Paphos (follow the street to Paphos airport and take a left right before it, 26991555, PAPHOS
Mon-Sun lunch & dinner (call beforehand)
I know most of you are thinking that the beach season is over, just because September is here. The truth is this is that September and October are the best months to enjoy by-the-beach dining. It’s not too hot, but the weather is just right to allow us to enjoy a nice meal outside. That’s why I am posting this review of a fantastic seafood restaurant right on the beach.
I never thought a traditional tavern right by Paphos airport would be as pretty. The all-white, Greek island style decor which is simple but beautiful and the fact that it is 2 meters away from the sea is indeed something special. We went for lunch but it’s definitely worth having dinner there as well.
The food is that of a typical Cypriot seafood tavern. We started off with a fresh village salad, tahini, hummus and chopped octopus in vinegar. Everything was delicious except the «taramosalata» which was a bit too pink to be home made.
The grilled calamari was also fresh and tasty served with olive oil and parsley while the grilled octopus was nothing less of what we expected. None of it was something we never had before, but they were as good as the rest we’ve tried.
We didn’t have more starters as we had ordered a large white grouper to share. Being one of my favourite fish we thought we should have it. It’s an oily fish and it therefore has more flavour than other white fish. It wasn’t as good as Mr Proud Cypriot’s white grouper but definitely worth it.
For dessert we were offered a delicious Lebanese «mahalepi» with rose water syrup and seasonal fruit.
«Filiotis» is one of those places where food is quite good but in combination with the ambiance it makes it a must-try place. We don’t often find high quality seafood taverns with such a view. If we compare it to Limassol for example it is much better than the old school seafood taverns (Paramali) and much more small and traditional than Fat Fish and NOA.
We paid around 30€ per person (3 people) for all of the above plus 3 beers.