Journey through Greek food
Ellinikes Diadromes means Greek Journeys, and we’ve all taken a bit of a Greek journey in the past few years, gastronomically speaking. A decade ago it seemed Maistrali was the only place serving Greek, as opposed to Cypriot, meze in Nicosia (there was also Aegaio, but Aegaio was always sui generis). Now of course they’re everywhere, to the extent that Cypriot meze has become an endangered species – and Ellinikes Diadromes is probably the best of the bunch.
It’s set on a stretch of road that’s always been host to tavernas; the venerable Shistri is just a few doors down. In the summer there’s a pleasant but rather cramped garden – but winter is the time to go, preferably the depths of winter when logs are blazing in the fireplace and people give little shivers of relief as they come in from the cold. The d?cor is wintry, reminiscent of those cavernous yet cosy tavernas you find in the mountains. And the food is definitely wintry, heavy on the cheese, meat and spices – perfect mop-up fare for a few carafes of the house retsina.
The long rectangular space enfolds three rows of sturdy tables with blue-and-white checked tablecloths, the high-ceilinged room made warm and appealing by a motley collection of… well, stuff. Photos from old Greek movies, most of them starring what I thought was Aliki Vouyiouklaki but my dining companion correctly identified as Jenny Karezi. Old clocks. A couple of guitars along the far wall. A fake menu. It is of course ‘designed’, but for a moment you feel like you’ve stumbled on some family-run place showing off assorted bits of family memorabilia.
Service is notably fast and friendly – our waiter even said “Good evening!” as he arrived with the first tray of starters (trust me, it doesn’t always happen). Greek meze is different from Cypriot in a number of ways, one being that you order a selection instead of getting a set number of dishes. There are cold and hot starters, various kinds of saganaki – which is basically deep-fried cheese – a small selection of Chef’s Specials and of course the meats, with the usual assortment of kebabs, sausages and lamb chops (they also have sheftalia, a rare concession to Cypriot cuisine).
We went for a mix of the daring and familiar, trying not to overdo the deep-fried stuff (the other difference between Greek and Cypriot meze is how unhealthy and cholesterol-laden it is). Salad was probably a mistake, piled with tomatoes which of course tend to have the consistency of cardboard after about mid-September – but a dish of boiled ‘horta’ was a good idea, perfect roughage for the ‘tirokafteri’, or spicy cheese dip. We opted for a Metsovo-cheese saganaki instead of the usual feta, which was greasy and salty and mopped up a lot of retsina (sometimes the simple pleasures are the most satisfying), as well as the ever-popular kolokithokeftedes, or courgette meatballs. I’m pretty sure there was cheese in those as well.
When it came to meats, my companion declared she was “in the mood for sausage” (we didn’t snigger when she said this, because we are mature adults), so we went for a Thrace sausage – softer and fleshier than the stubby Cyprus equivalent – and the ‘spetsofai’, which is one of the Specials and involves diced cubes of sausage stewed with green peppers in a rich tomato sauce. Chunks of bread were ripped off – I forgot to mention the bread arrives in warm, springy globes, as if fresh from the oven – and dunked in the sauce. Also, more retsina.
Bottom line? Ellinikes Diadromes is a rustic-looking place serving tasty, hearty food. Some may find it heavy, though of course there’s nothing to stop you ordering just a kebab and salad. It’s also wildly popular, especially on a Saturday night, so booking is advisable. If I were working for a marketing firm and had to find a slogan for the restaurant, I might call it “a Greek Journey for your taste buds”, or perhaps “a Journey worth taking”. I’d be fired, of course…
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY Greek meze dishes
SEATING 90-100
WHERE 22 Aglandjia Avenue, Nicosia
CONTACT 22 330701
BOOKING Advisable
PRICE Around £25 for two, with retsina
