OPA! GREEK PARTY

Platis Gialos · Mykonos · Since 1969

WednesdayFridaySunday

Mykonos' original Greek night. The same floor, the same island, the same reason to stand up — since 1969.

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Origins

A taverna, a village,and an island that has never needed a reason to dance

In the late 1960s Yiannis Kousathanas opened a small taverna above the sand at Platis Gialos. He fished at dawn, grew what he could, and cooked over a wood fire. The island already called his family Petinos — the rooster — for their nerve.

There was no stage and no programme. There were locals who came down after work, a table pushed aside, and whoever knew the steps. His wife Foteini and their children grew up inside it, and out of those evenings came the first organised Greek nights on Mykonos. Everything you'll see on a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday is still the village version — only the room got bigger.

Dancing is the soul of Mykonos. It is how we celebrate life.

The line moves through the room at Blue Myth, arms over shoulders
1969and every generation since

From the family album

The same steps,the same floor, every summer since 1969

Yiannis Kousathanas dancing in the harbour of Mykonos Town
Yiannis Kousathanas, dancing in the harbour of Mykonos Town
The mantili raised between two hands at the taverna
The mantili, raised between two hands at Platis Gialos
Two of Yiannis' children dancing at the taverna
Two of Yiannis’ children, leading the dance as they always did
An ordinary evening at the taverna
An ordinary evening at the taverna, before anyone called it a landmark

The ritual

How the night turnsCome at 20:30 — it only works from the beginning

It runs in the same order every time, and it runs as one evening. Late arrivals catch the end of something they can't get back.

  1. 20:30

    The table is set

    The bay is still bright. Bread, olive oil, cold white wine, and the whole of Platis Gialos in front of you. Be seated now — everything after this happens once.

  2. 21:00

    Old Greece

    Our DJ opens somewhere around 1955 — rebetiko, the islands, the songs your grandmother would hum without meaning to. Nobody explains it. The room simply changes temperature.

  3. 21:30

    The mantili

    A white napkin lifted between two hands. One leads, one holds. It is the oldest invitation in Greece, and in this room it has never once been refused.

  4. When you least
    expect it

    The ring of fire

    A circle drawn on the floor and lit. One dancer inside it, every phone in the room up. We never announce this one, and we never do it at the same hour twice.

  5. And then,
    all at once

    Plates, chairs, tables

    The plates go. Guests are on their feet, some on the chairs, a few on the tables. Grandmothers, honeymooners, a table of sixteen who booked three hours ago.

  6. Later

    And then the world joins in

    Later the set leaves the Aegean altogether. Greece opens the night; the rest of the world finishes it. That part we will let you find on the floor.

The OPA! dancers, arms over shoulders
Yiamas!

Three nights a week the room stops being a restaurant. Nobody stays in their chair, and nobody wanted to.

Ópa!

Break one.Everyone remembers their first

Ten on the table. Take your time, or don't.

0 plates smashed ·

The feast

Everything in the middle,nothing precious, plenty of it

Same kitchen and the same hands as Thea, our sister restaurant across the way. Fish comes in on ice at the door; the rest is the food this island has always put on a table when it wants you to stay.

Tzatziki

the first bowl down

Strained yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, and more olive oil than we'd admit to in writing.

Horiátiki

the village salad

Tomato, cucumber, caper leaves, red onion and a full slab of feta laid on top. No lettuce, ever.

Saganáki

flamed at your table

Kefalotyri in the pan, lit, and killed with lemon. This is the dish the word OPA! actually belongs to.

Grilled Octopus

htapódi sti skhára

Dried on the line outside, then charred until the edges turn sweet. Vinegar, oregano, nothing else.

Fish of the Day

whatever the boats brought

Chosen from the ice at the door, weighed in front of you, then charcoal, lemon and olive oil.

Garídes Saganáki

prawns, tomato, feta

Aegean prawns baked in tomato with feta melting through it. Order extra bread. Everyone does.

Paidákia

lamb chops, off the coals

Mykonian lamb, oregano, coarse salt, eaten with your hands. We will not be offering cutlery advice.

Moussakás

the one they all order

Aubergine, minced lamb and a béchamel that takes the whole morning. Comes out of the oven at 19:00.

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Visions

The night,exactly as it happens

Reserve

Take a tableAsk for the rail — the bay, the sunset and the floor, all at once

Greek nights fill first, and the room only seats so many. Book ahead, and arrive for 20:30.

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The bay

Above the sandat Platis Gialos

Address

Blue Myth Restaurant
Platis Gialos, 84600
Mykonos, Cyclades, Greece

Greek nights

Wednesday, Friday & Sunday
From 20:30

Restaurant hours

Open daily · 12:00 – 00:00
Breakfast from 08:00

Getting here

Get directions →

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Greek night · Blue Myth