What's On Cyprus

... we have created a menu, traditional but not, it’s totally unique, partly influenced by her yiayia, a fusion of Greek, Cypriot and Spanish cuisine, but she assured me none of the dishes you’ll find anywhere else, because they are the creation of their imagination, using always fresh produce, everything is cooked to order, nothing is prepared and always around her flavours and essences of Cyprus, that she uses to compliment every dish … oh, and if she had her way, she would change the menu every day” … So do look out for their daily specials and make sure you leave room for dessert!

Times have changed as far as the fascia goes, but for the past 28 years, the service is still exemplary and the cuisine is as traditional as it gets.  It's a family-run restaurant, from Luigi's warm welcome to the homemade Cypriot specialties using mum's secret recipes and the lovely touch of complimentary seasonal fruit, grown in dad's orchard, that they'll bring to your table for afters.

I caught up with Nikos who also owns Blazing Saddles Pub next door, who told me "I opened the Indian Restaurant in 2013 because there wasn't an authentic one in the area.  Then one year later my customers persuaded me that there wasn't a decent Chinese either", and chop-chop it happened!  ... And then, quite recently Nikos again listened to his customers' wishes, and added Thai & Sushi, so as you're in Cyprus, now you might as well 'Meze' it up, Asian style!

Fāinā told me "We originally opened a French restaurant in Makarios Avenue, introducing Lebanese cuisine after 2 years, but when we moved our restaurant here we switched to a Lebanese Restaurant with just a few French dishes as our customers were mostly locals.  These days its a more varied international mix as more and more tourists have discovered us.  As the years past, we found more and more of our customers were asking us to cook French cuisine for them".  She laughed and said "ha! but many restaurants cook Frogs Legs, but none can cook them like ours!  And, then she added; just wait til you try our Duck!"

Authentically Cuban ... It's a great place to go for a meal of traditional and authentic Cuban cuisine, or grab a cocktail and enjoy dancing the night away to great music from Afro Cuban style to modern day Latin hits !

It has a great reputation and is well known for it's hospitality, the food is tasty, the cocktails delicious, the atmosphere chilled, the staff friendly and welcoming, the music fab ... all this mixed together makes for the perfect place to go whether it be for lunch, dinner or just drinks ! 

When I asked George why they called it Dionysus he said; "because he is the God of the Vine, Grape Harvest & Winemaking, but mostly because he is also the God of Fun, and the idea of the restaurant was inspired by wine, fun and theatre, and most of all enjoyment! Then we found the house, it was the perfect venue to set the ambiance we wanted"!

It's a lovely idea for a truly different day out. What I really like about The Camel Park is it’s diversity, as there’s always something new to see every time you go. With such a lot of animals, there’s often a few babies around including iccle Camels, ranging from as little as 2 weeks old … they are just delightful! You can choose to stroll around at your leisure or there’s guides who offer information in several languages.

Stephanos said; "We got together often, looking for the best place where we could open an authentic Greek Restaurant.  We could have done it in Thessaloniki, but there's lots of Greek Restaurants there, so it was a calculated decision and we chose Larnaca because it reminded us most of Thessaloniki and then of course the weather here in Cyprus had something to do with it"

... These days he's got a crew of 30, most working as part of the family for years, and 'well oiled' is an understatement ... serving the best Cod and Haddock, and a nice bit of Plaice, imported from UK, Norway, Germany and France, deep fried in Lambros' crispy batter or breadcrumbs and served, of course, with chips made with Cyprus potatoes, pure heaven! ... opps, don't forget the mushy peas or maybe gravy, or curry sauce to dip your chips into and a few pickled onions and maybe a wally ... omg, old habits die hard oh, and almost forgot a good cuppa and a slice ... perfect!