No reservations - Nicosia

THE mousse

Let me clarify something from the very beginning about this little gem in Nicosia: calling and reserving a table is recommended. But you will enjoy food made by an Italian chef with no reservations about how food should or should not be, all with an impressive attention to detail. It was a delightful change to what we are used to in Cyprus. 



Before we went, the BH and I had heard tales of pecorino flan, foie gras terrine with pistachios and cherries and kleftiko with quince (for my non-Greek readers, kleftiko, which literally means stolen meat, is lamb slowly cooked in a traditionally built outside oven sealed with mud so no steam escapes. Legend has it that thieves would steal lamb from a nearby flock and cook it in a hole in the ground for many hours, again sealed with mud so no steam escapes to give them away).   

Unfortunately, we couldn't order the long-awaited kleftiko because the menu changes every fortnight (who doesn't love a restless chef?!). Nevertheless the dishes we did order didn't dissapoint. Again, I'll cut to the chase. The menu consists of fifteen dishes and you have three choices: you order 5 for 20Euros pp, 12 for 30Euros or 35Euros for all fifteen of them. BH and I decided to get 5 each.  

Seabass ceviche

Our choices included the parmesan mousse with pear, honey and balsamic (my personal favourite since it was the airiest, lightest, most melt-in-your-mouth mousse I've had in a long time), foie gras with fig jam (melting-soft and sweet), a seabass ceviche (highly recommended), tortelloni with potato and duck ragut, duck breast salad, beef with a blue cheese crust, sea bream with a potato crust, a coffee creme brulee and an apple tart. I'm not going to lie. I didn't love every single thing on the menu. But I still applaud the effort to bring fine dining to Nicosia with an affordable price tag.

Foie gras with fig jam

Sea bream with a potato crust

Apple tart

I'd definitely recommend it as it is something different and worth trying out, even if it's just for the experience. You'll find them at 16, Stasinou St, Nicosia (right next to the latter Zoo Club), they're open for dinner Monday to Saturday, and don't forget to call in to make a reservation at 22376584.