Restaurant Review: Mykonos Taverna in Gahanna Ohio

Mykonos Taverna has been on our restaurant wish list for several months now.  It’s always amazing to us what the Columbus metro area has to offer—and how little of it we have truly experienced in our 12 years in the city.  We always have a tough time choosing a lunch date restaurant—perhaps because lunch dates without the little ones are few and far between and we want to visit every restaurant on our list at the same time!  Today we had morning errands in Gahanna—an east-side suburb on Columbus—so it was time to finally visit and experience Mykonos Taverna!

The atmosphere of Mykonos Taverna adds to the experience.  Tables are covered with red and white checkered tablecloths, Greek music drifts throughout the restaurant, and faux doors and window boxes along the length of an interior wall give it the fun feel of an outdoor café—indoors.  Corner television sets display beautiful travel brochure style images of the Greek islands.  There was only one server through most of the lunch rush—and there was never a point where he was insufficient since the manager was more than ready to step in to fill a drink glass or deliver meals to the tables. 

What was on the menu at Mykonos Taverna?  The lunch menu covered everything from traditional Greek fare to burgers and chicken sandwiches.  This is another problem with lunch dates—we want to try everything on the menu as well!  It was time to make our decisions. 

We opted for a cold appetizer:  Kafteri--(Fire Feta according to Mykonos Taverna's menu)

The cold spicy feta and red pepper dip was certainly hot by way of spice.  It was served on a bed of shredded lettuce with warm pita triangles.  The pita was slightly salty and even a bit buttery.  It was delicious with the Kafteri.

Next, we sampled a hot appetizer:  The Spanakopita.  It was served with a bit of green salad. 

The flaky phyllo dough was stuffed with spinach, feta cheese and Greek spices. 

Then it was on to the main course.  My husband opted for a Gyro Kebab

When I first saw the slice of gyro meat—I feared the worst:  it was going to be tough and overly chewy.  I could not have been more wrong--it was the tenderest pork tenderloin gyro filling ever.   The lettuce and tomatoes were extremely fresh—which I can honestly say is not that readily found in Ohio once the weather cools.   The house sauce was just right in both amount and flavor to complement the pita.

I chose the Chicken Kebob Pita—with seasoned french fries--and every bite of the chicken was as tender as the pork tenderloin from my husband’s pita.  

 

We had opted out of dessert—but, I may need to give in and give their baklava a try in the near future.

Final thoughts on Mykonos Taverna.  It was well worth the visit—and I would certainly visit again for the dinner menu.  Sometimes there are restaurants that are packed with patrons for lunch—and have a great lunch atmosphere—but, just do not work for a dinner meal.  I think Mykonos Taverna is suitable for both lunch and dinner.  In fact, the restaurant hosts live Greek music and belly dancers on Friday and Saturday evenings—and I think that would be a lot of fun.  It may be a little too lively or intrusive for an intimate meal on those evenings--so that should probably be taken into consideration when planning a visit.

Once again, we did really well making our monthly lunch date selection and found a great restaurant that I would both recommend and plan to revisit. 

Would you like to learn more about this restaurant?
Check out the Mykonos Taverna website.