1 Eleon ave, Geroskipou, 26202001, PAPHOS
Mon-Sun 9:00-23:00
Food: [rating:4] 4/5
Service: [rating:4] 4/5
Ambiance: [rating:4] 4/5
I have to admit that my original expectations in terms of what I will find at a restaurant completely affect my final opinion of the relevant restaurant. So for example sometimes when I am expecting a high quality I am often disappointed with my experience. In the case of Elea I was surprised not only by the quality offered (it was a LOT better that what I expected) but also it was a totally different place to what I originally had in mind.
Let me expand on this: it is not a resort but a golf retreat with a restaurant, a bar, a lounge and golf club facilities. No, you don’t have to be a golfer to go there, but anyone can go at any time of the day and relax there. It’s righ before Paphos so it’s quite easy to get to ( merely 25 minutes from Limassol and 1hr25mins from Nicosia). To Nicosians I say: Isn’t an hour and a half drive worth a panoramic view of the Cyprus hills ending with a view of the sea as well? Finally, what impressed me the most was how well made everything was. I am talking about refinement, elegance and attention to detail, elements that unfortunately we do not encounter very often. I am talking about relaxing lounges with fireplaces where one can have afternoon tea, a beautiful restaurant that overlooks the golf courses with some of the most amazing views I have ever seen, and of course, up-scale service and food quality.
I went for lunch with my proud Cypriot foodie friend, Afrodite’s Kitchen, a great partner in crime it terms of trying out new places as we always over-order and overeat without feeling guilty. It was one of the first warm days of spring, a perfect time and season to visit Elea. Although it was a week day, there were quite a few occupied tables mostly with non-locals. I found their recently changed menu very appropriate for the kind of place Elea Estate is, since it was not only refined and interesting but also included easy-going dishes like sandwiches and burgers.
For starters, we shared the Torchon of chicken liver with quince compote, a ginger biscuit and “commandaria” syrup that was a great (and a very promising), start to our meal. Chicken liver pate is a dish that is not so easy to be done well. The king prawn salad with mango, avocado and spinach was impressive, and one of the best salads I have had in a long time. Although I am not a fan of fruit in my food, the flavour combination was refreshing without being too sweet and the dressing was light but gave a special touch to the salad.
The linguini with pesto, spinach, tomato, basil cream and parmesan oil was well cooked but in hindsight I would have preferred to try the tortellini with prawns, ginger and lobster foam, a dish that looked more interesting. 
A particular dish was the chargrilled chicken burger, served with gorgonzola cheese and Portobello mushrooms. I use the word “particular” because the flavour of gorgonzola is strong (and great if you ask me), but I thought it went well with the neutral chicken flavour.
The club sandwich, is a classic dish that it is often found on restaurant menus but it’s not so often that it is properly done. Having said that the Elea version was very good. It was as it is supposed to be: white toasted bread with chicken, eggs, bacon, tomato and lettuce.
Finally the ribeye steak, another classic dish served with mushroom, shallots, garlic confit and potato mousseline was flavoursome. Unfortunately the fact that I had it well done due to pregnancy did not do it justice so I do recommend to having it medium cooked.
Something that we were really looking forward to during our entire meal was the desserts. Both Afrodite’s Kitchen and myself are huge fans of English desserts, especially the sticky toffee pudding. We really liked the one we had at Elea: the butterscotch sauce that came with it, the vanilla ice cream and the light banana touch created a great blend of flavours. The chocolate pave was a more classic chocolate cake, best for the chocolate fans out there!
I see Elea Estate as a fantastic place for a lunch during weekends with family and friends, a relaxing getaway for an afternoon tea or a place for a romantic dinner. It is a classy yet casual place with quality that is not so easily found nowadays.
Price-wise, starters range from 10-12eur, salads from 7-16 and main courses from 9-20eur.
