Nearly three thousand years ago, Homer stood somewhere on the Aegean coast and recited The Odyssey. A war hero's journey home. Love, loyalty, and the deep longing for something true. The words were never written down in Homer's lifetime — they were passed from memory to memory, mouth to mouth, the way the best stories always travel.

In the summer of 2024, a writer for Condé Nast Traveler arrived on Mykonos and found a story worth telling in the same spirit. They titled it: "A Mykonian Odyssey That Sparked Love — And Público, Greece's Most Soulful Mexican Restaurant."

We are proud of many things at Pūblico. That line is among our proudest.

Two Souls, One Restaurant

Pūblico was not built by investors or a hospitality group. It was built by two people who fell in love with Mexico, with Mykonos, and with each other.

Edgaras Gaidamavicius came with a background forged in some of London's most sophisticated hospitality environments. Antonina Krokhina brought years of experience building teams and brands across the fashion and art worlds in Paris and London. Together, they made a decision that runs against the grain of how Mykonos restaurants typically operate: they would build something entirely self-funded, owner-run, and rooted in genuine human connection.

No investors. No corporate layers. Every decision — from the mezcal on the shelves to the flowers on the tables — made by the two of them. As Condé Nast Traveler noted, they are on the floor daily, greeting guests, checking plates before they leave the kitchen. Regulars are known by name. Favourite cocktails are remembered. The experience is shaped, as Edgar and Antonina described it themselves, to feel "more like a visit to a friend's house than a homogenous, forgetful dining experience."

This stands in direct contrast to much of the Mykonos dining scene, where large chains and investor-backed groups focus on rapid tourist turnover. Pūblico was built for the opposite — for people who want to linger, who want to feel known, who want the meal to mean something.

The Chef and the Coast That Inspired Everything

During their travels through Mexico, Edgar and Antonina found themselves drawn to a particular stretch of the Oaxacan coast — the beach town of Mazunte, with its unhurried pace, warmth, and deep relationship with the sea. It was through their network of friends there that they were introduced to Chef Carlos Jarquin Santarpia, who grew up in the neighbouring village of Zipolite, Oaxaca.

His cooking carries the character of that coastline. Bold flavours balanced by the freshness of what the sea provides each morning. When he arrived in Mykonos, he brought that philosophy intact and applied it to a new set of ingredients — the Aegean's extraordinary daily catch, the finest produce from the local market, and the highest quality imports from Mexico itself.

Every tortilla is pressed by hand in the kitchen. Shrimp tacos are paired with chilli aioli. Pork carnitas are slow-cooked with traditional spices and served with fresh garnishes. Prawn ceviche is cured in lime juice with chilli and coriander. Salsas are made from scratch using imported chiles from Oaxaca for depth and complexity. Guacamole is prepared simply and traditionally — ripe avocados, lime, chilli. Nothing more, because nothing more is needed.

Condé Nast Traveler called out the shrimp tacos specifically as exquisite, and praised the charred avocado platter as "delicious and perfect for sharing." The pico de gallo was described as "fresh, with a nice consistency" — the kind of detail that matters only to a kitchen that genuinely cares.

One of the Most Cultivated Mezcal Selections in Europe

Beyond the food, the Mezcaleria sets Pūblico apart in a way that no other venue in Mykonos — or much of Europe — can match.

Condé Nast Traveler described it as "one of the most cultivated mezcal selections in Europe": dozens of mezcals sourced from small, family-run producers, including rare bottles not found anywhere else in Greece or across the continent. Some are rustic, earthy expressions made in remote mountain villages. Others are delicate and floral, showcasing the full range and complexity of what agave can produce.

Guests can explore the collection neat, served traditionally with orange and sal de gusano, or through a cocktail menu that treats mezcal as the protagonist rather than a supporting ingredient. The article singled out three signature serves: the Mezcalita — clean and smoky; the Pineapple Negroni — with its subtle tropical twist; and the Coconut Rita — a smooth, rounded take on the margarita that has become a favourite at the bar.

After dinner, guests often linger beneath the bougainvillea canopy — something the CNT writer noted as a natural extension of the experience, not a departure from it.

What the Condé Nast Traveler Review Actually Said

The full article drew a parallel between Pūblico and Homer's Odyssey that captures something true about what this restaurant is.

Odysseus spent ten years trying to get home. His journey was shaped by discovery and experience, not by the most efficient route. The CNT writer observed that for Edgar and Antonina, Pūblico is that home — and every night, with each plate and pour, their own odyssey continues.

The closing line of the article remains the one we return to most often: "For Odysseus, by the end of his long voyage he must have been tired of Greek food — and what he would have given for Público's fresh prawn ceviche and the slow comfort of a perfectly made Mezcalita, served with the kind of Oaxacan warmth that could make even his home in Ithaca wait another night."

That is what we are trying to be. The place worth delaying the journey home for.

The Numbers Behind the Story

When the CNT article was written, Pūblico had just completed its first season and already held the #7 spot among the best-rated restaurants in Mykonos on TripAdvisor. Mykonos Brunch Club, the daytime concept from the same team, held #1 out of 191 Mykonos restaurants.

Since then, Pūblico has earned a TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Award 2025 — placing it in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide — and maintains a 4.9/5 rating across 235 reviews, with 223 of those rated Excellent.

These are not the numbers of a restaurant that got lucky. They are the numbers of a restaurant built on the values the CNT article identified: people at the centre, authenticity without compromise, and the kind of warmth that makes guests feel known.

Come and See What They Were Writing About

The Condé Nast Traveler article exists because someone came to Mykonos, sat down at a table beneath a bougainvillea, and felt something worth writing about.

We hope you'll come and feel it too.

Read the full Condé Nast Traveler feature →

Reserve your table at Pūblico — open daily from 18:00, Mykonos Town.

For group celebrations, birthday dinners, and special occasions, visit our group bookings page.