28 Markou Drakou (across Ledra Palace), 22445740, LEFKOSIA (NICOSIA)
Mon-Fri 9:00-21:00, Sat 9:00-17:00
Food: [rating:4] 4/5
Service: [rating:3] 3/5
Ambiance: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
When I moved to Cyprus in 2011 after being away for 10 years I thought it would take a decade before I see places like The Home Café. That was just me (wrongly) not trusting the Cypriots and thinking that a healthy café with a lot of vegetarian and vegan dishes would never happen in Cyprus. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I was wrong!
There are a lot of special things about The Home Café. One is the location inside the Home for Cooperation. It is exactly what its name implies: a community centre in the heart of Nicosia across Ledra palace which aims to “act as a bridge builder between separated communities, memories and visions”. It is there to help people cooperate and collaborate beyond constraints. The Home Café is right below it and it is open all day, every day (except Sunday), for people who want to have a coffee with their friends, for the ones who want a quiet place to work and for those who want to have a healthy, tasty and light lunch. It is very small and cosy with a fantastic veranda in the front and a small inside space with sofas and tables. Although it’s made with “simple” furniture it is very well decorated with a lot of wood, bookcases and tranquil colours.
One can have home-made sandwiches every day, while twice a week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) it is taken over by Two Little Chefs in a Green Kitchen who make healthy vegetarian lunches. The menu includes 4-5 dishes and everything is delicious!
We tried almost everything. The mushroom soup we had to start with was fantastic. It was quite light compared to the usual rich and creamy mushroom soup and it went perfectly with the parsley it was served with. 
The wrap with veggie burger was delicious with a variety of flavours from the fresh veg and the burger. It was in fact much tastier than I expected. 
We also shared a veggie quiche, which although a bit small in quantity was very well cooked. 
The salad with peas and sesame that had a mild sweet flavour was way more special than the average green leafy salad that comes as a side. We thought we had order the cous cous as well but we hadn’t. The friendly waitress kindly brought us two tiny bowls to try it out. Despite not being a fan of sweet flavours in my food, I liked this sweet-tasting cous cous. Perhaps in a bigger pot it would be a bit too sweet for me, but I guess we will have to wait until next time and see!
Dessert-wise there was the option of fudge brownies (yum!), healthy carrot cake and a vegan chocolate tart that looked delicious.
We paid around 20 something euros for 3 light, main courses and water, which was not bad. Needless to say this is definitely going on to my list of favourites since everything about it is special, it is unique, the food is tasty, healthy and different. The only negative thing I have to say about The Home Café is that it doesn’t serve alcohol but I guess it goes with the “healthy” tag!
Go on Tuesdays and Thursdays for lunch by The Two Little Chefs in a Green Kitchen. On the rest of the week you can enjoy home made sandwiches.
