Caprice of Mykonos
For food as good as its tempting aroma
Living close to the Londa hotel means only one thing on a Sunday: the heavenly scent of a delicious BBQ wafting towards me. Tempting? Beckoning? Mouthwateringly so. I couldn’t stand it any more – and invited a friend to go try it out.
It was surprisingly quiet. I expected it to be bustling, but it was quite the opposite. That said, the three tables – other than our own – were an eclectic group of people: one family with young children, two older couples and on the corner table, a group of elderly ladies.
The place is gorgeous at first glance: luscious wooden-topped tables with sparkling crystal, light paintwork with intricate dotted design on the pillars and walls covered in interlocking glass rings that form a ‘waterfall’ effect – incredibly soothing. And I haven’t even mentioned the huge glass windows that look directly out onto the sea.
The maitre d’ – dressed in a linen shirt and trousers, which was both elegant yet informal – offered us choice of place. Once seated, we were handed a menu, which was not the BBQ menu. I was just about to say something when, after we had ordered a drink, the BBQ menu arrived. Though the items listed sounded quite delicious, the menu itself – a laminated card – was in fact not really fitting. Never mind, we were there for the food. So, we ordered what we had come for: a BBQ platter for two. We had the choice of a la carte menu, meat or seafood platter, all equally inviting, but since both of us had recently had dental work, we opted for the ‘softer’ seafood platter to share.
Within two minutes of ordering, a small basket of pitta and seed-topped rolls arrived along with a glass platter holding three dishes. Two were easily discernable as humus and aubergine, but the third, coloured like a faint sunset in yellow and orange aroused our curiosity as we struggled to distinguish the content. With no luck, I had to look back at the menu to discover it was indeed aioli (mayonnaise and potato) with saffron. Not to my taste, but by the end of the meal, my friend had decided that the flavour, unusual as it was, had grown on her. A large plate of salad comprising frissee, red and green lollo lettuce arrived and we had already run out of space on our table for the plates. The waiter moved another table across just as our seafood platter appeared and “wow!” is all we could say.
Absolutely fabulous, arranged on the platter were a whole sea bream, octopus, fillets of salmon, jumbo prawn, smaller prawns, langoustine, calamari, halloumi, cobs of corn, vegetable slices, kebab sticks of olives and cherry tomatoes, salad and watermelon. Any designs on dessert disintegrated instantly.
Quality-wise, the food was excellent. The BBQ flavour only enhanced the natural taste. Attacking the langoustine with vigour I unashamedly accepted assistance from the waiter who tried in vain to extract the flesh from within the legs using lobster utensils. The thought was nice, but resulted in a Pretty Woman moment as the pincer in question flew off the plate and landed on the floor. I was just glad it hadn’t been me.
Unfortunately, since the platter could easily have served three people, by the time we got through just half of it, the remainder was already cold, and as a result, we left some items that otherwise we would have been happy to eat. Such a pity.
It was at this point that my friend pointed out the very casual attire of the waitresses: tracksuits and trainers! We discussed this at length, along with the fact that the children of the family seated near us were still dripping wet from going in the pool, towels draped around their shoulders. We could only come to the assumption that the Caprice of Mykonos IN Mykonos was much more casual, and that perhaps the Caprice of Mykonos in Limassol, was housed in somewhat more lavish surroundings.
My friend ordered an espresso and I ordered tea, which arrived in a delightful cast iron pot and tasted great.
The bill arrived enclosed in a small card, not on a plate and disappointingly without sweets, mints or any other complimentary item. Again, a pity, since these small things do make a difference. Nevertheless, I’d definitely go back – but next time with two friends!
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY BBQ
WHERE Caprice of Mykonos (in the Londa), 72, Georgiou A Street, Limassol
CONTACT: 25 865555
PRICE Sunday BBQ lunch – meat £26, seafood £32
