The Date Club
Where are you going for Valentine’s?
When I visited the Date Club for dinner recently it really didn’t occur to me at the time what a great place for a romantic dinner it would be as I was dining with a female friend. However with the Big V-Day fast approaching, in hindsight, the Nicosia restaurant, which has been around for nearly 40 years would not be far from the top of my list of romantic places to go.
Now under new ownership, the Date Club has been revamped in classic style with soft lighting complete with piano player and female singer. With the tables well spaced the restaurant oozes privacy amid the bustle of a busy night. There is also the large bar, which forms the centerpiece of the restaurant. Elegant is probably the best word to use to describe the overall effect.
When it was first opened in 1969, Joe’s Date Club was THE place to go for lunch and it quickly became a big hit and the meeting place for the generation of the time. In the seventies and eighties businessmen were sealing deals with a drink and the Date Club was a firm fixture of Nicosia society.
It is a testament to the Date Club that it is still around. Despite the proliferation of new establishments that have opened in Nicosia throughout the nineties offering every sort of food, ambiance and price range imaginable, the Date Club is still there.
And what of the food?
It’s not always the best idea for someone who doesn’t eat meat or fish to review a place like the Date Club as it’s difficult to do justice to a menu that offers tempting steak, pork and beef classics, and grill dishes you can almost smell just by reading the words Lamb Cutlets. Umm…well back to the non-fleshy options.
I could have gobbled up all of the starters’ menu; marinated goats cheese salad with crusty village bread or grilled mushrooms with herbal garlic dressing. However we both decided on the soup of the day, which as if by providence, turned out to be homemade vegetable soup.
I admit to feeling quite full up after the peppery mix that had the perfect consistency, not thick and gluey, nor runny and weak, and I wondered how I was going to get through the chosen main course.
I probably should have ordered one of the main salad courses such as rocket and kefalotyri cheese but it was a cold winter’s night so we both opted for hot pasta. My companion had Tomato e Penne. She was smart. It was a nice light dish for a late evening meal but I couldn’t resist the sound of Penne di Cream with broccoli and three cheeses. It was amazing but I filled up very quickly and couldn’t finish it, both because I was stuffed, and because I knew there was dessert coming. I also knew that by lunchtime the next day I would be hankering after that plate of pasta.
For dessert we both chose Crepe Suzette as we were told it was a speciality although I was torn between Fruit Spring Rolls and Chocolate Cr?me Brulee, always a girl’s best friend.
The crepe was as light as a feather and lemon zesty, which stopped it from doing as much damage as initially feared to my already strained digestive system. I’m simply not used to eating so much in one sitting.
I am definitely bringing a date to the Date Club next time to take my mind of the temptations on the menu. I might even start on Valentine’s Day.
VITAL STATISTICS
