Zephyros Restaurant

The main problem with this restaurant is that it offers low quality, previously frozen cuisine, disguised as high quality, fresh seafood, deceptively packaged as much more—largely due to its location next to the legendary fish taverna, Psarolimano.

This sort of thing happens in Cyprus a lot, and particularly in Larnaca: where jealousy abounds, and where it is not uncommon for a predatory merchant (in this case, Zephyros) to set up shop next to a superlative vendor (Psarolimano).

The net effect is to fool tourists and to divide locals. Tourists unwittingly see the setting and are drawn like ships to sirens—with the imposter realizing they will only visit one restaurant or the other and cannot discern the difference. Locals are drawn in my a different set of forces: family. Inevitably, a place like Zephyros is owned by Bambos, who is the second cousin of Stella, who went to school with Andreas who is great friends with Yrgos and works with Lakis. As a result, everyone in the chain is obliged to only visit Zephyros or risk offending Bambos and becoming a social pariah, as explained to everyone at coffee hour after Church.

The point, however, is not merely to say that Zephyros is an imposter—this is clear. In truth, sometimes imposters can match or even outdo incumbents: for example, Zorbas bakery in Cyprus is a worthy rival to Sigma Bakeries, which was established 20 years prior. No, the point is that Zephyros is not just an imposter but a bad restaurant that knowingly dupes its patrons with the false pretense of being a fine restaurant.

But on what basis am I comparing Zephyros and Psarolimano? On the basis of its side dishes, of course.

For every fish taverna in the Greek world stands or falls on its taramasalata—a traditional Greek dish made of fish roe. Fish roe is extremely difficult to obtain in Cyprus at retail outlets, so for a restaurant to secure large quantities and use it to make their own tarama tells you everything about the owner, his approach towards food and his philosophy towards his customers.

This great sort of tarama tastes very light, has only a hint of lemon flavor, has a slight grittiness that resembles humous but is more creamy. Moreover, homemade tarama is not deep pink (as there is no food colouring) and, given its fresh ingredients, goes bad even after only a day or two—so you can sense its freshness. This is the sort of tarama offered at Psarolimano and, in an even better way, to be honest, at Old Limassol: a fish taverna on the Limassol coast.

By contrast, taramasalata at Zephyros is bright pink, looks almost dry and gooey, is extremely pungent and lemony—to the point of sour—and is so filled with preservatives one is is led to believe one will not age while eating it. And at Zephyros, this appetiser takes on a new form of awful, particularly because of the beautiful surroundings. Eating it instantly transports the consumer from this delightful and tranquil seaside setting in Larnaca to the boom-boom, fish and chips, ketchup and margarita environment of Agia Napa.

Don’t do this! Don’t harm your taste buds or shock your sensibilities! Don’t waste your money or time or effort on M&S-type frozen fish and peas at a hefty price (yes, since the tarama is bad, the food is worse). Instead, walk a few steps further to Psarolimano and truly enjoy yourself!

Leave this one for the...

The best place to go for fish in Cyprus. Let's start with the beggining. The place is next to the beach. The parking is huge and you can easily find space. Once you arrive, the lights and the vibe make you feel like home, cozy and warm. Once you enter, the smell of quality fish and amazing dishes is playing with all youe senses. We booked a table for 2 people. Our waiter, here is all about luck, however if you can have your waiter to be Laurentiu, it will change you entire night. The guy is amazing, very friendly and warm, can recommend you anything and knows the menu like a poem. He even did something extra for us ( mujdei ptr romani, dar ceva foarte interesant cu miere, ierburi si usturoi si nu s a zgarcit la cantitate). We ordered 1 sea bass and 1 fish mezze. Everything was delicious and the plates were very big and we took for take away because is hard to finish in 2 people all this food. We took 1 bottle of white wine. Desert is on the house. Some small starters also on the house. I will give 5/5 for food, amazing Laurentiu and the place itself. 100% going 1/week. Need to try 1 time and you will understand everything that i am saying. P.s. the octopus is...

Very nice restaurant. Great food. Adequate prizes. I had the "Fish Meze" with mixed starters and fish - for one person - with a half liter bottle of Retsina and some water. I can eat a lot but this amount of food was really a challenge. I think this amount would have been sufficient even for two people. But thanks to the fresh and very tasty dishes I managed to master this challenge ... ok, it took almost one and a half hours and I have left some bread and fries, but it was worth it 😊 The restaurant looks pretty modern and bright. Everything was clean and tidy. The bill was the next good surprise. I had ordered a Tamaras as starter when I was still exploring the menu. This was not charged separately as Tamaras is also part of the Fish Meze. So they obviously canceled my separate ordered Tamaras on the bill. All in all I have paid 30 Euro for this dinner and every Cent was worth it. Last but not least I would like to say thank you to the very nice waiter. He was very friendly and courteous. I can definitely recommend...