Stou Kyr Yianni- Omodos

Linou 15, 25422100, Omodos
Mon-Sun 9:00-23:00
Food: [rating:2.5] 2.5/5
Service: [rating:2.5] 2.5/5
Ambiance: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
When I first shared my experience at Kyr Yiannis in Omodos, I was told not to judge the creative local cuisine, especially as some of the dishes (like the caramelized halloumi with sesame seeds), are served in high-end gourmet restaurants. Not only am I not against it, but extremely for it as I personally think it is fantastic to use our traditional cuisine and create new and innovative dishes, especially since all the tavernas in Cyprus serve the same food. Unfortunately, it did not work so well in the case of Kyr Yiannis.
Arriving there, I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere, as it is small and cosy with a very nice courtyard. The menu was fixed: either Mediterranean meze, which sounded fantastic with fetta and tomato dips, fried zucchini balls, pasticcio, caramelized halloumi and mixed grill at the end, or meat meze (more of a mixed grill). Starving as we were, we went for the Mediterranean one which sounded very inviting and interesting.
From the minute the toasted but cold bread came I knew what would follow. The rest of the food, even though tasty was also cold, which was a real pity especially in the case of the caramelized halloumi, where it could have actually been good. The pattern continued with the rest of the dishes and, despite the good effort to offer a rich mixed grill platter with middle eastern touches, it was obvious that the burgers, chicken and kofta skewers were cooked some time before.
I was particularly disappointed, not only because I really wanted the place to be good, but because each time I have to try really hard to convince Mr Proud Cypriot to try a new restaurant as he refuses to risk his weekend taverna lunch. Despite the recent experience, the search does not stop here, especially now while approaching the best season of the year.
Something to note is that I was told at night it is much better, both the food and the atmosphere as they have live music. Secondly, it has a guest house as well that looks quite cute and is probably one of the best in the village.