Eating in Pefkos

I actually read this as Terrasis and thought that’s perfectly logical as the restaurant is a raised terraced open-air restaurant. The logic would not have been wasted had the restaurant not been called Terpsis, the meaning of which I am not certain. This place is only slightly set back from the main road but even so you can almost touch the traffic as it passes by. This, however, is not a real busy road (more pedestrians than traffic) so it’s not really an issue.

There’s no “front of house” trying to manoeuvre you into the restaurant, but once the decision was made we were charmingly greeted by a young waitress who offered us an indoor or outdoor table. In fairness there was little difference between the two as the indoor was “open topped”. We opted for outdoors with a great view of the hills and the merest hint of a sea view. Comfortable wicker chairs were set against beautifully laid out tables – simple but white linen and sparkling silverware will always be the preferred option as far as I’m concerned. A neatly folded linen serviette completed the sleek appearance.

Planters were strategically placed around the restaurant giving splashes of colour and they seemed so natural seated on the terracotta-tiled floor. Despite Terpsis trying so hard to work as a garden restaurant (with its planters and mosaic wall of water) it somehow doesn’t quite make it. In my view it’s lacking in the cosy intimacy that a good garden restaurant has. But I toke nothing away from the quality of the food and the polite service offered by the staff.

Contained in the wooden menus there’s a load to choose from and if you’re not into Greek food (although why would you visit a Greek island if you weren’t?) there’s plenty of more European dishes to choose from. My wife opted for sliced chicken in a sweet and sour sauce with thyme, whereas I went for the more conventional Beef Sifado. Both were real tasty and came with a bed of salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomato), fresh mange tout and chunky roast potatoes. There was ample, but I was tempted to try the baklava with ice cream and despite her intention not to “do puddings this holiday” my wife opted for a Chocolate Mousse cake.

Once again we were joined by the restaurant cat, but one straight glare from me and it turned its back and walked disdainfully off to annoy some other diner. When we asked for the bill it was speedily delivered with a complimentary drink – a sickly lemon liqueur served icy cold in a small shot glass.

The Terpsis offers a good “solid meal” but unfortunately the garden restaurant lacked ambience for it to be, in my opinion, highly rated. Worth a try for some of the interesting chicken dishes, but this wasn’t a restaurant that we intended to return to.

This attractive outdoor restaurant is set back off the main road through Pefkos. A man-made waterfall beckoned us into the bamboo covered terrace and at 8pm we were spoilt for choice of table. These were stylishly decked with cream linen tablecloths (protected by a modern glass table top) and ‘proper’ cloth serviettes.
‘Garden chairs’ were tastefully padded and covered with cream covers. The garden area was well laid out with mature palm tree, lemon tree, and bright bougainvillea together with complimentary roses providing the colour.

This restaurant felt well cared for and a bit special, strategically placed speakers played restful electronic music not dissimilar to music we’d heard in the Far East and kind of meditative in mood. We had only been on the island a couple of hours and we were soon happily guzzling on a bottle or two of our favourite Greek beer, Mythos.

From the restaurant we could see out apartment looming over the top of the surrounding palm trees, our body clock seemed seriously adrift (I’m not sure why as there is only a two hour time difference and it had been a short flight) so we decide to go for a single course.

My wife ordered a prawn salad and I went for a Mimosa (this is a fillet of chicken covered with smoked ham, mozzarella cheese on a ‘bed’ of tomato sauce and sautéed with breadcrumbs). It was served with freshly prepared vegetables (carrots, cabbage, and courgettes) shredded and stir fried together with an ample portion of french fries. The menu is not overly extensive, but there is a sufficient choice and you are guaranteed that your chosen dish is prepared especially for you.

Before our meal arrived the restaurant was getting very busy and by 8-30pm almost every table was occupied. There was a real buzz about the place and the music, that before had seemed a little loud, was now perfectly pitched, with the gentle flow of the waterfall being audible alongside it. The waiters are efficient and yet unhurried and unflustered and speak perfect American English with cultural idioms. A little off-putting to begin with, but gently reassuring as the night went on.

As the summer night’s clouds began to darken the subtle lighting, of the restaurant, came into it’s own - down-lighters set into the beams and low wattage bulbs in wicker lamp shades. No one could complain about the ‘mood setting’ established in the Coliseum and although it has all the elements that could make it seriously naff (fake columns, “weathered” plastering etc), somehow it’s carried off as appropriate.

I really thought that the Coliseum was a cat free zone, but a couple ambled through the garden trying their luck by rubbing up close to diners. No one succumbed and soon the cats lost interest and left the restaurant; cats and Greek restaurants do appear to be inseparable.

So good we returned for a second meal and the quality of the food and the wine proved to be high.

This night we’d decided to go for a ‘cheap and cheerful’ meal and were attracted by Al Zorbas set menu for and.90 Euros. Al Zorbas is set down from the main road and is accessed by some extremely deep steps – so deep that the greeter cautioned us to be “very careful” before we even started our descent. This restaurant has probably hit the height of naffness (although we have seen worse) with an apology of a waterfall, flashing Christmas lights, and brightly coloured plastic birds set strategically in the stepped display. Certainly the builder of the waterfall can only have been a first day apprentice! To complete the scene garish paper flowers adorned the table attempting to colour code themselves with the yellow and orange table cloths that dressed the table.

We were escorted to the “table of our choice” and the waiter seeing my discomfort from a mosquito bite, hurriedly disappeared to fetching a citronella candle, which he placed on the table with aplomb. Noticing that the table wobbled he started to “pack” under the leg and beamed with approval when the table was “rock solid.” This waiter was nothing if not obliging.

Having mentioned the plastic and artificial flowers, Al Zorbas does make a small effort to landscape its restaurant with red and pink geraniums and dashes of yellow daisies – nothing special you understand, but a splash of summer sun.

