1. Take in your surroundings

A full table is a feast for the eyes. But before a plate even lands in front of you, take a moment to look up from the table and drink in your surroundings. This small initiation ceremony will ground you before a meal and nourish the mind-gut connection.

The best meals, you will notice, are in dialog with their setting. And sitting at a table with a view overlooking the Aegean, there simply is no better time to eat seafood. Ideally, seafood should be raw or grilled; preparation techniques that conjure a sense of freshness and immediacy. In Mediterranean warmth, all you need is a whole seabass or white grouper for the table, served alongside plates of sun-nurtured vegetables, adequately seasoned and drizzled with good olive oil to extract the abundance of their flavors.

And on the topic of summer heat, turn your attention, just for a second, to the satisfying play of contrasts between the chill of an iced glass pressed against the warmth of your fingertips. Beats between grapefruit sips of a Scorpios spritz are spent watching waves tug against the sands.

2. Notice how flavors layer and interact 

A bite is just one pleasing note, whereas food and wine consumed together is an entire symphony. Taken in combination, a wine can reveal subtle flavors and complexity in a dish that otherwise might not have displayed themselves to you. The influence works in the other direction too. Pairing food and wine is a complex art, but a good guiding principle is to look for notes in a wine that either amplify or balance the flavors in the food.

A popular idea when it comes to pairings is, what grows together, goes together. Assyrtiko is a signature white grape that comes from Santorini, a Cycladic island that neighbors Mykonos. According to George Zervogiannis, Head of Wine at Scorpios, it’s the incredibly high natural acidity of the grape that works so well with Mediterranean food; cutting through olive oil, fried seafood and cheeses like feta without feeling weighed down. “Drinking it acts just like a fresh lemon squeeze, giving your palate the exact same bright, refreshing lift as splashing citrus juice over a dish,” he says. And the structure and texture of the wine mean it won’t get drowned out by strong garlic, herby or charred flavors. 

Asked what’s drinking well from the list right now, George points to the Alcyone 2024 from Vassaltis vineyards. It’s time in oak vats has softened some of that signature acidity into smoky flint notes that marry perfectly with our charcoal-grilled octopus: “such a simple and beautiful pairing,” he says.

3. Tune in to what you’re hearing 

When we’re sitting at a table, all our senses are constantly at work — even ones we don’t immediately associate with eating. Background noise and music can play a subtle or significant part in our perception of a meal.  

“Food brings people together, music gives those moments emotion,” says Moral Frequencies, one of the artists behind the Listening Sessions at Scorpios. The daytime, mostly analog format takes place at a dedicated restaurant stage and was born out of a desire to share a collaborative vinyl library assembled by resident artists. Spanning classics like Sade, rare and hard-to-find edits; the collection brings the warmth, depth and nostalgic character of vinyl into the restaurant. Like a shared meal, an analog set unfolds in real time. Records are selected, cued and played by hand, giving the music a qualitythat’s never quite the same twice.

As Moral Frequencies puts it, “both taste and sound have the unique ability to turn an ordinary moment into a lasting memory.” At the Listening Sessions, music becomes a kind of sonic seasoning, subtly shaping the mood around the table. A joyful track can lift a meal; a slower one can encourage you to linger over another glass of wine or conversation. Like any thoughtful detail, it's rarely the first thing you notice, but together these small gestures create the kind of atmosphere that stays with you long after the last bite. 

4. Connect with the people around you

Engaging with our senses in a conscious way embodies and grounds us. This is of course an end in itself; a state of presence simply to be experienced and savored. But it’s also a state that offers the potential for deep connection with the people around us too. 

The long table format of dining at Scorpios is built around these communal experiences. A meal in these circumstances delivers a feeling of being exactly where you’re supposed to be as time yawns out around you. The menu lends itself to sharing, to trying a spoonful of this and a mouthful of that, and we encourage you to discuss your dishes, delight in shared sensations and take your time. 

Remember that sharing a meal is a fundamentally tactile experience. Tear into doughy pittas to divide them between you. Scoop thick, creamy tzatziki onto their crisp edges before passing them around. Lean in and mop up tomato juices leftover from a Greek salad on the platter in the middle of the table. Enjoy cutting into the springy, charcoal textures of corn-fed chicken or Iberico pork from the oven. Share one Basque cheesecake with five combative spoons. 

In our view, the best sign of a meal experienced to the fullest is a tablecloth flecked with spills from enthusiastic guests loading plates and passing dishes from hand to hand. A sensory table is this canvas bearing the traces of a moment shared together. 

SCORPIOS RESTAURANT

As the center stage of the Scorpios agora of social and cultural exchange, our restaurants are the ultimate place of gathering. With their large communal tables, interactive outdoor spaces, and sharing plates, they are places for relaxed long lunches and alfresco dinners with friends and family.

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