Bono

Anexartisias 3, 25378800, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sat 8:00-18:00
Food: [rating:3.5]
Service: [rating:3.5]
Ambiance: [rating:3]
Despite being in between the beach front and one of the most popular high streets in Limassol, which by the way attracts a lot of tourists, I still think of it as a local place. It might be because in addition to the long menu offering international dishes, there are also on offer excellent dishes of the day that remind me of my grandma’s cooking with a modern touch. Nevertheless, Bono was and still is a great place for lunch.
While writing this I was trying to make up my mind as to why I like it. Décor-wise, it is pretty but nothing extraordinary. The high ceilings make it quite spacious and the piled up beer boxes on the balcony give it a more casual and youngish look. The benches outside are good to enjoy a lunch al fresco, especially because you can also get a side view of the sea. Just try to ignore the car traffic.
The food is split into two categories: the international dishes including snacks, sandwiches, grilled meat, pasta and a long list of salads, and the dish of the day which is typically more of a “Cypriot” dish. Our chevre and sun-dried tomato salad to share was very good with fresh lettuce, and a generous amount of cheese with the thick balsamic dressing served on the side (a rather positive thing). We had to have a sandwich since Bono is popular for them. The honey and mustard chicken sandwich in ciabatta was tasty with obviously high quality ingredients but it wasn’t to die for. My pork chop in wine sauce served with a side dish of my choice was quite tender and flavoursome, and even though I couldn’t taste the wine sauce I enjoyed it. The steamed vegetables and rice that I ordered made it seem like a really healthy meal. The truth is, I didn’t realise there was a “cooked” dish-of-the-day until a saw the lentils and salad, which the guy next to me was having. I admit I was a bit jealous as it looked really good. I remember during winter time I tried their traditional “louvana” soup which was truly excellent and had thought that their local dishes should be quite good.
Nevertheless 10eur for the chevre salad, 13eur for the pork chop and 5.80 for the sandwich is not cheap. Although it is not as such, value-for-money I would return because I think the quality, taste and variety are always high.