Restaurant review: Casual and well-priced simplicity
By Kyriacos Nicolaou
What’s on offer at Thymari in Limassol? Souvlaki and other forms of grilled meat, primarily. There are three of the restaurants across the city. The one we visited in the city’s Old Port area, one on Kolonakiou, near Linopetra, and one in Germasogeia’s tourist area.
I’ve visited all three over the past year or so and the one in the Old Port area is far and away the busiest one. Tons of foot traffic helps, of course, with scores of people walking along the promenade and the Limassol marina. In fact, it can get so busy on weekends that seating can become a bit scarce, if unavailable.
This is a no-frills, on-the-go eatery that banks on volume. But that’s not to say that the quality suffers because of it. The restaurant is originally from Greece and this shows in the items available. Greek style pitta, chicken souvlaki that’s marinated and tender, paninis (when’s the last time you saw that in a traditional Cypriot kebab spot?), burgers, kebap (see: kofte), and vromiko (it means dirty in Greek, but it essentially alludes to the late-night sandwiches you’d get on the way home from a night out).
In this particular instance, we opted for their Breaking Bad burger and their smallest mixed grill. They describe the latter as an individual platter but in reality it can be shared among two, provided they’re not extremely hungry. Speaking of voracious, let’s talk about that burger.
Brioche-style bun, two beef patties, 200 grams each, two slices of cheddar cheese, bacon, an omelette the width of the burger patties it covers, barbecue sauce and mayonnaise. This is, frankly, a monster. I am a big eater and still struggled to make a dent. The bun was soft, the meat was well-grilled, and the flavour was quite good. The only ingredient that I would remove in the future would be the omelette. It was okay on its own, but took away from the flavour of the beef. A fried egg would have probably been better, but I can see why they’d opt for an omelette, as it retains its original flavour and texture much better than a sunny-side-up egg after a few minutes. Remember, many people order in or take their food to go. Now, this burger is not cheap at €14.30, but you do get what you pay for in terms of sheer quantity. You should note, however, that fries are extra.
The mixed grill was also left unfinished, with some of it coming back home with us (reckon we ordered for three people, more or less). It contained fries, a grilled pork belly slice, one grilled chicken fillet, a slider-sized burger patty, two cheesepies, one kebap (again, think of a cylinder of minced meat, like the aforementioned kofte), one country-style sausage, one grilled pitta bread, tzatziki and mustard.
They were all well-cooked and flavourful. The chicken surprised me for not being dry (as chicken breast tends to be), while the cheese pies were a highlight, with crispy phyllo pastry on the outside and warm, soft cheese on the inside. The sausage naturally pairs well with the mustard, while the pork belly was tender, fatty and delicious as expected. The burger patty. It did not taste like the patties in the burger mentioned above; it was more crumbly, and more like something you’d cook at home on your own. In short, you’d use ketchup with the Breaking Bad burger, but you’d squeeze lemon and dab a smear of tzatziki on the burger pattie in the mixed grill.
Would I return? I have and I will. Casual, decently priced, well-tasting.
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALTY: Souvlaki, grilled items
WHERE: Thymari, Syntagma Square 3, Old Port, Limassol
WHEN: Daily 11am-3am
CONTACT: 25 333441
HOW MUCH: €26.20 for the individual mixed grill platter, Greek style wraps €5.40, kebab sticks €2.90-4.60, Cyprus style pittas €8.60-11.90