Piped Greek music serenaded us and I was half expecting the waiters to form a line and start Greek dancing. They didn’t and the music, bright and exhilarating, brought an added buzz to this busy restaurant.

We split our first courses – an oven baked potato with chicken in a mango sauce and an oven baked feta – and half of each went down very well with a glass of the inexpensive house red. The first glass seemed too warm and almost ripped the enamel off my teeth, but the second glass… Well, that was just about OK!

I had a Greek platter as my main course and there was an explosion of taste with Beef Stifado, Dolmades, Stuffed tomato (Gemista) Moussaka, Meat ball, and Tzaziki. There wasn’t masses of anything but together it was an “ample meal”. My wife had gone for the “Lamb Zorba Special” – it scored high on points for quantity and taste, but extremely low for presentation and appearance. Both of us finished our meal with a baklava – it had lashings of honey and tasted far better than the one that I paid over 3 euros for a few nights ago.

The waiters were incredibly attentive and although we didn’t feel hurried, the courses were served at a fairly brisk rate. Overall real value for money it’s hard to beat Al Zorbas and as long as you’re happy with cheap and cheerful it’s worth a visit.

This large garden restaurant is set on the corner of Pefkos Square (where the two main roads meet) but you really wouldn’t know that because sitting in the small garden areas shields the diners from the sight of the road. The restaurant is divided into four main areas – two outdoor gardens, one semi-covered and one indoors. For those of you who’ve read my journals you’ll know that we opted for the outdoors, where, despite the stiff breeze, we were protected for the gusts by way of a strategically placed roll down wind breaker (clear and see-through). There's a separate children's play area tucked nicely in the corner so those of us without kids don't have to endure them!

Under the shade of one of the many trees we enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks and ordered from a most extensive menu. Indeed there was almost TOO much to choose from and we took some considerable time considering the options and then reconsidering our chosen option.

In the end we opted for Feta Hellas, which was a hot feta covered with bacon, pepper and tomato. It was a difficult dish to share as the platter it was served on was piping hot, but the waiter seeing our intention was quick to bring along another plate and insisting that he would divide it for us. We’d also ordered a Greek Salad which turned out to be a huge affair served in a deep bowl with a good portion of feta, some real tasty olives (all mine because my wife continues with her aversion to them) shredded cabbage and carrot, peppers and loads of tomatoes (succulent and extremely juicy).

Our chosen drink of the house red wine was “extremely thin” and although somewhat bitter on first tasting we discovered a pleasant after-taste of blackcurrants and apples. Clearly a very young and inexpensive locally made red, but it was inoffensive and if we’d ordered the litre I think we’d have grown to like it even more!

The staff were very attentive and pleasant and the meal was served at a good pace (unhurried, but not casual). The main courses were huge meals and I reckon we should not have bothered with a starter. My wife’s 8 euro Greek platter was full of meat with a Moussaka, Beef Stifado, Giant Beans in a tomato sauce, stuffed pepper, and a Soutzoukakia. My Soutzoukakia (three large garlic drenched meat balls, or torpedoes covered in a tomato sauce) came with boiled potatoes and an ample serving of baby carrots. What a tasty and nourishing dish!

Throughout our meal “Zorba’s dance” type music was played at a good hearable level but not dominating the senses. This place had a real hubbub and even the cats, street hawkers selling CD’s, balloons, roses, etc., seemed to add to the ambience. Here was good quality food in ample portions at a competitive price. Certainly well worth a visit in my book.

The Lindos Cuisine restaurant boasts that it prepares dishes to the true recipes of old Lindos, a claim that I thought merited checking out. Outside there were a few tables but it was a little too windy this evening and so we opted for a table partially undercover and sheltered by some of the garden foliage. The kitchen was visible from the dining area (nothing to hide here!) and Greek music played gently serenading the diners. Blue cloths covered with plain white squares adorned the tables along with crisp white linen serviettes.

The staff were very friendly, as in all the restaurants we had eaten in to date, and these had the added bonus of speaking exceptionally good English and entering into a light-hearted banter with us. Nothing outrageous, but friendly and welcoming. As we sat down, they assured us that we would thoroughly enjoy our meal and that it would all be cooked freshly “just for us”. A claim that I would perhaps disagree with but I think he meant that it was home cookery rather than mass-produced. Indeed he went on to say that ‘it is home cooking’ and stressed that ‘it is all very nice’. Of course he would say that wouldn’t he? But we had made up our minds, so none of his patter really influenced our decision to eat here and the place really did have a feeling of a family-run concern. The orders were taken on ‘old fashioned’ paper order pads rather than the electronic gizmos we had noted in other restaurants.

On the menu was Rabbit Stifado and as I’ve only eaten rabbit once in my life I was intent on trying this. For starters, we went for a Greek salad (with perhaps the driest olives I’ve ever sampled) and spinach pies. These did go well together and we carefully split the five pies between us. They were extremely hot pastry squares filled with spinach and lashings of garlic (just as well we were both eating them!) After a short delay, just time to digest the starter and enjoy a sup or two of beer, and the main courses arrived. My stifado was amply supported with green beans, baby onions, chunky oven potatoes all in a rich sauce. Very tasty and I can say that it won’t be the last time that I eat rabbit! My wife’s kleftico was served traditionally “en papiette” and after the initially rustle of the paper and the appreciation of the smell of all the herbs, I heard very little from her. The meal had clearly passed the test!

Although we had been ‘bothered’ before by hawkers here—we had more than our fair share with two attempts to sell roses, and a couple of visits by the deaf salesperson who planted cheap tacky items on the table together with a hawker’s card. A simple shake of the head dispatched them and we continued to enjoy our meal.