Taverna Du Riccos
Lunching out in Paphos is increasingly under threat, a situation deeply worrying for devotees of this ‘perfect pivot’ on which the day swings. At best lunch now seems to be seen more as a fuelling point or as something to indulge in only on a Sunday.
The serious decline of decent places to eat come noontime in Paphos is mainly due to the sector being geared towards the tourist trade; the toasted sandwich crowd. Travel to Limassol, Larnaca or Nicosia and proper lunches can be had in a variety of places, from Cypriot home cooking to Japanese, catering for a brisk trade in business lunches.
One place that satisfied my noon-time hunger pangs was Taverna Du Riccos. Here you will experience the culinary qualities akin to those needed by a tightrope walker: an abiding passion for the task, courage to go out on a limb and an impeccable sense of balance.
The man who possesses the above mentioned qualities and whose name is above the door is both chef and owner, Riccos (he is never referred to with a last name). For the past 13 years he has consistently swum against the tide of culinary mediocrity which is sadly rampant in Paphos. Riccos sends out dishes that make a virtue of prime ingredients without being in thrall to them. The man has great taste and uses a wide range of indigenous herbs and spices in a way that makes your taste buds sing out for more.
It is easy to spot a tiny touch of the Gordon Ramseys about Riccos’ persona but his passion for food is utterly genuine and displays itself each time he plates up. That’s one of the nice things about his place, you have chef coming out regularly to check everyone is cleaning their plates – a trait I rather like, having now become so used to lesser establishments that seem not to care when half full plates of food are returned to the kitchen.
Another bonus is the lunchtime menu, written out on a large board every morning in both Greek and English, so you can pop in and either have a very simple but tasty pasta dish, salad and wine or decide to order a take away of some traditional offerings.
Riccos is a man who revels in sage, oregano, coriander, lemon grass, chili, lime leaves, lemon, red wine, masala and nuts: all are to the fore as key accompaniments to his cooking style. Mediterranean style cooking is his forte and each day at noon he opens up his Pandora’s box of goodies so be ready to be tempted by some of this week’s advertised goodies: a range of salads from avocado prawn to tuna, chicken dishes including both souvla and grilled, New Zealand lamb and local pork chops (all having benefited from being marinated beforehand), meatballs, tortellini with cream and cheese, king prawn with lemon sole, kalamari, and grilled fillet of salmon. Each day there are changes depending on what’s available, and if you want him to prepare something ‘off menu’ Riccos will always rise to the challenge.
Just as breakfast is the calming ritual that hopefully shoehorns us into the busy day ahead, so lunch at Riccos is guaranteed to cheer us on.
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY fresh Mediterranean food
WHERE Taverna Du Riccos, 46 Eleftheriou Venezelou Ave (on the same road up from the St Georges clinic on the right), Paphos
CONTACT 26 939123 or 99 647296
PRICE €11-13 pp
