Incontro

Makarios III ave 244, 25377519, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sun 9:00-23:00
Food: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Service: [rating:4] 4/5
Ambiance: [rating:3] 3/5
Thinking back I might have neglected places that have been alive forever like Le Café or Pralina in Nicosia as I have been taking them for granted. I don’t even go as often as I would like to. I feel it is only fair to take some time and write about one of the café/restaurants that I see as the Le Café of Limassol: it has been there for more than 10 years, it is in the centre of one of the busiest streets and it is what I call a “sure bet”. You know that, when you go there service will be immaculate, food is very well prepared and of high quality. In fact, my proud Cypriot Limassolian friends were shocked that I had never been for the entire year and a half that I have been living in Limassol and insisted on taking me for lunch.
The menu might not change frequently but since the food selection it includes is sufficient it doesn’t matter that much. The options vary from several Mediterranean as well as local dishes. There is a wide selection of fresh salads that makes it a good choice for lunch, a good option of grilled meat like pork chops and chicken as well as pasta and fish dishes. What adds significant value is the fact that the owner, Mr Nearchos, is in the kitchen, supervises and prepares most of the dishes, an action not taken so often by restaurant owners which sometimes leads to deterioration of quality.
My chicken kebab was very good, tender and flavoursome with fresh salad, rice (that I replaced the fries with) and tasty grilled pitta bread. My proud Cypriot friend’s mushroom risotto was surprisingly good for an international café/restaurant with a light mushroom sauce without being too watery or too mashy. I was also recommended the pork chop but when I tasted it, even though it didn’t lack in flavour I thought it was a bit too hard and chewy.
The menu doesn’t lack a list of delicious desserts to test your limits as they are in a cake window for everyone to see. The cheesecake and a chocolate cake are almost always there, whereas apple pies and crème brulee are often present as well.
Price-wise it is more than average, but it compensates in quality so I don’t want to complain about it. It can “afford” to take them down a notch and adapt to this period of crisis, even though looking at the amount of people that visit it daily I don’t think it needs to.
Ambiance-wise, it might not be a re-invention of design  and it is nothing exceptional but it is yet simple, classic and clean. Fortunately for me it is also quite small compared to other massive cafes that remind me of a hotel lobby. What I don’t like are the plastic curtains they use to cover the veranda for smokers because I think it makes it look cheaper (as I do with all the places that have the plastic curtains Cypriots seem to love), but I guess it is a factor of the decoration that I have to accept for the months of winter.
Nevertheless, I wanted to share my café/restaurant experience because places that have stability in their quality should be praised for it, and should not be forgotten.