Spilia Seaside

About Spilia Seaside

The waves reach the table legs at Spilia. The dining room is a natural rock shelf inside a sea cave at Agia Anna, on the quiet east side of Mykonos near Kalafatis, and a pool of seawater set among the white tables holds the night's sea urchins and lobster until you order them. The kitchen has worked this cove for more than thirty years. You eat what the boats brought in: oysters, urchins split to order, lobster sold by the kilo. It is theatre with a fishmonger's honesty behind it.

The Kitchen

There is no celebrity name over the pass here, and that is the point: Spilia is a seafood house, not a chef's showcase. Regulars credit the kitchen to a long-serving chef they know simply as Stavros, and the format has barely changed in three decades. A seawater pool among the tables keeps the urchins, lobsters and oysters alive until the moment you choose them, and a cook splits the urchins five feet from your seat. The cooking is deliberately plain: grilled or raw, lemon, good olive oil, nothing hidden.

Lobster is sold by weight at around €190 per kilo and feeds two; urchins are priced by the piece; oysters by the half-dozen. A full seafood lunch with wine lands somewhere between €90 and €200 a head depending on how much shellfish you order. The restaurant sits on the rock at Agia Anna Beach, Kalafatis, and has run there for more than thirty years, since the early 1990s. For more of the island, see the Mykonos dining guide and our best seafood restaurants worldwide hub.

The Room

The room is the reason to come. You sit on a whitewashed rock platform open to the sea, with the cave wall behind and the water a step away, so the soundtrack is surf rather than music. Lighting is daylight and then candlelight as the sun drops; book the last lunch seating or early dinner for the colour. Tables are generously spaced across the ledges, which means privacy but also uneven footing, so flat shoes beat heels. Dress is Mykonos resort-smart: linen, not black tie. It seats well over a hundred across the terraces, yet never feels like a canteen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Spilia Seaside worth it?

Worth it for the setting and the live shellfish, less so if you are counting euros. Few restaurants anywhere put you on a rock shelf inside a sea cave with the urchins and lobster kept alive in a pool by your table. The cooking is simple and the produce is excellent, but pricing is firmly resort-level. Come for a long lunch, order shellfish, and treat the view as half the bill.

How hard is it to book Spilia in Mykonos?

Book ahead in July and August, when the sunset seatings go first. The restaurant takes reservations by phone on +30 22890 71205 and through its website, and the last lunch and early dinner slots are the most contested for the light. Agia Anna sits on the east side near Kalafatis, a taxi or boat ride from Mykonos Town, so plan transport too. See more of the island in our Mykonos dining guide.

What is the dress code at Spilia?

Resort-smart, not formal. Think linen, summer dresses and sandals rather than jackets; this is a beach-side seafood restaurant, not a city dining room. Because you are eating on uneven rock ledges by the water, flat or low shoes are far more comfortable than heels. Daytime is relaxed beachwear-plus; evenings dress up a notch as the candles come out.

What should I order at Spilia?

Start with sea urchins split to order and a half-dozen oysters from the pool, then share a lobster sold by the kilo, which feeds two. Add grilled catch of the day and a Greek salad to round it out. Keep the cooking simple, as the kitchen intends, and let the shellfish lead. A crisp Assyrtiko from Santorini is the natural wine match.

What is the average price at Spilia?

Expect roughly €90 to €200 per person for a seafood lunch with wine, depending on the shellfish. Lobster is about €190 per kilo and serves two, urchins are priced individually, and oysters by the half-dozen. Grilled fish is also sold by weight. It is one of Mykonos's pricier tables, so order deliberately rather than by the whole menu.