Nesaea: Greek gourmet food in Mykonos

Tucked away from the touristy center city and near one of my favorite beaches on Mykonos, Kalafati beach, the newly opened Nesaea is set to be the island’s new sensation for the gourmet food lovers. The restaurant, elegant and nautical themed, focuses on bringing ingredients from the Greek islands to the table, mixing and combining tastes and textures resulting in an explosion of flavors.

On our recent trip to Mykonos, W and I were invited to a very special gourmet food tasting by the lovely team of Nesaea. We had the honor to be there only 3 days after the restaurant was opened, and I must confess that we had a hard-to-be-forgotten experience. We were surprised with every dish that arrived on our table, they even managed to make W enjoy a salad (he hates salad).

The food hadn’t even arrived and the place already got me at the sea view and the decoration. The white clean and bright design gives a nice and light welcome and invites to you yo pick up the beach vibe. We agreed that white wine was a great way to start our lunch, which was composed by 4 different types of appetizers, 5 main dishes and 2 desserts. Yes, definitely a Greek gourmet food tasting.

The appetizers

Rice chips with cream and crispy squids

It was such a great combination; I could have stopped right there and eaten only them. I have a thing for crispy food.

The highlight: the crispy squids.

Salad with beetroot ice cream, raspberries, dried olives, carrots, celery, pieces of beetroot, Greek goat cheese and walnuts

I love beetroot! I know, people think I’m weird for loving beetroot, but I don’t mind. I love boiled beetroot and beetroot juice, and I was certainly impressed to see a beetroot ice cream on our second dish. Well, it wasn’t only impressive, it was delicious too.

The highlight: I could say everything, but the beetroot ice cream and the dried olives won me one thousand times over.

Tomato and paprika salad with dried olives

Have you ever tried dried olives? Even though I love olive oil, I must confess, I can’t eat olives, I hate them, but dried olives are something else, it’s amazing!

The highlight: the dried olives, no doubt!

Seaweed salad, tomato marmalade, egg and dried olives

And that is when they made W enjoy a salad.

The highlight: the tomato marmalade; I love anything with tomatoes.

The main courses

Octopus with Fava salad that grows in Santorini, white wine jellies of wine produced also in Santorini

Each ingredient on this dish complemented the other. The octopus was the best I ever had (no exaggeration), and what a great idea to make wine jellies.

The highlight: I will just say everything, because this was my favorite dish of all.

Quail leg, geranium puree, ham, mushroom paste, mushrooms and dried vine leaves filled with quail meat.

I became a dried vine leaves huge fan after my trip to Greece, and this one was particularly special for being filled with quail meat. Delicious!

The highlight: the dried vine leaves.

Risotto with fresh asparagus, dried almonds, skin of a critic fruit that grows in Corfu island, local meat and Parmeggiano cheese, mint flavored

Just wow! I am a risotto lover, both of eating and cooking it, this one I never tried before, and I would never have thought that I would love a risotto with asparagus.

The highlight: the fact that it was mint flavored.

Buffalo meatballs, pasta and cheese from Crete island

Buffalo meat is one of the best I ever had, the first time I tried it was in Canada, since then I haven’t had many opportunities to try it again, so I was really excited to try this buffalo meatball. It was amazing.

The highlight: the buffalo meatballs.

Boneless chicken with tomato marmalade, dried olives, slow cooked for 3 to 4 hours at 67°C, carrots, and chicken broth from the chicken bones

I always find slow cooked dishes special, they are always an explosion of flavor.

The highlight: the chicken.

The desserts

Frozen Mantolato

To die for! Made with cream (similar to ice cream) honey, pistachios, hazelnut and almonds, with a touch of wild berries.

The highlight: the cream was amazing!

Flexible White Chocolate Ganache

Doesn’t the name already say everything? No, there is more to it: Greek coffee beans, cardamom, gelatin, cream, rose and of course, white chocolate, all sprinkled with almonds.

The highlight: the gelatin!

What an experience! I loved the fact that all ingredients are organic and come from the Greek islands, as they say “the farm to table cuisine”. You can tell how much dedication they put into each creation. Cooking is really an art, and each day I am more sure of it because places like Nesaea are proof of it.