Trata fish tavern
Fresh fish for a fraction…
Though it is great to get all dolled up for a night out to dinner, there are times when it is an equal pleasure to get a good meal wearing comfy jeans and a sweater! Such a place is the Trata Fish Tavern in Limassol.
Not on a main road, it primarily serves locals mainly because it’s only locals who know about it. Not a swish restaurant by any means: minimal decoration, save for the water glasses and plates already on the table there are some fading murals of fish on the walls. Previously there were fish nets hanging from the roof, but they seem to have been removed. Inside it’s cosy and warm but smoky, so I have found it much better on the closed-in terrace area in front where in winter there is a large gas heater and in summer the windows are opened to their full extent. Also, the music inside is somewhat loud Greek. But nobody cares, really. They only go there for one thing: the food… which is excellent. The menu is unusually brief – simply a folder that opens with two facing pages, food on one side and drinks on the other. It’s straightforward enough though: for food, the selection includes various fish by the kilo cooked to your liking, some meat dishes and two desserts – seasonal fruit and cake; for drinks, a smaller selection of exceptionally reasonably-priced local wines (mostly £5 to £7).
Trata’s specialty, and the reason why it is quite busy every evening, however, is its fish meze, which comprises 15 different dishes. Its reputation of having very fresh fish and quality dishes precedes it and results in a repeat clientele of which most restaurants would be jealous.
Apart from the traditional Greek salad, tahini, tarama, Russian salad, green olives and beetroot, the fish meze also includes a selection of seafood such as grilled prawns, breaded crab claws, fried and battered calamari, grilled octopus and grilled cuttlefish as well as a large portion of crunchy chips. The size of the dishes is not enormous, but substantial enough to fill. The deep-fried items are crispy without that heavy feeling you often get when eating fried food (usually because the oil hasn’t been changed often enough) and the char-grilled items are very tasty. The final dish is a large, grilled Sea Bream (Tsipoura) that has been filleted (though the head is still there) and drizzled with a combination of oil, parsley, and possibly even a dash of lemon.
The entire meze arrives at a comfortable pace so you feel neither rushed nor left wondering when the next course is coming, and also ensures that the food is still warm. So many times you can be overloaded with so much food that by the time you get to it, it’s already gone cold. The meze is topped off nicely with a small, deliciously syrupy, sweet. Piping hot towels are brought to refresh you and leave potentially sticky hands lovely and clean.
The service however, in general, definitely leaves something to be desired. Although busy, the restaurant when we visited was clearly not full so it should have been easy to get the attention of staff but was not, which turned out to be a little frustrating. Though they are friendly enough, attentiveness is not their strongpoint.
Like everything else, the bill is simple: the ticker tape from the cash register. Definitely a case of what you see is what you get, but who cares about that when the food is so good?
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY Meze
WHERE Trata Fish Tavern, 4, Iacovou Tompazou Street, Limassol
CONTACT 25 586600
PRICE fish meze, £10 per person
