The owner of a notorious beachside restaurant on the Greek island of Mykonos which has been accused of ripping off customers with sky high prices flaunts his jet-setting lifestyle on social media, MailOnline can reveal.
Dimitrios Kalamaras, whose initials give the DK Oyster restaurant its name, apparently earns colossal amounts from hapless tourists who order food or drinks without checking the prices.
DK Oyster hit the headlines this week for charging €121 for three scrawny crab legs to a team of undercover MailOnline journalists.
Kalamaras was believed to have been the man seen on video arguing with our reporter over his astronomical bill.
So, who is the flamboyant restaurateur – and how does he spend his soaring income?
Dimitrios Kalamaras, (pictured) whose initials give the DK Oyster restaurant its name, has been accused of ripping off customers with sky high prices
Kalamaras is thought to have grown up on Mykonos where his grandfather owned and ran a tourist restaurant in the town of Plati Gialos, where DK Oyster is now based. He often flaunts his jet-setting lifestyle on social media, MailOnline can reveal
Kalamaras is thought to have grown up on Mykonos where his grandfather owned and ran a tourist restaurant in the town of Plati Gialos, where DK Oyster is now based.
He was encouraged by his family to get a good education – he speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish as well as Greek – which culminated in travelling abroad to learn about the hospitality industry.
Kalamaras moved to Switzerland in 2008 to study before returning to the island to take over the family business, of which the notorious restaurant, founded in 2016, is now the flagship operation.
The family business portfolio – which he now co-owns and operates with his brother – also includes tourism and hotel operations.
Among these additional interests are the nearby Kosmoplaz Beach Hotel, a 4 star establishment accommodation which boasts of ‘Cycladic architecture combined with the air of luxury’.
The brothers also own and run an Italian restaurant on the same strip called The Eclipse and offer one-off events – with pictures of glamorous models used to promote these.
Perhaps surprisingly, MailOnline has found that rather than keep the low profile you might expect given the controversy he generates, Kalamaras apparently revels in his publicity.
He enjoys flaunting a jet-set lifestyle with glitzy social media posts which are more akin those of a wannabe influencer than the bete noire of Tripadvisor.
We see Dimitrious wearing Rayban sunglasses on a speedboat and travelling to exotic locations. A picture of him on a date night with his blonde wife Christie is branded #uniquemoments
Kalamaras apparently earns colossal amounts from hapless tourists who order food or drinks without checking the prices. Pictured is the restaurant, as seen on TripAdviser
DK Oyster Bar, Platys Gialos Beach. Approaching the eatery along the tiny resort’s beachfront boardwalk, the first thing you notice is that it’s completely unremarkable
Indeed anyone scoping out DK Oyster solely through the medium of its owner’s Instagram posts would get the impression that it is a place where glamorous models in bikinis routinely enjoy world class cuisine.
His posts frequently appear with hashtags like #yachtlife or #luxurylifestyle.
Other posts about his eponymous restaurant – which he describes as ‘a modern-day saga of hedonism and indulgence’ – highlight the restaurant’s humidor containing expensive Havana cigars and a delivery of ‘Royal Belgian caviar’.
We see Dimitrious wearing Rayban sunglasses on a speedboat and travelling to exotic locations. A picture of him on a date night with his blonde wife Christie is branded #uniquemoments.
A model in a clinging gold bikini occurs soon after items of food wrapped in gold leaf – one of the restaurant’s trademarks….a kilo of their ribeye steak garnished with ‘edible gold leaves and black Beluga caviar’ is priced at and you’d be looking at €1,850 a kilo.
Over on Facebook, he takes pride in his pricey menus saying his DK Oyster restaurant is a haunt to ‘Enjoy the life of a Greek God’.
He is also seen flashing a flamboyant private lifestyle of luxury cars, private yachts and star-studded friends.
Indeed anyone scoping out DK Oyster solely through the medium of its owners Instagram posts would get the impression that it is a place where glamorous models in bikinis routinely enjoy world class cuisine
A model, as seen on Kalamaras’s social media accounts, poses at DK Oyster Bar
Another model is highlighted on his account, digging into a seafood pasta dish
Dimitrios takes pride in his pricey menus saying his DK Oyster restaurant is a haunt to ‘Enjoy the life of a Greek God’. He is also seen flashing a flamboyant private lifestyle of luxury cars, private yachts and star-studded friends
Dimitrios’s wife, Christie Thanou, like him, studied hospitality, at Les Roches, a prestigious school in Switzerland before moving back to Greece.
On her Facebook page, she posts frequently from their foreign trips, including apparently in just one recent year alone, jaunts to the Caribbean, Florida, New York and London.
