MATA — Restaurant in Limassol Municipality

I’m a bit conflicted about my experience — overall, I had a good time, but there were a few moments that stood out and should be mentioned.

Starting with the positives: the atmosphere and layout of the place are well thought out. Some seating areas offer a sense of privacy, which I appreciated, and the interior design is stylish and inviting. The beer was excellent — honestly, I’d return just for that.

However, the service left a lot to be desired. At one point, the supervisor or manager approached me and asked if anyone had taken my order. Since I hadn’t been waiting long, I simply said I was ready to order. Instead of taking the order himself or assuring me someone would be with me shortly, he loudly called out to a waitress in front of me, instructing her to take my order. That moment felt abrupt and unnecessary — a more discreet or courteous approach would have made a better impression.

After placing my order, the food arrived very quickly — within five minutes — but without my drinks. While I understand that dishes like bibimbap can be prepared quickly, I personally prefer to wait 10–15 minutes so everything arrives together. When I asked about the drinks, the waitress casually admitted she had forgotten. A more professional response — such as informing me that the drinks were on their way — would have been appreciated.

What made the experience particularly uncomfortable was when the manager began shouting at a waitress in the middle of the restaurant for using her phone. While addressing staff behavior is necessary, it would have been more appropriate to speak with her privately, rather than reprimanding her in front of customers. It came across as unprofessional and disruptive.

I came here based on a friend’s recommendation and would be willing to return for a second visit. However, if the same issues persist, my overall impression and...

This restaurant was a major letdown. To start, we made a reservation and had to wait 10 mins because “the reservation was for the day after “ . Secondly, the kimchi was the worst I’ve ever had completely tasteless and pale, nothing like real Korean kimchi. Then came the biggest shock, they didn’t have rice. I ordered the bibimbap and had to eat it without rice. The portion was smaller than my palm, bland, and topped with a sad little egg. The japchae was no better subtle to the point of tasteless. Honestly, none of the dishes we tried were even remotely enjoyable. Service-wise, drinks (just still and sparkling water) arrived 15 minutes after the food was already on the table, despite us reminding them twice. We could literally see the drinks just sitting there and three people inside focusing on one thing instead of one of them getting the drinks. The staff were polite, but very inexperienced, forgetting key things we asked for and struggling to communicate in basic English. And mind you, the restaurant wasn’t even full. The bill we asked it’s still coming🤣🤣 while I’m writing this. It got to the point where we were chatting with the table next to us about how bad the experience was. No offence to the people working there, but if you’re running a restaurant in Marina, you need to meet a certain standard....

We loved it! I wanted to try this place for awhile now(got inspired by some Korean tv show:)) and finally did :) Tried a bit of quite a few things, every single thing was delicious! Fresh ingredients, kimchi was very nice and fresh, crunchy but tasty- just right! My daughter loved the pork belly grilled, and on letuce.(samgyeopsal). Husband had a beef soup and it was a huge serving.. We also had kimbap (like a sushi thing), Tteokbokki (rice pasta in sweet and sour sauce)..I had Bibimbap(rice with vegetables, and egg) , and dumplings.. I cant name one thing we didnt like.. Spicy, but not too much.. For kids the Samgyopsal is great and the Tteokboki as well.. Probably the soups also :) Nice selection of deserts although we didnt try any this time- but that's another reason to go back to Mata..:) Place has a warm wood decoration, with some Asia inspired paintings along the walls.. Washroom super fancy and clean! Staff is polite, young kids, speak good English as well, I think they are russian speaking so thats good to know as well.. :) Will definitelly go back for more, and recommend! I just wish...