By Tracy Roth-Rotsas
Whispers about the high standards of food and service at the Parklane Resort and Spa in Limassol (as well as some choice rave reviews from friends) piqued my curiosity, and so off I went! I invite a friend and we are waved through the main gates, leaving the car parked by the playground. We wander along a tree-lined, cobbled pathway, admiring the aesthetic value of the natural materials and design of the hotel. It’s quite stunning and the walk extremely pleasant.
The Lanes restaurant is located down the stairs via the foyer. With a casual dress code and suitable for all ages, seating is both inside and al fresco. Our table is inside and overlooks the massive ambient-lit pool providing a magnificent setting for dinner. The restaurant covers a huge area, filled with heavier, wider, cushioned chairs and larger tables. Black stripes interrupt the white expansive floor, large windows fill the walls, and white covers the ceiling. It’s very indulgent and feels quite posh.
A well-dressed drinks waiter was quickly by our side offering valuable suggestions along with the wine menu, which contains only Cypriot and Greek wines, most both by the glass as well as the bottle. Champagne and prosecco are also available by the glass, so we ordered the latter which arrives with a flourish soon after.
The buffet area is broken up into segments: a bread station, salads and amuse-bouches, oils/dressings/cheese and crackers, mains (and soup), and of course, dessert! In addition, there is an entirely separate ice-cream bar, displaying an impressive selection of home-made ice-creams in an excellent assortment of colours and flavours. At the far end, with a dozen or so dishes particularly geared to the younger generation, is the kids’ buffet.
Each section of the buffet is copiously laden with an extensive variety of items. On the bread station, a selection of baguettes, ciabattas, flatbreads, and white, brown, seeded, and grained dinner rolls greet us. Fresh and fluffy, we try not to ruin our appetites by eating too much!
The salad station includes salads with grilled vegetables, seafood, and fruit, as well as separate dishes of local dips, fabulous displays of thinly-sliced duck, swordfish and pork, among jars and platters of peppers, chillis, feta, olives, and other exotic items to spice up a salad. Oils and dressings, are on the opposite station together with an inviting array of cheeses and dry biscuits, crackers and condiments. A chef prepares freshly-composed amuse-bouches: a delicious mouthful of chopped mango, cucumber and something else I didn’t quite catch the name of, in a miniscule taco type wafer cracker. We each take two!
The soup is a homemade chicken and vegetable one plus for the children, chicken noodle. Very flavoursome and consommé-like, it is not too salty, and light enough to whet our appetites but not ruin the meal.
For mains, in addition to a selection of traditional Cypriot meat dishes, there is pastry-encrusted salmon with a champagne cream sauce being sliced in front of us, its pastry crispy, and fish centre easily flaking away, cooked to perfection, enhanced by the subtle sauce. A selection of vegetables, some gratin potatoes, and tortellini (which appears homemade, though we didn’t ask) makes for a lovely plate.
Finally, we arrive at the dessert station where “Wow!” is the only suitable response. Every item is individually plated, meaning that the buffet table itself looks quite pristine all the time. A confectionery apricot made from mousse with a chocolate stem on a chocolate biscuit is particularly impressive and so light and airy! Strawberries and cream biscuits, baclava, mini-panna cottas, and a crumbly-cheesecake type dessert are all so enticing that I take one of each and find they are equally delicious, with clear flavours. On the kids’ buffet selection (yes, I also check that out!) there are marshmallows, doukissa, popcorn and cakes, so I take a few of those as well, ending up with eight items in total! My friend takes six.
Overall, it is a superb evening, in a beautiful setting. The staff are extremely polite, attentive and accommodating. The décor of the restaurant is quite luxurious, and the experience, very indulgent… in a casual ‘walk in the park’, kind of way. I wonder what breakfast and lunch offer…
Despite the high price tag, it is excellent value for money and highly recommended!
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALTY mixed buffet
WHERE Lanes Restaurant, Park Lane Resort & Spa, Limassol
WHEN breakfast, lunch, and dinner
HOW MUCH four-course dinner buffet meal (excluding drinks) €51 per person
CONTACT Tel: 25 862000, https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/pfomd-parklane-a-luxury-collection-resort-and-spa-limassol/
