In Spanish Gustoso means savoury, and also to do something gladly or willingly; in Italian it means tasteful; and in Serbo Croatian it means dense or packed; and this recently opened restaurant on the Tomb of the Kings Road in Paphos certainly lives up to all four definitions. From the road, one cannot fail to spot this new addition to the tourist strip and what’s striking is the huge amount of effort that has gone into creating this very comfortable, user friendly eatery. It certainly stands out as a bit of a white beacon of hope for those whose culinary tastes veer more towards brasserie style dining than being hunched up in a burger bar or being fed dubious comestibles from unknown frozen sources.
The owner previously cooked at Tsada golf club, which also means we have a man behind the stove at Gustoso who knows only too well the need to hold fast to a decent level of food comfort zone, so, expect no fierce culinary fireworks exiting his kitchen; this isn’t elegant or studied cooking but his secret weapon is having a real instinct for what his customers want. This place serves platefuls of food so large they have their own gravitational pull, all at prices that make one wonder how they manage to balance the books. Parading from the kitchen, a series of huge chunks of white porcelain float past tables all expertly handled by diminutive waitresses. This is a place that has obviously set its sights on capturing not only evening diners, it’s also open for breakfast and lunch, which means the extensive menu is a bit of trip through one’s all-time family favourites, from a fluffy three egg omelette or full fry up for breakfast, burgers, sandwiches, salads, jacket potatoes, pastas and soups for lunch, and with evening meals the challenge is to go through the menu and see if there are any dishes listed one hasn’t ever tried previously.
We started off with Marinated Garlic King Prawns with Steamed Rice (€7) and Marinated Salmon with Avocado (€7), both of which came on canoe sized crockery with a generous portion of well cooked prawns that could easily have passed for a pretty substantial main course.
To find a good 250g fillet steak under €20 is rare in Paphos but here one can relish a medium steak for only €18, served with a choice of four different sauces and partnered with rice, jacket potato and veggies. Also available are a stuffed chicken breast with spinach and feta for only €9.90 or a mammoth portion of Jack Daniel glazed ribs for €9.50. The most expensive dish on the menu is lobster thermidor (€30), then there is good selection of salads including Caesar, fish, Waldorf plus a BBQ chicken, and probably every single pasta dish one could wish for, all coming in at around €7.50 per (very large) plate. As for the puddings, the most popular seemed to be the chocolate heaven (€4.80), our waitress told us that when people phone to book a table they also reserve one of these artery busting chocolate cakes drenched in warm chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
My sole complaint has to be with my main course of Battered Fish and Chips. I expected a fish that had been deep fried in a batter that acted as a protective shield so that the fish inside may steam, that the temperature of the fat was correct to deliver a crisp outside so that it shattered under the pressure of fork, and inside, the pearly fish should just fall away to flakes. Alas this was a sad affair on a platter with deflated, tasteless batter that clung to the flesh of the fish and reluctantly refused to part company. This dish not only let down the chef, it highlighted the classic problems that result when one promotes a menu that offers far too many dishes for the kitchen to deal with.
That said, Gustoso will certainly suit the vast majority of tourists and residents: it’s trying hard, has an easy going atmosphere, treats its customers to proper linen napkins and tablecloths, the staff are friendly and efficient, wine prices aren’t too inflated and its certainly offering decent food as all around you there are diners leaving plates almost greaseless. Yes it’s worth a visit and may you enjoy the experience with Great Gusto .
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY British/ European comfort food
PRICE €8-10 upwards
WHERE 72 Tombs of the Kings Road, Paphos
CONTACT 26 951659
