(in)theory

Saripolou 53, 95100250, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Tue-Sun 19:00-1:00
Food: [rating:2.5] 2.5/5
Service: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Ambiance: [rating:4] 4/5
New? Yes. What is it? Bar/Restaurant. Décor? Funky retro. Food? Creative “meze”. Tables outside? As well as inside. Go? Yes!
If you know Meli Bar and Salut, you will also find out about (in)theory as they are all aligned. Even though the rough wood, the industrial look and the rustic touch have been used before I thought it is something new in Cyprus in terms of décor. Fortunately there are high tables inside or outside on Saripolou square, hence very good for the summer and perfect for drinks and nibbles.
My first impression of this bar/restaurant was positive. We waited for the menu with anticipation, hoping it would be of equally high standards. It arrived in a cool clipboard and on what seemed to be used paper. The cocktails, which were in the first pages were very inviting, especially since they were all created by Sotiris (the owner) from scratch (and he is known for his fantastic skills as a barman). The food looked like a selection of creative tapas, or “meze”, as Sotiris prefers it, and included watermelon and rocket salad, honey-lime prawns, grilled sea bass with raisins as well as a selection of mussels. At first glance it looked inviting, even though a lot of the dishes seemed too sweet for my taste. Nevertheless we ordered a little bit of everything to try.
The hummus, which was the first starter to arrive, was very good, served in a small jar with crispy Lebanese pitta bread. The honey-lime prawns were also very good, perfectly sweet and sour and my second favourite dish. The zucchini with ricotta was my number one favourite dish as they were very tasty and quite light. What I didn’t particularly like was the chicken pâté with pears as it was 80% pears 10% bread and 10% pâté and it was extremely sweet. Although Mr Proud Cypriot agreed with me for the pâté, he disagreed on the sea bass fillet with spinach as I also thought, together with the balsamic glaze and raisins it was also too sweet but he thought it was very good. The mussels with garlic sauce were quite ok, not the best I have had in my life but probably would eat them again as they are not so easy to find in Cyprus (or rather, Limassol).
The overall impression that we got is that, as a bar/restaurant it was one of the most funky places I have seen in Cyprus and I would definitely return for drinks and nibbles. Food-wise we had mixed comments as most of the dishes were a bit too sweet and  complicated but with a lot of potential. What really appreciated though was the excellent value for money as very few dishes were above 10€ with a very good wine selection at low prices. We paid 30€ each with a good bottle of wine for two people and left quite satisfied. All we are waiting for is the humidity to go down so we can go again.