct feedback matters. With 18 reviews, this restaurant is not yet widely documented. If something is exceptional or misses the mark, the owners are likely to be more responsive to direct feedback than a large established venue would be.

What to Order

The restaurant's positioning around local and traditional Greek dishes points toward a menu built from recognizable Hellenic staples adapted with Mykonian ingredients. On a menu like this, you would typically look for dishes like slow-cooked lamb or goat (common in Cycladic cooking), Greek salad made with local tomatoes and proper barrel feta, grilled fish sourced from the surrounding Aegean, and mezedes plates that might include kopanisti alongside olives and bread.

Louza — Mykonos's own air-dried, spiced pork fillet — is worth asking about specifically if it's not immediately visible on the menu, as it's often available as an appetizer or side even when not listed prominently. Local cheeses, including the sharper varieties the island produces, are a consistent presence across village restaurants here.

For drinks, Greek wine and local spirits are the natural pairing. Cycladic white wines, particularly varieties from neighboring Santorini and Paros, appear on most island menus alongside house wine options.