10 Best Foods and Dishes in Mykonos Everyone Should Try

The original Mykonos kopanisti is a fine cheese that can compete with top European cheeses. Many people even refer to it as the “Greek Roquefort.” It’s thick and creamy with a spreadable texture, peppery and intense flavour, and yellowy-pink colour. It’s made from sheep’s milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk, and takes around 4 months in total to produce.

It’s commonly served as a table cheese, on its own as an appetiser, or spread on bread or on a Mostra rusk. Kopanisti can be kept in the fridge for up to a year after the date of production.

Kremidopita (onion pie) is one of many Mykonos delicacies associated with Easter. Although the pie contains onion, the tanginess of the onion is balanced with creamy tirovolia cheese. The recipe also includes dill and various wild herbs and spices.

Unlike in other regions of Greece, there are only 2 sheets of thick filo pastry wrapped around the filling. This results in the appealing contrast of a crispy texture on the outside with a creamy texture on the inside.

Lazarakia take their name from the tradition by Orthodox Christians of making them on Lazarus Saturday - the Saturday that begins Holy Week and commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus.

Every year on this day, Lazarakia are sold in the bakeries on Mykonos and the streets and alleys are filled with their delicious aroma. They are handmade biscuits sprinkled with sugar and raisins and take the shape of a shrouded man, just as Lazarus is commonly portrayed in pictures. They have crossed arms, cloves in the place of the eyes, and a wreath around their head. It used to be that each woman of the house would make the same number of Lazarakia as the number of children in the family.

Amygdalota is a traditional sweet with a distinctive rose aroma and almond flavour. On Mykonos, they are moulded into an oblong shape, similar to kourabiedes (butter cookies). Unlike on the other Cycladic islands, here they are baked. This results in a slightly hard exterior with a soft inside. They are considered a relatively healthy sweet as they contain almond oil, which is reputed to have many health benefits. Amygdalota are regularly featured at festivals and other public celebrations.

In Mykonos dialect, ‘mostra’ was originally a unit of measurement for rusks. Today, this dish is popularly served as an accompaniment to ouzo. The recipe is simple, quick, and easy. Mostra is prepared with a large barley rusk, spread with a tablespoon of kopanisti cheese and a large ripe tomato, which is diced and placed on top. These are topped with olive oil, oregano, and capers. The spicy flavor of the kopanisti cheese is balanced by the sweetness of the tomato, creating a delicious combination. Depending on the season, grapes can be used instead of tomato.

Mykonos black-eyed beans are called 'kafematika' and combine well with Mykonos sausage, which is made exclusively from pork meat and fat. Unlike other areas in Greece, the Mykonos sausage is sun-dried rather than smoked. It’s cured by the sun as there was never much wood around on the island to be used to smoke the meat.

The traditional Mykonos sausage also contains savoury herbs, pepper, spice, salt, and finely chopped oregano. The 3 most famous butchers on the island that make these sausages are Madoupas, Menagias, and Markaras.

Rafiolia are sweets made from fried dough with honey and orange with cinnamon often sprinkled on top. The dough itself is often filled with tirovolia, one of Mykonos' most famous cheeses that's made from sheep, goat, or mixed milk. It has a slightly sour taste and is best consumed when fresh. This sweet is typical of the region and you'll often find it served at hotel breakfast buffets on the island. There are also savoury variations which use herbs or onion on top.

Melopita (honey pie) is a sweet pie made with the traditional Mykonos cheese, tirovolia. The original recipe is made with 2 crispy sheets of pastry wrapped around a filling of tirovolia, cinnamon, and honey.

It’s a Mykonian favourite and is usually served in a deep baking tray. However, you’ll also find it served as small individual rolls. Since it’s one of the most popular sweets in Mykonos, in recent years it has even become its own ice cream flavour.

Louza is sometimes referred to as the Myconian prosciutto. Traditionally, Louza sausages were made after the annual pig slaughter – a popular festival taking place in the autumn when each household would slaughter the pig they had fattened up over the year.

The fillets and tenderloins of the pig were left for 24 hours in salt, rinsed off, dried, and then flavoured with savoury herbs and pepper. Then, a pig’s intestine was filled with the meat and hung to cure for 20–25 days. The result was an especially tasty cooked meat which is commonly served in very thin slices.

Tiganites gries (fried pancakes) are a simple sweet that were often made in days gone by to use up any leftover pie dough. The sweets could also be afforded by poorer families as the only ingredients needed are flour, salt, and water.

They are a large fried pancake that can be served with sugar, cinnamon, and honey. With a history stretching back 2,600 years, many Greeks believe these to be the earliest form of pancake.