Palea Elia — Restaurant in Nicosia

Palaia elia is a restaurant offering a variety of comforting and traditional dishes with a modern twist. In my opinion is underrated and every time I visited this place I had a pleasant experience.

The staff is really friendly and polite and the service is efficient.

I tried many dishes from the starters and I loved all of them.

My personal favorite is the aubergine ravioli which is very rich in flavor, unique and perfectly cooked.

I also loved the hallumi baklavas. The soft and savory hallumi wrapped in the golden crispy pastry fillo matches perfectly with the sweet honey creating a delicious sweet and savory combination.

The gyoza is a great option if you like asian flavors and you want something different and not so traditional.

From the main dishes my favorite is the lamb giouvetsi which is the best giouvetsi I have ever had. The lamb is so tender and it instantly melts in the mouth. The orzo mixed with the jus from the lamb, various aromas and toped with soft feta cheese, creat a comforting and delicious experience! Sadly this dish is not available during summer and I am waiting for winter so I can have it again.

Some more hearty and delicious dishes are the pasta with beef, the Cypriot carbonara and the tenderloin pork.

For meat lovers, they offer a great variety of grilled meats including chicken and pork souvlaki, lamb chops, beef patty with smoked cheese, sheftalies (which are really good) and many more.

The desserts are okay but personally I gad better.

A big plus is that they have a big parking space which is very convenient. Only downside is that the prices are a little high but the portions are satisfying.

I am definitely going to revisit Palaia elia to have the dishes I loved and try some...

Much nicer atmosphere in Summer. We sat outside recently and it was cold, the music from inside deafening, could hardly hear each other speak. The service was OK, but we sat with our finished meals for over 30 minutes and had to call someone over in order to clear our dishes.

There's no option but to share dishes, which is not always ideal for all customers. Slightly over priced for what we got but some dishes were really tasty. The Fava is up there and a must have, the Pancetta 5 stars, so delicious. I don't recommend the lamb with orzo, no one in our table os six rated it and apart from a quick taste no one ate it. I appreciate what they're trying to achieve but to much innovation and no heart in the food. Happy we tried it but I don't think I'd go back or recommend it to friends as a somewhere to go for a satisfying meal. Not in my top 10 eats in Nicosia.

Service needs to improve, don't forget the customers you put in...

We were pleased to be accommodated when we arrived without reservation. However all the atmosphere was spoiled by two loud large TVs showing a basket ball game and four large groups of youngsters dining next to us and screaming to the top of their voices. No attempt was made by the staff to ask them to be quiet and our request for a table further away was declined. The food was minimalistic and very expensive. A handful of pasta with four small prawns for E 17.50 and a green salad for two or E14.00! and all the food, starters and mains was served together. This is definitely a place to be...