WHERE TO SEE AND BE SEEN
Mykonos may be in the midst of its quietest season for decades, but these chic establishments still offer a lively scene – with no wait, better service, and more reasonable prices this year.
SCORPIOS
Now in its fifth season, Scorpios has changed the party landscape on the island from all-night raves to twilight gatherings. The rambling site is beautifully integrated into a boulderstudded peninsula, with sepia-toned sunbeds sprinkled on a sandy cove, a bazaar in a Berber tent, and a firepit for “sunset rituals” featuring DJs, live musicians and maybe even a shaman. Paraga beach; scorpiosmykonos.com
SOHO ROC HOUSE
A five-minute stroll from Scorpios, Soho House’s first Greek outpost is a clubhouse with 45 rooms, combining Cycladic curves and weather-beaten bohemian interiors. Light-filled bedrooms are designed to appeal to upmarket hippies and on-trend urbanites; but it’s on the tiered terraces around the lively poolside restaurant that all the flirting, flexing and networking happens. Paraga beach; sohohouse.com
BOLLICINE
This elegant, modern space near Mando Square is pure chic. Inside, it’s one part bar, one part boutique, where you can try on edgy, expensive outfits with a perfectly balanced cocktail. The all-white roof terrace is a calm spot to taste refined dishes: salmon and grouper ceviche, black risotto with calamari, lemon marmalade and fish roe, zingy home-made sorbets. 3 Florou Zouganelli Street, Mykonos town; bollicinemykonos.com
ZUMA
Zuma has landed at Cavo
Tagoo, one of the flashiest and most enduringly fashionable hotels on Mykonos. The izakaya-style dishes are as expensive and aspirational as the highrolling clientele: wholeroast lobster, wagyu tataki with black truffle, salmon and tuna tartare in a miso bun with a dollop of beluga caviar. But it’s not all about the food – the setting is also a show-stopper, with tables floating above an infinity pool angled to enjoy sensational sunsets. Owner Arjun Waney also opened a branch of his high-end Peruvian restaurant, Coya, on Mykonos this summer. Cavo Tagoo, Mykonos Town; zumarestaurant.com
JACKIE O
Mykonos is no longer the gay hotspot of its 1970s heyday, but there’s still plenty of action at Jackie O, a glam beach bar and restaurant overlooking the golden sands of Super Paradise beach. Priscilla, the resident drag queen, struts her stuff around the pool every evening. The elegantly plated food is fabulous, too. Super Paradise beach; jackieomykonos.com
MATSUHISA MYKONOS The restaurant that sparked the craze for upmarket Asian food on Mykonos, this classy (and terrifyingly pricey) outpost of Nobu inside the stylish Belvedere Hotel has outlasted one-season wonders with its consistently superb sushi. Tables set around the pool and the outdoor sushi bar, under a canopy of bougainvillea and twinkling lanterns, are wildly romantic but also offer the opportunity for some spectacular people-watching. A perennial favourite with the fashion crowd.
Mykonos Town, near the School of Fine Arts; 0030 22890 25122; belvederehotel.com