Living. The restaurant
Eclectic but well worth the trip
A friend suggested I try this restaurant as they had approached his company offering a reduced price on lunches and dinners. This did not present itself as an incentive; in fact quite the reverse; if your establishment is any good why chase the clientele? So, in this frame of mind, we booked a table for a Monday night, which in Nicosia is always going to be a test for the kitchen.
This restaurant is located in the hub of club-land in Engomi, along the strip that includes the excellent Press Lounge. Nice decking and outside seating, then progress inside, pleasant surroundings, good tables, white linen, first-rate table furniture, and there you are.
It seems there is something in the water of our capital determining that each new restaurant that opens will be better than the last and quite frankly I am sick of it; why can’t I have a really bad one?
This operation is like no other I have encountered, it is certainly not for the gourmet or for the burger boy. If I say eclectic, it is closer; for example, the starters offer nine items ranging from onion strings to nachos and include bruscetta, chicken fingers, buffalo wings and stuffed potato skins – these I have always associated with football supporters and Newcastle Brown Ale. The list also mentioned deep fried shrimps and three and four item combos. What they? Apparently one can order a selection from the starters.
Believing that the only edible dish must be the shrimps, I went for it and suggested the companion order the selection, which I insisted must include potato skins because I had never had them before. Imagine my disappointment when everything was beyond my expectation: potato skins swimming in melted cheddar; shrimps as big as golf-balls and wrapped in smoky bacon, crispy onions that defied mastication because they exploded in the mouth; why weren’t they awful? Because we have a chef who knows what he is doing.
The companion is always going to test the kitchen’s ability to produce the perfect steak, if it is not blue then it will certainly be very rare. The establishment claims that their meat is Argentinean and if you have seen their rugby team recently, they certainly know something about beef. I ordered the ribs; this dish is prefaced by the title ‘Living’, which on a Monday and Tuesday means all the ribs you can eat. Judging by the size of the portion I was served the only person they can expect to come up for second helpings is someone that hasn’t eaten for a year. The steak was done to perfection and the ribs were as good as any I have eaten in Cyprus, both were accompanied by potato wedges, which included the skin, and just to make sure everything was right the companion ordered a side plate of fries; my dish also included fresh corn on the cob. Other entries on the main course menu included seared salmon, jumbo shrimps and pepper chicken. So far; excellent.
Did we drink anything with this? Of course we did. But here we come to a mystery; there is no wine list. How does the wine buff proceed? Speak to Andreas the head waiter. Do you have Ayios Onoufrios? Of course; chilled or chambred? Who on earth drinks chilled red wine? Apparently, Christian, the owner, is compiling a fresh list which will include an interesting selection of new French wines.
The sweet list mentions six items, most made on the premises; did I mention the chef is from Nepal?
For a Monday evening in our capital this place was packed, clearly a lot of people know what’s what.
Try it for yourself, you will not be disappointed. They are offering discounts for company bookings. Lunches include traditional Cypriot dishes and every Thursday they are going to offer special game dishes.
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY Grills
WHERE 7k, Stasinou Avenue, Engomi, Nicosia
CONTACT 70000009 or 22 410171
PRICE Main courses from £5