Christie, originally from Athens, even chooses a photo of Trafalgar Square as her Facebook profile backdrop.
Not Dimitrios’ followers are as positive about the restaurant though – he is frequently trolled, particularly on Instagram.
There one responded tartly to a grandiose post: ‘Ya look like a cheap version of Del Boy … Haha the state of ya’.
A post showing a waiter carrying a tray of bottles of expensive Dom Pérignon champagne on the beach gets comments like: ‘Scammer’, ‘Have fun being sued’ and ‘You rip people off’.
But if these kinds of responses may make you wonder why his page is set public – this is nothing compared to the angry reports he receives from tourists on TripAdvisor.
Kalamaras, pictured, moved to Switzerland in 2008 to study before returning to the island to take over the family business, of which the notorious restaurant, founded in 2016, is now the flagship operation
The family business portfolio – which he now co-owns and operates with his brother – also includes tourism and hotel operations. Pictured: Kalamaras
While the majority of recent TripAdvisor reviews carry the (minimum) one-star rating, a sizeable number of other visitors, most of them posting their first review, are keen to express their enthusiasm for the place
Unusually, the review website recently issued its own ‘warning’ to users, saying: ‘Tripadvisor has been made aware of recent media reports or events concerning this property which may not be reflected in reviews found on this listing.
‘Accordingly, you may wish to perform additional research for information about this property when making your travel plans.’
Strangely, while the majority of recent reviews carry the (minimum) one-star rating, a sizeable number of other visitors, most of them posting their first review, are keen to express their enthusiasm for the place.
One woman visitor from Athens described it as ‘The most ideal choice in Mykonos’ and no doubt her five-star review helped keep the restaurant’s rating slightly above rock-bottom.
Most have not been so kind, however.
One recent visitor complained on the site: ‘Total scam! Had two soft drinks advertised at €14 each …instead of €28 it was €152! I asked why and was told very rudely the cokes were €76 each! I pointed out it showed €14 each, the vile man replied: “not today!”
‘We put thirty Euro on the bar and left, he grabbed hold of my friend’s arm and I was forced to defend her which I did and made it clear that if he lays another finger on her or me he’ll be arrested. We walked out with him shouting which we couldn’t understand.’
MailOnline recently visited the restaurant. The shrimp was scarcely less astonishing – there was only one and, like the crab, it appeared to have been cooked too long so that what there was of it was rubbery
Virtually everything at DK Oyster, from the cheap plastic menus and (for those lucky enough to be shown them) and their ‘boiled veggies’ to the stringy seafood and over-bearing service can only be ranked bargain basement
DK Oyster hit the headlines this week for charging €121 for three scrawny crab legs to a team of undercover journalists
Cocktails at the bar and restaurant, which reviews suggest are also expensive
Another couple warned: ‘AVOID! €120 for 2 drinks! Absolute tourist trap. We were told that if we purchased a drink we could use sun loungers for free. Without looking at the menu I ordered a strawberry daiquiri and my partner ordered a beer.
‘We ended up with the LARGEST beer on the menu and the LARGEST cocktail on the menu. Little did we know this was going to cost us €120.
‘It’s very sneaky how the staff get you in the bar and absolutely sting you!!’
Briton Mark J posted: ‘Should be closed down. Dick Turpin crooks. Give this place a miss as no one likes to be ripped off.’
But Kalamaras – who has previously made no secret of his design to ‘lure deep-pocketed’ tourists, often from Qatar to his restaurant – can become defensive about it, as travel resumed after the Covid pandemic.
When a Canadian couple who were charged $570 for a beer, an Aperol spritz, and a dozen oysters at DK Oyster complained, he publicly dismissed the accusations as false, suggesting that such complaints are often motivated by a desire for fame or a ‘free meal’.
He claimed customers should thoroughly check the menu before ordering.
Angry punters branded the prices ‘exorbitant’ and ‘insane’ at the beachside restaurant
Holidaymakers said DK Oyster lured them in with the offer of sitting on a sunbed (pictured) for free if they buy drinks
He even went on the offensive at the time of the couple’s accusation, saying ‘cheap customers’ were tarnishing the restaurant’s reputation.
Since the new rash of online opprobrium on TripAdvisor, the owners of the restaurant have apparently removed all obvious signage from the front of DK Oyster, though they told us they had recently redecorated.
Yet virtually everything at DK Oyster, from the cheap plastic menus and (for those lucky enough to be shown them) and their ‘boiled veggies’ to the stringy seafood and over-bearing service can only be ranked bargain basement.
But one aspect of the dining experience is unforgettable and very much high-end – the bill.
