28th October ave 52, Engomi, 22355580, NICOSIA, Mon 12pm – 3pm, Tue – Sat 12pm – 3pm & 7pm – 11pm
Click here for Jimmy’s Kitchen Take away menu
Food: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Service: [rating:4] 4/5
Ambiance: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
I always keep my eyes and ears (and taste buds), open for new openings. When I hear about a place more than once in one week I know I have to go. Jimmy’s Kitchen Café was a rather unexpected arrival, and from what I have noticed, one which has been welcomed by Nicosians with open arms!
When I was told it was on 28th October avenue in Makedonitissa I immediately thought that was a bad move. You can, therefore, imagine how shocked I was when I went for lunch on a Thursday and found it to be packed. It took me about a second to get into the lively buzz, the strong feeling of hospitality and the passion for food, and it all made sense when I heard Jimmy’s story. This English born Cypriot has always had two big passions: food and watches. At this point in his life he is lucky to have a bit of both! The minute I walked into the restaurant I felt I was in someone’s kitchen. I loved the colour blue which dominates the décor and the rustic chairs which give a warm and cozy feel to the place. I also loved the peppers hanging from ceiling on top of the central island, which made me feel as if I was dining at a friend’s house (in this case, Jimmy’s!). I would say that “small, friendly and homely” describes this place best.
The fact that it’s called Jimmy’s Kitchen created an expectation of a menu with home-made food. I liked the fact that it is short but includes a little bit of everything: Jimmy’s Legumes (or “ospria”), with a creative touch represented what the restaurant was about: familiar dishes with Jimmy’s touch. On offer were giant beans (“gigantes”) with goat’s cheese, white beans with sweet potato and curry and peas with tomato and halloumi! The innovative combinations say it all! The selection also included international dishes like Jimmy’s signature lasagna, his signature burger and a selection of healthy recipes made with the cookware “Saladmaster”, all titanium pots that make fantastic food with no oil or water- great for heatlhy eating.
We shared a Greek salad (“Elliniki”), which was very refreshing and great to nibble. Unfortunately we didn’t have the pleasure to try the giant beans but the white beans in tomato sauce served with feta cheese were flavoursome. 
We also had the lasagna which were recommended by Jimmy himself and which were a lot lighter than I expected making it easier for us to devour in no time. It was indeed a rich dish but did not leave a “rich” aftertaste. One of the best sellers, the grilled octopus served on grilled vegetables, also recommended by Jimmy, had a strong Mediterranean flavour, a light dish, fantastic for lunch especially in the summer.
Sharing food across three people was not enough for us to try the full selection and I still want to try the burger, ALL the snacks (especially the quiche and meat pie) and the Tuna Nicoise salad (Mr Proud Cypriot’s favourite salad!).
The cherry on the cake (almost literally) was Jimmy’s millefeuille with strawberries. The cream was thicker than usual while the filo pastry was quite crispy and light, making it a great summery dessert.
If you go for dinner you can also try the lamb “Kotsi”, the pork fillet with commandaria and the chicken liver salad, dishes that looked particularly interesting.
The only comment I had was that it was a bit hot, this is why I was very happy to hear that they will be adding more tables outside for the summer season.
I would add Jimmy’s Kitchen to the easy-going, pretty little restaurants where you are happy to go any day of the week for a good meal, a good chat without too much fuss. It felt as if I had known Jimmy my whole life and went to his house to eat- that should say it all!
Prices were very decent with all but a couple of dishes less than 10€ each.
