Agora Tavern — Restaurant in Paphos Municipality

This is the kind of place that makes you want to go back to other reviews elsewhere and bump their 5 stars down to 4. This was something exceptional. I’ve been in Cyprus 17 years and eaten and countless venues, and this has entered by top 5 dining experiences. I was brought her by my Cypriot brother in law and his Swedish partner who insisted I would be impressed. I mention this as my bar was pre-set quite high. They ^did not^ disappoint. I was gobsmacked!

The welcome at the entry was lovely (in Cyprus often you feel like scum if a place is popular by the door guard). We were swiftly and with a welcome smile taken to our table (tip: when booking ask for the view tables on the balcony - oh, and book 2-3 days in advance to avoid disappointment). We began with a cocktail as we were thirsty. Wow! I got the ‘unconditional’ with amaretto, fresh passion fruit, lemon and the Greek spirit Majuni. Incredible!

We then settled in for our meat meze (you can choose between a meat, vegetarian and vegan meze). I’ve had hundreds of meze meals in Cyprus, and this was a real treat! They play with local flavours and techniques to deliver Cypriot traditional food with a modern, yet non invasive, innovative twist (if that makes sense?!). The tyrokafteri dip was to die for with its caramelised peanuts and sesame topping complementing the tangy whipped cream cheese. The bulgur and beetroot bowl was yummy and the chickpeas with tahini was refreshing. Their tzantziki was true to form.

Their fresh baked potatoes, my grandmother will be upset to hear me say this, but they may just have been the best I’ve ever had in Cyprus. I salivate for more! The salad was traditional with carob molasses and anari, a perfect mix and not too much to go wasted. Just right. Clearly the chefs have chosen the loukanika (sausages) and lountza (smoked ham) because they were undoubtably the best quality possible. Tasted as if you were in the meat smoking room with it! The halloumi, well, halloumi is halloumi - it is always a winner.

Then the main event. Pork souvla and pork souvlaki, and chicken gyro (doner). They were complemented with herbs and the souvla even had a grape must and mustard drizzle to enhance the flavour! Just amazing. We finalized the food trip with mushrooms in sauce - and whatever it was, was clearly magic as I even drank the sauce!

The staff are marvelous. They are all friendly, attentive, careful and knowledgeable. They spoke Greek and English well and they seemed to be very happy to work there. They were kind and fun with my daughter who came along. She mentioned she wanted the passion fruit in my cocktail so they brought her a passion fruit as a gift. So sweet!

The venue itself. Gorgeous! A spectacular view, a delightful vine growing and shading the balcony, a tasteful and classy interior and fresh air all round. It’s right in the old town so a pre or post dinner walk is ideal.

Will return and bring locals and tourists alike to experience this gem of a joint!...

On first impressions, one of the best restaurants I have been to. But when we returned, not so great :( We went on a Saturday and the atmosphere was amazing, staff were brilliant and the service was great too. Sooo much food came out which was unexpected so we had to take some home. We returned on a Monday and the food had been changed slightly, there was less and they had upped their prices by a couple of euros per mezze which is a shame as there were three dishes that we hadn’t received which we did on the last Saturday. We definitely got a lot less food even on the dishes that were bought to us, so we didn’t feel for the price we paid we got what we should have. We asked to have two vegetarian mezzes and one meat as the last time we came we had far too much when we ordered 3 veg, so she said she would ask and then she never came back to confirm whether we would be getting two or three. When the food came we all assumed the mezze was 2 vegetarian and 1 meat. And yet that wasn’t enough for 2. Then when the bill came we were charged for 4 mezzes in total, which came to $71 euros, more than what it came to on the Saturday when we came and we got far more food! We didn’t want to query it at the time as it was a special occasion so we returned the next day to ask and the owner/manager was arguing with us and wouldn’t do anything about it. The service was also a little lacking on the Monday. I think Saturday is the best day to go to make sure you get the full experience, providing they have all the dishes that they’re meant to have and you get the same quantity as they should be giving on every night. If you’re going to change dishes or remove them, replace them with others that are the same size and serve the...

So I will give you my honest review.

The atmosphere and the location is amazing. At night it's only meze you have no other options. The meze was 28 euro. (They don't have a menu so you couldn't see anywhere written that is 28 euros, also they don't inform you when you call to book a table that it's only meze and they mention nothing about the price. )

So I had high expectations. Salad with some little plates came out very quickly. I was impressed with all of the starters especially with the salad and the chick bean dip. But after that I was a bit disappointed.

They said it was a meat meze but they just served pork souvla (the cheapest meat you can get in the market) overcooked and dry. And pork souvlakia (again pork...) overcooked also. Chicken giro, was just ok. So basically the meat meze was just pork. That doesn't excuse the 28 euro per person. I was expecting something different. Also all the meat was high on salt. Also another disappointment is that they offer you nothing at the end, like fruit or something sweet. It's the first time in my life that I went to a meze restaurant and they didn't offer something at the end.

Positives: The great service the atmosphere and the starters. I asked if they changed the menu from time to time. And they said no. So there is no reason to visit this place again if you have nothing else to offer.

Service 9/10 Atmosfere 10/10 Starters 9/10 Salad 10/10 Wine: 8/10 Meat meze 5/10

Hopefully my honest review will help you...