How many k's are there in 'delicious'? (Taste of Cyprus (Beckenham))

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	Taste of Cyprus (Beckenham)
Date:	11/03/09 (408 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great food, friendly staff, good ambience

Disadvantages: None

Hopefully you'll excuse me my glib title, but when booking a table at this wonderful restaurant in Beckenham (Kent) I didn't really have a frame of reference for Cypriot cooking and was simply working on the cheeky assumption that it would be identical to Greek food, but with more k's in the names. As it turned out, I was pretty much spot on with those assumptions and I hope I won't annoy any Cypriots (or Greeks) by saying so.

The similarities between the two cuisines are various and at either a good Cypriot or Greek restaurant you can expect:

a) A selection of fragrant and meaty dishes
b) No concept of the phrase 'portion control'
c) A warm welcome

Taste of Cyprus turned out to be no exception to these generalisms and I recommend it to you wholeheartedly. I booked up for an early dinner on Valentine's Day after we passed the restaurant on a bus and we'd been looking forward to it for months.

We took the train to Beckenham Junction and walked the remainder of the journey - a stroll long enough to build up an appetite, but not hurt the legs. Elemer's End station may prove more convenient and it's easily reached by road. I won't provide further directions as my link takes you through to the address and a mini map on Google anyway.

When we got to the restaurant we were greeted by a relaxed and smiling waitress, who showed us to our table. It was the window 'booth' (an old restaurant trick to make the place seem busier). We didn't complain, however, as it was out of the way of the front door and they had provided a small electric heater which helped on a chilly February evening. This gambit wasn't really called for, as by the time we left later that evening every seat in the place was full and they were actively turning customers away.

A selection of olives and crudités were brought over and the waiting staff gave us ample time to peruse the menu and make our minds up in peace. The fixed price that night was three courses for £20 a person, which is very reasonable for greater London in general. I'd expect the prices to be slightly inflated on this day of the year, but the combined price was perhaps £2-3 per person more than usual for the total cost of a meal.

The menu was very much focused on dishes that a carnivore might enjoy, although there were plenty of options for vegetarians (particularly in the starters section). I suspect that there aren't many Cypriot vegetarians!

For starters, my girlfriend opted for her favourite of Tzatziki and I went for some spiced sausage - similar to the sausages typically branded as 'village' or 'local' in that part of the world. The dip was well-flavoured and creamy, with a good amount of garlic. That said, it didn't pass the 'fork test' of thickness (if a fork stands in it it's usually perfect). It was accompanied with a basket teeming with slices of pitta and another flat bread that I couldn't place. My sausages were thin but very strongly flavoured (ooh madam) and tastes of paprika and basil won through. They came with a fairly generic garnish, but I had no complaints as I was busy wrestling with the remains of the bread basket.

We both chose for the lamb kleftiko for our main course and while mine was served with rice, my girlfriend went for chips. The kleftiko itself was nothing short of glorious - perfectly cooked and tender lamb was practically falling off the bone into a rich sauce of tomatoes, garlic and spices. My rice was fluffy and particularly flavoursome and had obviously been cooked by someone who was used to doing so. My girlfriend's chips were also great and were chunky and crispy. They'd obviously been deep fried, which wins points for flavour (even if they're not very healthy). The portions were typically large and I didn't want to miss a bite.

We went for a bottle of retsina to accompany our meal, as its pine-needle aromas and slight kick will always conjour up warm memories of happy summer holidays spent in Zakynthos. The bottle provided was produced by Kourtakis (mainly for export) and is pretty smooth compared to some of the more 'traditional' retsinas. It was a good refreshing counterweight to quite a heavy meal and was the best of a bad bunch. Greek and Cypriot restaurants aren't known for their extensive wine lists and wine is definitely not something we bring back from our travels in the Med.

For dessert I decided upon a a 'paklava' - a tasty treat made from layers of puff pastry, nuts and syrup. My girlfriend went for a chocolate cheesecake that was delicious, although no doubt came straight from a freezer.

Completely stuffed, we sat and chatted for a good half hour after our meal before settling up and heading home. Our total bill was £60 for three courses each, a bottle of retsina and a generous tip. Not bad for the quality of the food, the general ambience and the attentive staff.

Definitely the sort of place you go back to again and again.

Summary: A great Cypriot restaurant for a relaxing meal