"The food of Cyprus has much in common with Greek and Turkish cuisines, with the characteristic qualities of the Mediterranean diet. Mr Evgenios Klindtwort-Perikleous and his business partner, Mr Nikolas Stefanou, have been serving the region authentic Cypriot cuisine for the past 16 years. As of today, they are the only Cypriot restaurant in Rheinland-Pfalz. We were a group of thirteen, and our culinary journey through Cyprus began with a selection of ten different cold appetizers (highlights include “Taramas”, “Dolmadakia”, “Tirosalata”, “Meltzanosalata” and “Skordalia”), followed by two warm appetizers – “Kolokithakia me Auga” (Zucchini Omelet) and “Manitarakia Krasata” (fresh mushrooms in a wine-based sauce). Mr Klindtwort and his team made sure our bread basket was topped up with fresh flatbread throughout.Up next are four types grilled and pan-fried specialties, including Cypriot Haloumi (grilled and spiced soft sheep’s cheese). Then came a combination of 2-3 types of fish, marinated, wrapped in aluminum foil and grilled to perfection. The main course was a choice of either meat or seafood. The meat option consisted of “Kleftiko”, “Sheftalia” and “Pagithakia”. Included in the seafood Meze were grilled octopus, seabass and king prawns. Mr Klindtwort and his team are truly generous with their portions – by the time the main course arrived, most of us were too full to continue eating!As the saying goes, “there’s always room for dessert!” – somehow, we managed to find room in our tummies for the traditional dessert “Galataktoboureko” – creamy custard in crispy phyllo sheets, served with a side of vanilla ice cream.At the end of the feast, we were practically clamouring for some ouzo to ease our tummies. We thoroughly enjoyed our first encounter with Cypriot food at Restaurant Aphrodite. Tip: In case you do order a Meze here, bring time and an appetite, because a great Meze comprises at least 20 dishes – it took us all evening to polish everything off!"
