It’s a no-frills environment with basic tables draped with oil-cloths (that have seen better days), flickering t-lights in old drinking glasses and plastic garden chairs with thin, but adequate cushions. This is anything but glamorous, but nonetheless we’d been attracted to the place because it always had customers and seemed very "laid-back". It had a strange feel to it – almost like we were embarking on a family barbeque. The waitress single-handedly manoeuvred her way around the tables assuring everyone of her undivided attention. There’s no sense of urgency, but the background music of 60’s ballads played out through subtly placed speakers and the vines, providing only the merest glimpse of the clear Cypriot sky kept us interested.

"Proper" locally baked bread was placed in front of us and our chosen starters of Saganaki and village salad seemed like good choices. We divided them up between and savoured the crispy fried cheese, the beautiful salad dressing and the best olives that I’ve ever tasted. We soon polished it off with a couple of ice-cold bottles of the local beer.

For my main courses I opted for a Mediterranean grill platter made up of lamb chops, sheftalia, souvlakia, various other kebabs and, of course, chips. There was no attempt to be pretentious with the presentation of the meal – it was just straightforward honest home cooking. There was loads of it and the meat was incredibly tender. I could not handle a pudding but managed to have a "small" tasting of my wife’s coffee special ice cream. It was laced with liqueur with lashings of cream on chocolate and vanilla ices – tasty but I think it would have been a little too substantial for me. Not that I was given the option as despite numerous hints I was just told how delightful it was. I contented myself with another beer!

The dining area is flanked with cacti and palms and the sweet smell of Rosemary infuses the area – so easy to forget the main road, which was only a few metres away from the edge of the taverna.

Business at the Akava was steady but not frenetic and overall the place had a rustic charm and a pleasant calm and relaxed ambiance. There’s only a total of 12 tables and although there is no need to book it might be advisable if you’re thinking of eating after 9.00. Diners seem to make a night of it and, there’s no pressure to move, service is unhurried and the night "just seems to go." If you’re a vegetarian you might struggle for choice here, but that goes for many Tavernas. We had a great meal and the Akava, in my view, is worth a try.