Date Night at Mythos

Article and photos by Savanah Mandeville

What I love about Mythos, 1306 S. Range Line in Joplin, is that it’s one of the few places in the area where you get the full, fine-dining experience.

When I go there, I’m always in awe of the professional service, the beautifully plated food and the unique medley of flavors. Mythos is dedicated to comfort and hospitality – you can tell they want to make their guests feel like royalty – all at a reasonable price.

So, of course, Mythos is one of my favorite places to go on a fancy date night. My boyfriend, Ryan, and I went recently on a week night to take a couple hours to ourselves and escape our busy lives.

From the moment we sat down, basking in the glow of our candlelit table, I could feel the stress of my day melting away.

Our server, David, greeted us with a friendly smile and took our drink orders. For starters, we ordered the Tour of Mythos and the Crab Cakes. In my opinion, the Tour of Mythos is a must. It’s a sample platter of a variety of Greek foods you can’t get anywhere else – dolmades, spanakopita, tyropita, taramosalata, plus the to-die-for gyro meat and skordalia pita bread.

David came back to take our orders and expertly recited the specials of the day. Truth be told, this is my favorite thing about going to Mythos – I love when restaurants have daily specials. It makes me feel like I’m ordering a special treat prepared specifically for me by the chef. I order one of the specials almost every time I go to Mythos. In addition, the servers can answer any questions you have about the food and always have great wine pairing suggestions.

This time, I ordered the smoked paprika olive oil poached salmon and the soup of the day, the cream of artichoke bisque.

Ryan ordered a Mythos fan favorite, the filet and prawns, and a Caesar salad. The filet and prawns is a mouth-watering tower of certified Angus beef filet medallions and sautéed jumbo prawns, St. Louis provel, prosciutto, garlic white wine sauce and mashed potatoes. You better believe I took a bite.   

We feasted on the fluffy complimentary dinner rolls and our soup and salad (my soup was so flavorful and amazing), so by the time dinner arrived, we were stuffed. Apparently, this is a common problem at Mythos, so word from the wise – pace yourself!

Both our entrees were gasp-worthy when David set them in front of us. Everything at Mythos is plated artistically and served up like the grand finale of a show. My salmon was cooked to perfection, and the zucchini and tomato compote saffron risotto blended together in a fragrant, decadent flavor combination. The entire evening definitely felt like an extravagant break from the ordinary.

We visited owner George Michalopoulos before we left, and I asked him what his secret was – Mythos has been going strong for 14 years now.

He said it’s two things: consistency and low turnover. It occurred to me then that all the things I love about Mythos really do boil down to those two things. I can always expect a relaxing, fine-dining experience when I go there, I can always expect excellent service from a professional who knows the menu inside and out, and I can always try out the daily special knowing it won’t disappoint.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t get a lot of time to treat yourself to a fancy night out, so you want to make sure you’re making the right choice. Mythos will not let you down.