Guy Fieri Kept Eating This Florida Restaurant's Dolmades Even After Cameras Stopped Rolling

Guy Fieri knows a good restaurant when he sees one. Not only has he owned many eateries, but he's also written several food-focused books and been headlining Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" for the past 20 years. So, when he came across Mykonos Kuzina in Naples, Florida, Fieri knew owners Alex Lekakis and Emily Martino had something special, choosing to feature the Greek restaurant on a March 2025 episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." This simply wasn't a meal experience he was willing to keep off his show.

During the episode, titled "Sauerkraut, Shoyu, and Shank," lamb shanks over orzo and dolmades were highlighted, but it was the dolmades that Fieri couldn't put down. In fact, he was eating them like candy when cameras weren't rolling. For the uninitiated, dolmades are a traditional Mediterranean starter consisting of grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, spices, and sometimes meat, and served with lemon juice or sauce.

After hearing of Fieri's admiration of Mykonos Kuzina, I paid a visit to the restaurant, a true neighborhood gem in the northern region of Naples. While there, not only did I learn about the food, but I was also lucky enough to try several other dishes.

If you'd like to recreate Fieri's experience, start with the dolmades. At Mykonos Kuzina, dolmades are stuffed with ground beef, rice, and Greek seasonings. They are hand-rolled and arrive topped with lemonato sauce made with chicken stock, flour, butter, and fresh lemon juice. An appetizer portion, consisting of four dolmades, goes for $12. Or, for $10, you can opt for the venue's vegetarian option Meanwhile, the dinner-sized 6-count costs $25 and comes with a side of roasted lemon oregano potatoes, rice, fries, couscous salad, or stewed green beans.

For dinner, the $39 lamb shanks are the owners' favorite. Featuring slowly braised meat from New Zealand, they are fall-off-the-bone-tender, served atop Mykonos-style orzo, and finished with parmesan and house-made lamb gravy. "They were already pretty famous before Guy came, and when he read the recipe, he was like, 'Oh yeah, I want that,'" Lekakis shared.

Even after filming wrapped on the episode, Fieri's film crew lingered, helping themselves to the other items available at the restaurant. "After filming happened and people were just all around, the whole crew and everybody just started eating everything. It was amazing," Martino revealed.

During my visit to Mykonos Kuzina, I ordered a few of the venue's most popular appetizers, including (of course) the dolmades. And you could say that my reaction to the dish was similar to that of Fieri. The rice, which had just the slightest hint of spice, fresh grape leaves, and mouth-watering, tangy-but-creamy lemonata sauce, made for quite the flavor bomb that had me going back for more.

In addition to the lamb shank and dolmades, Mykonos Kuzina's menu is filled with traditional Greek dishes, including appetizers like grilled octopus, tzatziki, hummus, tirokafteri, olive spreads, and spanakopita, and entrees such as lamb, chicken, pork, or shrimp souvlaki, as well as moussaka, falafel, and branzino. Stunning options can also be found on the dessert menu. To close out your meal, menu items like Key lime pie and baklava, which I found to be perfectly sweet with crunchy walnuts and honey, are available — and displayed in a glass case for sneak-peek viewing.

While Mykonos Kuzina has certainly seen an upswing in business since being featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," being on television isn't what the owners are most proud of. Instead, it is their commitment to serving authentic food, providing guests with good and friendly service, and offering a welcome and comfortable space for all. "We're pretty proud of that," Lekakis declared.