Parea Taverna — Restaurant in Polis Chrysochous

The worst mixed grill I’ve ever had

After seeing the 4.9 rating and reading the reviews I went out of my way to try out this restaurant.

I called in advance to see if they could accomodate a table for 1 - and they said they could.

I arrived and asked if there was any way to do the mezze platter for 1 person (normally min 2). I explained I was travelling from Australia I’d love to be able to try the various dishes. I advised I’d be happy to may 25% more than the menu price.

The head waiter asked the owner who shouted out “if he wants a mezze platter for 1 he can go eat outside”. I thought he was fully joking and would accomodate. But he wasn’t. 5 minutes later he came to the table and said he can’t do it and blamed the chef. Fair enough. I have no expectation for them to bend the rules on a Saturday night and the above is just to set the scene and background to the above comment from the owner or manager.

I opted for the mixed grill to start and then would likely also try the mousaka.

The wait time was about 40.

The mixed grill arrived and both the grilled chicken and lamb were cold and dry. When I say cold I mean that it is my personal view that they were not cooked within the last 20 minutes. It honestly would not surprise me if they were leftovers from another table as it’s highly unlikely that the chef could get the timing so wrong.

Whilst I was eating the owner was shouting at one of his migrant staff in front of everyone. This turns my stomach and in itself could put me off my food. It’s just not on. I did not order anything else, I had seen enough.

Having seen very loud badgering off staff and also the early comment directed at myself I didn’t feel comfortable in a foreign country sending the meal back.

I paid the bill and gave my feedback regarding the chicken to the head waiter. He heard me clearly, looked up me and nodded and ended the conversation there. Completely dismissed and clearly no concern regarding customer satisfaction or desire to improve.

Luckily enough I found another tavern close and continued my meal. In stark contrast that embodied Cypriot hospitality and...

Attended this taverna tonight for the first time. Quiet atmosphere given it was after a busier than usual dinner service earlier in the day. The staff quickly seated my wife & I outside on the terrace. We were served by an attentive young lady throughout the meal. A nice service pace - not rushed or with prolonged periods of waiting. A great selection of home made Cypriot food at a very reasonable price given the cost of eating out in the UK now - (especially as these prices included our service charge & tax) For this meal we both had soft drinks (Coke Zero with ice) and shared a 1 litre bottle if mineral water. We started with a shared 12 dip section dish accompanied with toasted garlic breads. A great starter with excellent flavours, each dip dish empty by the end of our bread. Although not a great fan of olives, the taverna's selection hit the mark with a delicious salty olive oil drizzle. Our mains were chicked kebabs and a mixed grill served with hand cut chips (the real deal & the best we have tasted in all our meals in Cyprus over the last 9 years). (If your not a fan of chips they can also be accompanied by cous-cous or there are a healthy selection of side dishes that can be ordered). The meats were juicy, flavoursome and personally I was delighted with my mixed grill portion - picture attached). (MY COMPLIMENTS TO THE MAN ON THE GRILLS TONIGHT....THE MEATS WERE COOKED JYST THE WAY I LIKE & NOT OVERDONE OR DRY & GRITTY). Again, another session of clearing our plates as the food was excellent. We usually only have 2 courses - however in most Cypriot restaurants they normally provide a small potion of cut fruit as a 'complimentary dessert'. Tonight it was 2 slices of apple & a delicious delicate honey drizzled pastry. Lovely. Total cost in British Sterling (Chase Banking near perfect exchange rate tonight).....£41.00. Unbelievable great value. Thank you. We usually end our holiday on the last afternoon at our favourite lunch spot just outside Argaka. I think we may change our routine and try here again....we were...

4,9 stars of disappointment. (Ο λόγος που ασχολείσαι είναι για να τσιεκκαρίσκεις εάν παιρνούν τα γορασμένα reviews, τζιε αιφνιδιάζεσε. Ακριβός δεν είσαι, απλά δεν έχεις καλή κουζίνα, έντζιε περνά του καθενού)(Yes parea mou, I edited my review to explain better for how many people I payed 146 euros, which reminded me that 3 children left your place hungry, ok re parea).The fries were good, so was the zuchinni meatballs. The rest was dissapointing to say the least. Especially the price to quality ratio is horrible. We payed 146 euros for 4 adults and 3 children. The choriatiki salad was not a choriatiki.We ordered one portion of spaghetti for the two small kids but they refused to eat it. After my wife tasted it, I understood that the kids were not fussy, but the pasta definetely was :) . The tachini was not prepared, not tasty, I had to add lemon juice and olive oil to "prepare" it, because it tasted just like the tachini you buy from the supermarket, everyone knows that you have to add ingredients to make it a tachini dish. The shieftalies was not proper shieftalies. I am a Cypriot, I know what a shieftalia should taste like, this is not a shieftalia, it's minced meat wrapped in some fat, not good at all. The afelia was not proper afelia, it had coliander seeds, but they looked and tasted like overcooked meat in white wine (instead of red), no color, no flavor, just bad. But the absolute worst was the kleftiko. The bad aftertaste from the lamp was still felt the next day. A good advice for all possible customers: Read the bad reviews and notice how the owner attacks people online not accepting...