Michalis Michaelides
One of my fondest memories of growing up in the village (until I was eight) is of our summer outings in the white Renault, with a restaurant as our final destination. More often than not, we would head to one of the larger villages near Troodos.
I can still picture those drives, the windows rolled down as we passed through the villages of Pitsilia, Solea and Marathasa, listening to Arleta, Alexiou, Kanelidou and Savvopoulos on the car stereo. Looking back, I realize just how much those carefree days and that feeling of pure joy shaped my relationship with the mountains of Cyprus, my love of restaurants and my constant urge to explore every corner of the island.
I remember setting off early in the morning, usually heading for a restaurant in Platres, a traditional family restaurant in Orkondas, a tavern in Kakopetria or somewhere in the foothills of Larnaca. Sometimes, we would travel as far as the area around Kykkos, or even the villages along that beautiful coastal route in the northwest of Cyprus, stretching from Polis Chrysochous to Pachyammos. Back then, we called them family restaurants. Today, the term destination restaurants has become the go-to way of describing places that give us an excuse, usually on a Sunday or during the summer, to get in the car, make the drive and enjoy a good meal.
And although so much has changed in Cyprus since those days, every now and then you still come across those familiar orange plastic chairs. Perhaps they are the only thing left to remind us of a time when we used to spend our days at lovely countryside restaurants, enjoying souvla, trout and traditional Lefkara-style tava, prepared the way they were always meant to be, along with Cypriot hospitality in its purest, most old-fashioned form.
Most of those family restaurants are long gone, and with them went that old Cyprus, when life felt wonderfully carefree. What hasn't changed, though, is our desire to get in the car and drive somewhere special for a good meal. Thankfully, there are still plenty of great places to choose from, both in the villages and in areas just outside the cities. Some are closer than others, but even a short drive can give you that lovely feeling of getting away from the noise and routine of everyday life.
At Wiz, we have covered destination restaurants many times over the years. A quick Google search will bring up plenty of our recommendations. Places such as Potamos in Kampi, Makris in Moniatis, Wok and Oven in Aradippou, The Farmyard in Kathikas, Spring of Life in Amargeti, Alonia & Salonia in Alona, Bonanza in Dali and December 9 in Agia Anna have all featured regularly in our restaurant guides. Then there are the places that are quite literally in the middle of nowhere, such as Ryan's in the Akrotiri area of Limassol, Vrysi in Agios Ioannis, Paphos, Viklari in Akamas and The Royal Goat Farm in the UN buffer zone in Palaiometocho. They are a reminder that, wherever you are on the island and whichever route you take, you're never too far from somewhere worth stopping for a meal.
I'll never forget a meal we had at a tiny, shack-like tavern right on the water in Mansoura, near Pyrgos Tyllirias. We were there in the mid-2000s, working on a feature documenting the beaches of government-controlled Cyprus at the time. I remember arriving hungry, with practically empty stomachs, and hoping we might find somewhere to get at least a sandwich before making the drive back to Nicosia. A woman and her husband didn't waste any time. They threw together a salad with whatever they had on hand and fried us a small portion of fresh fish (red mullet and picarel, I believe). What they gave us was a meal that would go on to become one of the most memorable experiences in the travel features we produced over the next ten years and beyond.
And that's exactly what we're looking for every time we get into the car and head out on a trip. The warm welcome you get at these restaurants, the genuine hospitality of village life, delicious trout and souvla prepared with care, Cypriot wine and local ingredients that capture the character of each place. When we find all of that, we don't think twice about driving an hour and a half just to have lunch somewhere and then head back home feeling completely satisfied.
