The food served at La Vigna is not particularly ground breaking and mercifully owes little towards the current craze in Italian cooking which is more about towering ambition and crazy imagination than serving a value-for-money meal that’s both recognisable as Italian and tastes good.
I have to agree with the premise that Italian cuisine is mostly just quality ingredients served simply on a plate without much messing around. Sometimes that’s worth remembering as along with this refreshing honesty, there is also excellent value for money, and this holy trinity of essential plus points rarely comes together when one visits some of the other places in Paphos that masquerade as Italian eateries.
La Vigna is one that consistently sets a standard that others should assiduously try to follow, and from the minute you walk into the restaurant it’s immediately warm and welcoming; staff are smiley and seem to seriously relish the often daunting task of serving a myriad of different types of diners on a daily basis. This has to be another big plus point, for it’s here you can also indulge in the highly entertaining art of people watching with the guarantee of at least three or four tables of interest.
The evening we dined, there was the usual clutch of weary tourists laden down with small children, three pairs of obvious honeymoon couples drinking more than eating, a good number of locals silently but steadily hovering up the rack of lamb, plus a rich selection of expats on a night out with friends and family. It’s obviously a very popular place for Brits in search of decent foreign carbs.
Here they all get to try a good selection of classic Italian dishes, okay some will come with the odd twist but it’s one that complements the original recipe rather than damages. There are always three savoury chapters to any Italian feast, first the antipasto (translated means ‘before the meal’) which for us included cured meats, olives, artichoke hearts accompanied by home made bread and tasty titbits of bruschetta.
We were also persuaded into sampling a slice of Chef’s home made pizza, which elevated the status of that much maligned and mucked about circle of dough. It’s a perfect choice if you have young children in tow as they can then savour what a real home-made pizza should actually taste like.
Next comes the pasta and risotto, both are the most consistent in any good Italian kitchen. Here the creamy, delicate risotto is spot on, as were my companion’s choices of comforting, perfectly cooked linguini, tagliatelli and home-made ravioli dishes.
For our main dishes we went on a bit of culinary thrill ride with a plate of delicious grilled prawns, perfect veal in a creamy sauce, followed by a mini rack of lamb, then, superb stuffed chicken breast. The menu offers so much choice from fish to fowl, beef Carpaccio to veal, and steaks, with vegetarians also more than able to find a good number of appealing dishes.
Talking of appealing, there is also live music in the form Tommy and Lesley who, under the name of Blue Jar, alternate between playing violin and guitar with vocals, and although the mere mention of having live music with my dinner would normally set my remaining teeth on edge, Blue Jar turned out to really complement the ambience of the entire evening.
Owner Emilios has been at the helm of La Vigna for many years and although several establishments in the Coral Bay area have failed to weather the economic downturn, part of the reason this happy place is still pulling in the punters is simply because the man knows his business, and he also understands his clientele.
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY Italian
WHERE Trattoria La Vigna, Coral Bay, Peyia, Paphos
CONTACT 26 813755, www.trattoria-lavigna.com
PRICE €18-20 for main dish
