Orea Hellas Taverna
Good Sense of Houmos
Total relaxation, good food, good wine. It doesn’t get any better
GENERALLY speaking, Europeans’ perception of Greece in the continental culinary constellation is that of the greasy spoon. This was brilliantly displayed in the film Shirley Valentine, with the Brits’ attitude to Greek cuisine being one of ‘all octopus, oil, and offal’.
Well, anyone who still harbours this gross misconception should hurry on up to the village of Vouni and seek out one of the mistresses of the Greek kitchen in the attractive form of Phaedra Deliyianides, for this is a woman who is a positive dominatrix when it comes to cooking.
And no, she does not greet her guests clad in a mesh body stocking, killer heels, and rubber apron; she is positively modest in her attire, unlike her cuisine which is rich, sometimes extravagant, but always punching above the norm. Neither is this one of those places that routinely dolls out dodgy dishes to tourists, with the really good stuff being kept for home – the restaurant is also their home and the kitchen is where Phaedra reigns supreme (supported by husband Yiannis).
In the fine company of three male friends, all of us hungry for a Sunday lunch we descended on this quiet village, which has been voted ‘most typical Cypriot village’ and is indeed a whole world away from the development and destruction going on only 40 minutes away on the coast.
Set at an altitude of 800metres and with 40 per cent of the surrounding countryside laid aside for vines, we were also looking forward to sampling some of the fine wines of the area.
The restaurant is the lower garden area of the Deliyianides family home; Phaedra and Yiannis live upstairs. Downstairs reside the evocative aromas of charcoal smoke, seared meat and dried herbs along with a cacophony of ‘trilling’ from the cage birds.
We started with a mix of different dips, which gave a clear indication of where this lady is coming from; parts of her repertoire, I believe, are taken from the 2,000-year-old cookery book ‘Deipnosophistai’ by Athenaeus. These are classic recipes from ancient Greece that taste just as good today, especially the parsley and fiery chilli dips, as they did then. Then, there’s the medley of breads – leaven, unleavened, with cheese, without cheese – all of which are made on the premises and served piping hot to get you fully geared up for the remainder of this waist stretching meal.
My favourite came next – delicately flavoured deep fried courgette and cheese balls, which were simply delicious when dipped into the spicy cheese dip or home made tsiatziki. Mushrooms stuffed with four types of cheese preceded a round of perfect goat cheese that had been fried in a skillet and served straight from the fire. Peas, beans, baby potatoes, pourgouri with lashings of local yogurt, sauté potatoes with rosemary and a brimming dish of lip smacking chicken stifado all were all hoovered down with absolute relish.
The only lump in the custard was purely a Brit thing. Echoes of Shirley V came to the fore when we were presented with succulent pieces of baby goat cooked in brown paper, and very nice it was too if you like goat. If you don’t, you can order an alternative as this dish is usually only served on a Sunday and is obviously exceedingly popular with Cypriots as from every table one could hear the feverish rustle of folk digging around in the crispy brown paper.
Puddings abound and one would have to be Job on a really good day to resist the hot chocolate cake, pears in wine, blackcurrant pudding or the crispy ‘cloved’ apple pie with walnut ice cream.
For those for whom health comes second to bacchanalian excess, this is the ideal environment (but please do have on hand a tea-total driver) to sample the juice of the grape as produced by such gold medal winners as Kilani and Tsiakkas, Pitsilia, and the Vasilikon winery.
We all enjoyed the perfect combination of good food and quality wines in a setting that affords one the total luxury of complete relaxation. An important footnote: at the restaurant there is also the opportunity for a bit of retail therapy; as if this woman doesn’t have a few other things to do, she also makes exquisite jewellery so I came away not only totally replete, but also flashing a deep-blue stone encrusted silver bracelet.
SPECIALITY Greek dishes
SEATING 30-40 both inside and out
WHERE Vouni Village (well sign posted)
CONTACT 25 944328 or 25 944152
BOOKING essential, especially on a Sunday
PRICE meze £7.50 pp. without wine
