Mythos occupies a unique space in the restaurant world: it’s a chain restaurant that doesn’t quite feel like a chain.

Yes, there are plastic menus and blue Skyy Vodka bottles lining the shelves — but on the other hand the service is personal, the food is excellent, and the linens and flatware are not of the disposable variety.

At the branch we went to, in Atholl Square in Sandton (there are others in Fourways, Bedfordview, Pretoria, and Krugersdorp), the decor follows a modern-Greek design theme: white-washed walls with blue accents and tasteful Greek-influenced music wafting over the sound system. The two-story floor plan allows a choice of seating in the main ground floor dining area, or on the upstairs fringing terrace, which overlooks the former. Both are indoors, but there are a few seats outside as well. Long, white light fixtures strategically occupy the empty vertical space inside, and add a nice modern flair.

We chose a comfy cushion-filled booth in the downstairs, and were immediately greeted by the owner himself. The somewhat large and exhausting menu offers classic Greek dishes such as souvlaki, moussaka, keftethes and soudsoukakia, plus more general Mediterranean fare such as felafel, hummus, kebabs, and tabouleh. You can either choose full main courses, or meze (small dishes), plus salads, dips, seafood, and vegetarian fare.

We chose the croquettes with feta, emmenthal and gruyere cheese, which were tender and gooey; baby marrow keftethes, which were creamy and delicious; and perfectly pan-fried calamari with a sublime butter-lemon sauce. All the food came out in under five minutes and was piping hot. Not sure if this is always the standard of service, since it was not busy on a Wednesday night, but I’m not complaining.

Overall we were impressed with the speed and quality of the food and service. Sure, it’s not an “authentic” Greek experience, but that’s not what Mythos is aiming for. They are good at what they do, which is serving middle-of-the-road Mediterranean in a stylish environment.