La forchetta

Agiou Andreou, 25361313, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sat 19:00-1:00
Food: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Service: [rating:3] 3/5
Ambiance: [rating:4] 4/5
One of the things I keep saying about Limassol vs Nicosia is that, although I love both cities, it is clear that in Limassol there aren’t a lot of places for people my age (30+ years old). There are a lot of bars for the 20 year olds, there are a lot of high end restaurants like Columbia Steak House, but nothing cool and buzzing where one can have a nice dinner while doing some people watching at the same time. Perhaps Nippon could go into that category even though it is less popular lately. This is why I am more than pleased to welcome La Forchetta to the city of Limassol. And forget what I said about other places, THIS will be the talk of the town!
The restaurant might be new, but the owners have been around for some time. Louis from the well-known Beige restaurant and Gino, ex chef of La Boca (Columbia Plaza), have managed to create something that I have been waiting for a long time: an Italian restaurant with typical Italian “trattoria” menu, in a renovated, modern, stylish space in an old house in their favourite street, Agiou Andreou. We expected nothing less from them! Although the area in terms of square footage is large, the fact that it is split in rooms (including a small internal courtyard and a bar) makes it easier for the place to look full. In a nutshell, the décor and ambiance are fantastic.
In terms of the menu, let me say the following: even reading it was exciting – probably because of my love for Italian food. I became very excited just seeing dishes on the menu such as tagliata di manzo, parmigiana di melanzane, spagetti alle vongole (pasta with clams) and so on. I expected the menu to be shorter knowing Louis, but the fact that he tried to do something on the cheaper side than a high-end, fine-dining place explains the menu size and content that expanded over every aspect of the Italian cuisine.
The salad with gorgonzola cheese, pancetta and spinach was quite good, although having said that I would have preferred the gorgonzola to have a stronger taste. The beef carpaccio with Italian rocket was tasty and presented well on a long, black slate. Both starters were good value for money at around 10euros each. The beef tagliata was tender and flavoursome, served as it should (no side dishes apart from the Italian rocket), while my grilled chicken (I am supposed to be on a diet), although tasty it was quite plain and was nothing compared to the pizza or pasta alle vongole, that I wanted to order initially!
40 euros each with four glasses of red wine, two starters and two main courses might seem a lot one should also take into consideration the ambiance, the fact that the same dishes are double the price elsewhere and the type of place. In any case, this is a place you should expect to hear a lot about!