The Gym — Restaurant in undefined

Used to be one of our favourites spots in the old town Nicosia, with special meaning to us. We chose to have our small family gathering there after our wedding at the Nicosia town hall. We spoke with the manager, Lazaros, more than a month before our day. He was friendly and willing to host us there, on a Friday afternoon. He even mentioned he would add an extra person on the shift to make sure we have proper service for our approx 20 guests, as Friday afternoon shifts are generally quiet. We called again a week before our day, just to confirm a few details, to find out ( from the same manager) to our big surprise that the reservation was not made. The excuse was that we had not paid a deposit (which we were not even asked to pay a month before!). He even mentioned we would have to be patient with the orders on that day due to less people on the shift and that having an extra person on the shift would not be possible. He pretended not to recall mentioning the xtra person to me a month earlier. We tried to reach him again the following day to make the deposit for the reservation. He only responded a day later, when we had already made other plans as we couldn’t take the risk of not having a place to treat our guests. The same manager who was very hospitable a month earlier, was now rude and unprofessional showing no interest to host us and offering silly excuses, leaving us exposed to our guests and forcing us to search for another place just a few days before our wedding.

What can I say, hugely disappointed with the behaviour for a place I considered unique in the old...

My experience at the gym wasn’t very pleasant to begin with. I went there for lunch and I wanted to order something light so I chose the chicken Caesar salad without bacon and the dressing to be served on the side. When I asked the waiter he told me that this wasn’t an option. When I asked the reason why he told me that the chef didn’t want to deviate from the recipe and that the dressing was something that came on the salad. He then called the manager over who also told me that this wasn’t an option as this was something the chef wasn’t willing to do and that the sauce was too thick to be served as a side. I proceeded and ordered something else which I wasn’t very keen on. I still couldn’t comprehend as to why the customer who is willing to pay and wants to eat something they could tolerate to be forced to eat something else just because the chef doesn’t want to serve the salad without the dressing. The manager was rude and kept on insisting that they can alter other recipes from the menu but not the salad and he told me that I was the one who should be more understanding. Indirectly, we were told you either get this or if you don’t like it tough luck! If I was asking to make a change to recipe from a Michelin star chef I would completely understand but not for a salad!! I was the one who was going to eat it and pay for it...

Overall: 3/5 Verdict: If you're looking for a chill place with a cozy atmosphere to have some drinks, then I totally recommend The Gym. Otherwise, If you're looking for a place to have a nice and satisfying dinner, then The Gym will disappoint.

Service: 4/5 (Not 5 stars, because the waiter passionately suggested a dish where the portion was tiny. More on the dish below). Cocktails: 5/5 (Not the cheapest, but they tasted good. I'm not an expert on cocktails, but I enjoyed my espresso martini). Food: 1/5 (Had the salmon sliders and the braised pork cheeks. The salmon from the sliders was completely raw on the inside. I don't have a problem with raw salmon, so that dish was ok for me. However, for someone else raw salmson could have been an issue. The braised pork cheeks was a total scam, and the only reason I will never return to that restaurant. It costed €17 and featured 4 tiny pieces of pork cheek. I don't care what it takes to prepare the dish, because the taste was simply OK. It was not something incredible, only ok. This is not a gourmet restaurant, but not even a gourmet restaurant would have had the nerve to serve 4 tiny pieces of meat for 17eur. I'm not saying they should have large portions; what I'm saying is that you shouldn't talk the talk if you can't...