What's On Cyprus

A place with a cool atmosphere, to enjoy good food, but with big portions, served fresh from the Charcoal Grill, hosting regular events and of course showing all the live sports on the 4 big screens.  The decor traditional taverna style, inside it's spacious, comfy, a lovely log burner for the chilly winter evenings and outside a covered courtyard for the balmy summer nights ... oh I'm loving the new extended bar with RGB lights, looks well cool ...

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!"

It's amazing how many people still didn't know this place exists ... it's situated in the village of Avgorou, and includes beautifully landscaped herb gardens, the woodland area created in the shape of Cyprus, scattered with the endemic trees and shrubs of Cyprus, a Lavender Labyrinth, and it boasts the first and only hedge maze on the island, all 2000 sq.m. of 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!

Over a delicious Illy coffee, I asked Charbel how it all started; he said, "In the past, I was an HR Operations Manager in the F&B Sector ... Then we found this place, and between 2016 to 2021, we took Rise of the past, and Re-Branded it ... it was during the pandemic where I got the idea to take it to a new level and we had the time make some improvements, the idea was to 'Elevate your Hotel Experience' ... it's not just about the decoration it's about culture and spirit"

They'll turn up, on time, every time, and cook you everything from breakfast or brunch to a three-course a'la carte meal, in your kitchen or the venue of your choice, even if you want it served around your complex pool or on the beach.

Coming up to their first anniversary in Cyprus I asked Nicola to tell me about the Menu ... Nicola said; "We sort of split it into three cuisines, Fresh Fish, Fresh Sushi, and Vegan Platters & Snacks ... Our head chef has been with us since day one, his qualifications and previous experience in Cyprus, the very best Sushi eateries, including Sushi La and Wagamama" ... I was suitably impressed!

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"

We’re excited to be the first to announce that fresh and dried Carolina Reaper Peppers are ready to be grown in Cyprus.  So get ready to meet the king of heat, and trust me, they’re not for the faint-hearted.  But, in Cyprus, these super hot peppers will also be blended with extra virgin olive oil to create 'PowerJuice', so I caught up with owner and pioneer Vasillies of Larnaca Park & Fly fame to find out more ...