Fat Fish

George A, Lemesos Nautical club, 25828181, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sun 12:30-15:30, 19:30-23:30, Sun 12:30-15:00
Food: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Service: [rating:2] 2/5
Ambiance: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
What I find strange in Limassol is that, despite the fact that it has a very long beach front there aren’t as many good restaurant options by the sea as one would expect. Apart from the beach clubs (Puesta, Plus Sea, Blueberry) and the hotels, Fat Fish is probably one of the only decent restaurants that combines good food, good location and nice atmosphere finally reminding us that we live on an island.
As the name suggests it is a fish place, however the menu does includes a couple of meat dishes as well. What I like about Fat Fish is that, although it might not be the best fish you ever had it takes a step further from the traditional tavernas and serves some pasta, croquettes as well as a selection of very good salads, making it a great option for something different. Its wine list is quite comprehensive making it attractive to people that would like to have a quality night (or day) out while keeping it casual (and given its popularity it seems there are a lot of them!).
We decided to go for a couple of standard dishes as well as seafood pasta, a dish which is not so easily found in Cyprus (or at least a good one). The fried baby calamari was excellent, perfectly crunchy and very fresh (and much better than the one with pesto). The grilled cuttlefish was quite good and was served as a whole with olive oil and lemon. Even though we had these as starters, one can order a larger portion as a main course (often at more than double the price). The cod croquettes were my least favourite as their flavour was a bit too intense with a strong “fishy” smell. After having all of the above as well as two Cretan salads for three people (which were fantastic) we were quite full, but had to try some of the prawn pasta. Admittedly, it didn’t look so attractive as it was in a “soup” of a light wine pasta sauce, but it tasted very good. I much prefer this kind of pasta rather than pasta with thick tomato sauce or crème as it is much more tasty without being too heavy. We weren’t going to have dessert, but after seeing the Lebanese “mahalepi” go by we had to try it. It would have been a sin if we hadn’t as it was very tasty, with a soft spongy pistachio layer below the crème. The yoghurt pannacotta was an extra but indeed very nice and refreshing.
Although our meal was very fulfilling from all aspects, at 40€ each without any alcoholic drinks, I thought the price was excessive. In particular, the most unreasonably priced dish was the fried calamari which cost 20€ for (a starter sized portion!). The service is definitely not the highlight as “the customer is always right” definitely does not hold in this case. Nevertheless, it’s a good place for a balanced food/ambiance ratio.