Marmitta

Vikella 27 (Parodos Pindarou), 22377039, LEFKOSIA (NICOSIA)
Mon-Sat 7:00-17:00, Fri & Sat dinner
Food: [rating:3] 3/5
Service: [rating:3] 3/5
Ambiance: [rating:2.5] 2.5/5
I am not sure if these type of restaurants are a trend or I have simply not noticed them all these years but there seem to be all over the place: open only for lunch and offer local, home-made food (modern “magiria). Marmitta is yet another cute little restaurant that prepares daily dishes (pulses, cooked meat or other “magirio” type food) as well as grilled meat (kebab, pork chops etc). It is open all day for coffee as well.
The place itself is quite cute even though nothing special, with tables on the front porch, at the courtyard at the back and a few tables inside. We sat in the front, even though I am not a fan of the plastic covers that surround the restaurant (the ones that are usually there to keep the veranda warm for the smokers).
The food of the day fortunately included fresh “louvi”, (my favourite these days), but unfortunately all three of us wanted the same dish so we didn’t have the opportunity to try anything else from the main dishes. We also ordered a salad but were told that it comes with one anyway, and there is also a salad buffet if we wanted to make our own. As their menu included a number of other dishes, we thought we could order a nibble as a starter (as we were all starving). What I found strange however, was that from the entire menu we couldn’t find anything small and appropriate for sharing, and the only dip we wanted (aubergines with walnuts) had ran out, and even though we were suggested “tzatziki” or “tahini” with our louvi (!) we passed.
The good thing was that the food was tasty. The bad thing, however, was that, the “louvi” portion was not the only one that was small, but the salad was as well, being merely a tiny bowl to share. Having siad that, it was nice of them to serve tuna and salad with the pulses for free, even though I personally prefer the classic: cucumber, tomato and onion separately so I can add them in myself.
After our lunch we thought we shouldn’t be greedy and have more food, but order a desert instead. We shared a cheesecake and watermelon sweet (“tou koutaliou”), which were both tasty but not exceptional.
The overall lunch experience was quite neutral mostly because, even though the food was tasty, the place was cute and the staff were friendly, the portions were small and I didn’t find a lot of dishes that I wanted to eat (whereas I usually want to order the entire menu). It is fair to say that the prices were low (we paid 30€ for 3 portions of louvi, a bottle of water and 2 desserts). All in all Marmitta is one of those restaurants that I would return if I was around, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there.