Cyprus, a lovely island by the Mediterranean, is a splendid escape just a short flight from London.
Staying at the Almyra Hotel with the most glorious ocean views was a treat. Discovering an authentic South African cuisine a short walk away from Almyra Hotel made the holiday even better. We never had South African food before so we certainly appreciated this new discovery. The Lodge, as the restaurant was called, had an elegant yet casual environment, cozy and full of character.
Our drinks came with a welcome dish — deep fried pita bread with South African braai sauce. It is simple but fun to taste. Who doesn’t love fried food? Well, it was quite enjoyable when dipping the deep fried pita into the braai sauce.
Our three starters arrived shortly, which were the boerewors, grilled halloumi and mussels. The South African Boerewors is a traditional hand-made flame grilled Dutch sausage served with chutney. I must say, this is one beefy sausage. With the dip, it was simply delightful.
The grilled halloumi was also served with a chutney. Apparently it’s made with goat’s milk. The halloumi has such a full texture while featuring a dense and pleasant taste. It is abundant and satisfying… a hearty cheese!
The Mussels arrived in a good sized pot filled with cream — lots of delicious cream. The mussels are so large and flavorful. They were absolutely fresh, as we expected given we’re in a coastal location. But, oh my, I love this dish so much. The sauce complements the mussels perfectly as it sets the stage for quite the harmonious palette celebration. I found myself enjoying this the entire evening. I must recommend that you try this mussel dish at The Lodge on your holiday in Cyprus.
What an excellent prelude as we looked forward to how the mains are going to be. Bring on the South African BBQ!
For our mains, we wanted as full of an experience as possible — so we had the tiger’s eye, pork ribs, and piri piri wings. Yeah… it sounds like a lot. And it was! No regrets though as every calorie was worth it. Oh the flavors! Okay, let us talk about each one. Each dish really deserves the focused attention.
First, the tiger’s eye is a 400 gram ribeye with whole tiger prawns in a GLB sauce. The weight wasn’t listed on the menu but we were told it was 400 grams. 400 grams! That’s huge! Plus it has prawns. Okay, the prawns were huge too. Apparently last summer, one person ordered a 2.2 kg prime rib and finished it. Yeah this is one of those really fun restaurants.
Back to the steak. The steak is absolutely immaculate. It is so meaty and fatty. It’s served in a beautiful cream sauce which goes really well with both prawns and steak. The prawns remind me of entire lobster tails, they were also hefty and significant. This dish is entirely delicious from the beginning to the end. Normally when eating steak, especially the large ones, there is reduced pleasure as caused by the cooling of steak. But not this one! Even though we took our time eating it, its soft texture and full flavors were consistent. I am seriously impressed.
The ribs and piri piri wings were served with a side of crispy large cut fries. The ribs are amazingly indulgent. It was the poster child of fall off the bone perfection. The ribs came with some light BBQ glaze. It also came with a small bowl of their same house BBQ sauce, in case one would want more. The ribs tastes sweet. The BBQ sauce complements it and accented the ribs properly.
The piri piri wings are a pleasant change in taste and texture to the ones we are used to in England. It had a good amount of spice too. The Lodge‘s piri piri is truly straight from the source. Who knew the difference would be so huge! I love the dry rub piri piri. I’ve got to get my hands on some of those so that I can re-live this experience at home.
We were quite full after consuming all five dishes. But there’s always room for dessert. We are in a South African restaurant, of course we want the full experience. We asked for a classic favorite and we were recommended the Van Rijn Peppermint Crisp.
We were told this dessert is 100% South African. It looked unassuming until we tasted it. Like the previous dishes, it surpassed our expectations. This dessert is such a treat. It even came with peppermint liquor. Now I wish I had my own because my husband thoroughly enjoyed his share.
Upon conclusion, the owners came and introduced themselves. They’re a lovely husband and wife team: Peter and Anastasia. Peter is the head chef while Anastasia ensured business development and services are top notch. No doubt, the service was excellent. They decided on the name The Lodge because they wanted to bring the South African Lodge concept to Cyprus. The decorations, the styling, the feel… they really wanted to convey it into this lovely restaurant.
Peter explained that his dishes are all South African inspired, which are fusions of Mozambique, Malaysian, Indian, Portuguese, and Dutch influences. What really impressed us is that Peter did not receive any culinary training at all. Hailing from a successful advertising career in his previous professional life, he is self-taught and is simply passionate about cooking. His concept is simple: Keep things as authentic as possible.
I really enjoyed this restaurant. I highly recommend it. If you’re ever in Paphos in the island of Cyprus, you must go and experience this enchanting gem of a restaurant that you will never forget. See you at The Lodge!
Thanks to The Lodge | Poseidonos Ave 52, Paphos, Cyprus | +357 96 677288