Vasilissis 9, 25355355, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sun 11:00-3:00
Food: [rating:3] 3/5
Service: [rating:4] 4/5
Ambiance: [rating:3] 3/5
I have either been too busy with other things or I haven’t kept my eyes open as it seems that the number of new arrivals is suddenly as high as never before. Having said that, Apothiki is probably the only recent restaurant arrival in the old city of Limassol and probably why it was given a lot of attention. After a lot of begging and convincing Mr Proud Cypriot has once again accepted to risk his dinner for the sake of Cypriot and Proud. I can’t say Apothiki was a major 
disappointment but I can say that Mr Proud Cypriot will never accompany me for a new restaurant review again!
The restaurant is situated right in the centre of the castle area, in between the Carob Mill restaurants. In fact its location is so central I find it strange that the space wasn’t taken advantage of earlier. The décor is quite neat and due to the dark wooden furniture, the diner-type sofas and the high tables it reminds me of an American steak house in combination with a more modern and clean décor. I did think that the lighting was too bright inside and it could have had a more mystique ambiance with a dimmer lighting. The fact that it has tables outside is not an added value for me as the aligned tables around the castle area, even though a fantastic initiative that has clearly been embraced by the locals and tourists, reminds me of a touristy island.
The food is mostly international with an American touch. They offer a long list of charcoal grill and “josper” oven meat dishes including 3 types of steaks, neck fillet, pork shanks and spare ribs. Apparently the josper oven is a big deal as it is a combination of a grill and an oven used for optimal results for all types of food. It does include a good list of starters- not very innovative but attractive, including beef carpaccio, roasted eggplants with pesto sauce and feta cheese and salmon slices with cream cheese. There are a few salads and pasta dishes as well that a lot of people seemed to be ordering.
A good steak was already in my mind since our alternative for the night was Columbia steak house so I took a leap with a T-bone steak as opposed to my usual ribeye, while Mr Proud Cypriot ordered one of his favourite dishes, the rack of lamb. When our starter of “josper” oven prawns had arrived I started
feeling less worried about Mr Proud Cypriot’s meal and more optimistic about our steaks. Reason being was that the prawn dish was actually surprisingly good (and I am not even a fan of prawns), with a flavoursome fresh tomato and feta cheese sauce and prawns that didn’t taste frozen or old. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly right. My T-bone steak looked inviting with a large portion of mashed potatoes and it was in fact tender and medium cooked as requested. The meat itself however, was not as flavourful as I expected and the amount of fat was a bit too much. I don’t want to say that it was bad, but only that it definitely wasn’t good enough to make me return to eat it. Mr Proud Cypriot’s rack of lamb was more like Cyprus lamb chops. I understand that it is the same cut but I expected it to be served more as a rack rather than lamb chops and have a more rich and aromatic flavour. He also said that they lacked salt and spices. He is indeed a man that is not easy to satisfy (hence only willing to go to 3 restaurants), but nevertheless these are the people the restaurants should aim to satisfy.
Overall it is a clean, simple and quite pretty restaurant in the centre of the old city I would return to try a burger, their starters and perhaps a pasta dish. Their excellent service makes it really easy to say they latter, but not enough to make us return for their 24€ steak. It should be noted that we paid 57€ for the two main dishes, the prawn starter and a glass of wine.
