Hidden treasure raises profile of Cyprus steak

The GPS was set and we were approaching the location of the taverna we had been invited to for dinner. Maps said that we were close but I thought something was wrong as we were in a residential area. We were about to call and ask for directions when we noticed there were a few tables outside a small shop front with subtle lighting on the corner just behind us. The sign was so modest that we had completely missed it.

Given the hidden away location, Philippos has most definitely been doing something right as his little taverna opened in 1999. We were shown to our table by one of the friendliest persons I’ve ever met and were presented with menus. But we were told the steaks we had ordered were in the kitchen and ready to be cooked. It appeared my brother had taken it upon himself to pre-order us steak. The menu listed an 800-900g steak! Surely that was a typo? The price convinced me – €28 for an 800g steak? The menu was clear that the steak was from Cyprus beef. As Cyprus isn’t exactly famous for high-quality steak, I was interested!

With six of us at the table, my brother clearly had a game plan. With one pescatarian, the order would be four mezes and the two steaks. I was impressed with the selection of seafood on offer. You expect any taverna to offer a selection of grilled meats. But to have mussels, sardines, tuna steak and king prawns as well was a bit of a surprise.

Not too long after heading in to the kitchen with our order, Philippos reappeared with a platter of sliced, fresh tomatoes, topped with oregano, a ring of onion and lightly drizzled with olive oil. It’s difficult to rave about a tomato but it was obvious that it was fresh and the hint of oregano with the olive oil was a nice touch.

The standard meze dips and salad found their way to the table and we tucked in. So far so unremarkable, my only comment being that I would have liked a little more lemon in the tahini.

In the midst of it all appeared these two massive steaks! One a T-bone and the other a rib eye. The rib eye came with the bone, while both were sliced into neat strips. We had ordered them medium to rare and could see that they had been cooked perfectly over a charcoal grill. Considering that the steaks were local cuts, you can’t compare them with prime cut, grass fed Black Angus that you might find elsewhere. I usually go for ribeye but found the T-bone softer. By cooking them just right, Philippos managed to raise the profile of our humble Cyprus steak.

While the contents of the meze were quite standard, Philippos has mastered the art. Everything was  so well prepared that from the grilled halloumi at the start all the way through to the final dish of wine bacon and everything in between, we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Perhaps with a personal exception of the beef liver, as dish I would never select.

After we had performed our magical disappearing act with the food, we were told that fruit would be following shortly. This is the part where Philippos was different to the rest. I was expecting apples, oranges, bananas and maybe some grapes but instead we were brought guava and two types of dragon fruit, white and purple. We commented on this being something we weren’t expecting and Philippos told us he grows them himself. He also mentioned that all the salad ingredients are home grown; that would explain the tomato’s freshness.

With the quality and price at Philippos Taverna, alongside the great hosting, I would definitely go back. Although I would like to try other dishes on the menu, but when asked, I know I would say “T-bone please!”

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Cyprus food, grills, steaks

WHERE Philippos tavern, 62 Ayiou Georgiou, Makri Street, Larnaca

WHEN Monday to Saturday 6-10pm

HOW MUCH steaks €28, meze from €18

CONTACT 99 454877