16th June 1943, 25222210, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sun lunch & dinner
During my first fifteen minutes at Dionysous Mansion I thought I would write one of those reviews that would be talked about, and not in a good way. Going for lunch with a pram and an 8 month old baby, and having to wait for 10 minutes outside until your lunch buddies come to help you up the 6-7 steps that lead to the restaurant is not a good way to start a review. To my surprise, in the two hours I was there Dionysous Mansion has managed to do a 360 degrees turn around.
As the name suggests, the restaurant is in an old “mansion”. It is an old, renovated house with a few rooms, each room having a different purpose. The main room we sat in had a few standard dining tables. Another room had one massive square dining table, perfect for a large group and there was a room with high tables and stools. The style was elegant and modern with an aristocratic touch. It was in fact a bit more elegant that what I had imagined, because if you hear it is a traditional “magirio” owned by a few guys connected to Guaba you don’t expect to see Dionysous Mansion. The décor shocker was nothing but the swing hanging from the ceiling that was the sixth chair to the table.
The menu was a Greek-Cypriot one with a variety of traditional dishes including the Cypriot “moutzentra” lentils, and slow cooked lamb in the casserole and meat on the grill.
The warm bread with tomatoes and capers presented on a wooden board that was complimentary and was served as soon as we sat down was a good start. It set the direction for the type of meal we would have. To start with, we also shared a tasty aubergine dip that was mild with a light taste of garlic, olive oil and aubergine, a spicy cheese dip (“tirokafteri”), that was beautifully presented with crispy bread.
My chicken kebab was very tender with a lemony flavour, a much better version of the dry chicken kebab often served in restaurants. The “moutzentra” lentils were the standard Cypriot dish, and the stuffed zucchini with egg and lemon sauce (“avgolemono”) were delicious.
The “anaropita” that we had at the end was the cherry on the cake. As the rest of the dishes we tried, it was a traditional recipe that was perfected in both, flavour and presentation.
I generally liked how they kept the food traditional but “played around” with the presentation. I also liked how instead of trying to change it by adding a twist to the flavour, they simply took what we know how to make best (Cypriot food), and did their best to perfect it.
Fortunately the service was attentive and friendly, something that helped change my first impression. When I complained about not having a ramp for handicap people and prams they said there actually is one at the back but they were having work done at the back so I couldn’t use it.
The overall verdict is positive. Although it wasn’t packed on Thursday lunch we didn’t feel alone and I would definitely go back. I also think Limassolians are not so much lunch people so I would imagine it attracts more people in the evenings.
We paid 50euros for 3 main dishes, 2 dips and 2 glasses of wine.
