UNTIL 20 years ago, there was an abundance of ‘workingman’s taverns’ in the old part of Nicosia, now fast disappearing to be replaced by sandwich bars, chic cafés with fancy chrome chairs and trendy bars for weird, alternative types. Most of Nicosia within the walls is now too hip for this type of tavern, at which working men would have a wholesome meal for less money than a café frequenter now forks out for a cappuccino or a peppermint tea.
Times have changed. Gone are most workshops – printing shops, tailors, carpenters, cobblers, ironmongers, tanneries, etc – which operated within the walls, either closed down or moved out of town, taking with them a large number of male workers, who made up the clientele of these traditional eateries. But it is not all doom and gloom because the workingman’s taverns that remain do brisk business, feeding a lot more people every lunch-time than their upmarket competitors outside the walls.
I use the label ‘workingman’s tavern’ for want of a better term. In the Cypriot vernacular such an eatery is known as a ‘mairkon’, which, roughly translated means a ‘place that cooks food’. A statement of the obvious perhaps, but it implies that all the food is already cooked and ready to serve. There is no waiting time between placing the order and being served, which is ideal for people who have a short lunch-break. This is fast-food which is wholesome and healthy.
Shiandris, situated on one of the roads that run parallel to Ledra Street (north side) is a ‘mairkon’ with a long and proud tradition. It has been going since 1969 and continues to pack in the punters every lunch-time. The owner/cook is Andreas Shiandris, a lively and cheerful man who likes a good laugh and completely dominates the small dining area with his banter and jokes. He often announces his dishes with comments such as “rabbit for five Oscars” or “you’ve never eaten dolmades like these in your life”. It all contributes to the chaotic liveliness of the place.
Andreas cooks everything, takes orders, serves the food, often assisted by one of his four grown-up children, and entertains. His wife, Zena, is in the kitchen dishing out the portions of food, aware, like a doting mother, of the individual eating quirks of every regular. X does not want vinegar in his salad, Y wants pasta with the meatballs. The way it should be in an establishment at which the regulars make up more than half the clientele and have high demands and expectations.
The ‘mairkon’ is housed in a small shop with seven tables crammed in, which makes private conversation impossible. Eating here is after all a communal experience, with regulars shouting good-natured insults at each other across the room and Shiandris regularly butting in with his own contribution. It is noisy, but that is what gives the place its buzz and personality, which is enhanced by the garish, plastic table-covers, and Pirelli calendars on the walls, which are also adorned with pictures of football teams.
The food, as you would expect in such a no-frills establishment, is honest and unpretentious, of home quality and standard. Many of the dishes change every day, although the tender roast lamb with delicious potatoes cooked in its fat is always on the menu. There is also a choice of seasonal vegetables (okra, runner beans, cauliflower) usually in tomato sauce, to accompany it, if you so wish. Shiandris makes the best dolmades (stuffed vegetables) in town, even though these are on the menu just one day a week.
For the health-conscious customers, concerned about their cholesterol levels, there is always a choice of pulses. Canellini beans are on offer every day (boiled or in tomato sauce) and the second choice consists of one of the following: black-eyed peas, chickpeas in tomato sauce, broad beans or lentils with rice. My favourite dish are the boiled beans with carrot and celery, with a side-dish containing bits of smoked herring, cracked olives and sliced tomato. The mushy broad beans are also a delight while the ‘Shandris salad’, is much better than Caesar’s or Waldorf’s.
There is no wine-list, even though he does offer an ultra-rough red wine by the glass; there is ice cold beer and zivania for those who do not like their wine poured from the gallon container.
Shiandris offers the ultimate comfort food, at least for Cypriots, but even someone unfamiliar with Cyprus home cooking would appreciate the high quality and indisputable goodness of the grub, not to mention the buzz that all great eateries have. A meal costs less than a fiver. Shiandris is open from 12 noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday.
SPECIALITY Pulses, roast lamb
KIDS Welcome
SEATING 28
WHERE 21 Pericleous Street, Nicosia
CONTACT 22671549
BOOKING Unnecessary
PRICE lunch for two without wine £10
