Limanaki is an exquisite fish restaurant in the Amathus hotel in Limassol
The restaurant is nestled on the beach and basks stunning sea views. It always serves fresh seafood delicacies, including oysters, mussels and, of course, freshly caught fish.
The restaurant also offers a wide selection of wines, including the best varieties from Cypriot wineries. The service at Limanaki meets the high standards of the five star hotel Amathus.
Dinner at Limanaki is an unforgettable experience of dining with the sound of the waves in the moonlight under a cloudless sky in the Mediterranean.
Review on behalf of the ‘Cyprus Inform’
I generally distrust hotel restaurants. They are often proven as an average proposal by an “average guest”. However, the Cypriot five-star hotels do not cease to embosom real gems. One of them is undoubtedly the fish restaurant Limanaki in the five-star hotel Amathus (Limassol), located on the shore next to the promenade path that winds along the coast.
Design
The restaurant looks like a huge fancy ship moored to the shore, to give guests a recent catch. Triangular awnings and a stylized sail are stretched over the tables, sheltering its guests from the late afternoon sun. When the island sinks into twilight, numerous spotlights illuminating the colorful sails are turned on. The space around the tables is shrouded in a soft diffused light, creating an incredible feeling of comfort.
Massive tables with comfortable chairs are arranged in a solid distance from each other, so there is no feeling of an “elbow neighbor”, which is quite common, but nevertheless inappropriate in a restaurant. During evenings you usually can feel the gentle sea breeze blowing, and even in the hot summer months it is not hot; it seems that incorporated large silent fans are switched on. An additional feeling which excites the guest is the soft rustle of the sea: living is worth for the sake of such moments!
The “Small port”
This is the translation of the restaurant’s name from Greek. And, as befits a port there is always plenty of fresh fish! Seafood, delivered by fishermen, as well as the best suppliers of Cyprus, is carefully laid out on the ice crumbs at the awe-inspiring sized display window. You can select your desired fish or seafood that instance, or trust the chef’s recommendation. We will expand further about the food.
Aperitifs
On a hill near the picturesque bridge over the promenade walkway is a bar called “Mayak”, or in English, the Lighthouse. From Wednesday to Saturday in the evening there is live music in the bar. Here you can enjoy a cocktail, which will add to your anticipation for your meal in the restaurant; you can also enjoy champagne appetizers: a cheese platter, appetizers for ouzo, etc. But, of course, the highlight is the king of appetizers, the culinary composition “Seafood» (Fruit de Mer Platter, € 55 and a three-tiered “tower» Fruit de Mer, € 130). Read more about this dish below.
The bar can also be visited for a drink after dinner and you can order a hookah prepared by the experts in the field.
Meze
At Limanaki, the meze is called Set Menu, but this format has nothing to do with the traditional dinner “choice.” They bring you all the dishes mentioned on the menu. This is the Cypriot meze where slowly, dish after dish appears on the table, and you can taste a whole range of flavors and aromas.
The restaurant offers a choice of three menu types at different prices. Minimum order – two portions; big enough though for 4 people! Believe me, there are no small portions at Limanaki!
So, we ordered 3 Set Menus, at the price of € 84.
Appetizers
By tradition, the waiter brought bread and appetizers: olives, olive paste, and some seafood. A sip of wine and our culinary journey began!
Two aspects of the waiters: they are completely unobtrusive, but always there if needed. A 27 person staff serves the guests at Limanaki, which is full every night. Here guests arrive for the excellent meal Limanaki offers and the amazing ambience.
So, the first menu items arrive: the famous Cypriot dips. However, in their set menu at Limanaki something is unusual. The traditional taramosalata (dip of cod roe) is presented at its best option – a white dip with soft texture. The smell of fish is almost nonexistent; instead, the light fragrance of shallots and pleasant acidity gives it a refreshing note.
Next, the smoked flavor of baked eggplant, shredded with shallots, pepper and olive oil. A magical dish resembling the best examples of our beloved “overseas” eggplant caviar.
Tirokafteri is also on the list- a cheese paste, slightly spicy, with a delightful creamy texture.
These dips are enjoyed with the toasted crusty rustic bread on the table, served with a rustic salad – a Cypriot version of the traditional Greek salad. From the tomatoes the tasteless core is carefully removed, the cucumbers are cleaned; the feta cheese is added, as well as a touch of spicy capers, olives and marvelous olive oil dressing.
And, finally, the first fish dish: marinated sardines, expertly deboned, placed as a butterfly. Fatty, marinated within measure, they immediately reminded me of a trip to Venice, where such dishes are offered in every restaurant!
This dish is gorgeous! A view of it casts a spell on you: three storeys filled with fresh seafood. Above all there is the Alaskan crab with two kinds of sauce: tomato cocktail sauce and tartar sauce. The crab is presplit; its hard chitin claw is broken, so you can gently and effortlessly remove the flesh. Armed with tools to extract the meat, I started one of the most exciting activities – not to leave a single piece of it behind!
At the bottom of this dish, two amazing large oyster varieties and the “royal” Fine de Claire with a sauce of vinegar and shallot. The marvelous flavor “pieces of the sea”, presents an amazing freshness and aftertaste!
On the middle tier – huge prawns and shell clams (cockles – so called because of the British). A large tiger shrimp is good with the accompaniment of lemon juice – nothing more! Separately are also a few filled mussels poached in an aromatic sauce with herbs.
After this dish the waiters gave us the opportunity to relax and served hot napkins to clean our hands. After 10 minutes contemplating the sea and the starred sky with a couple of sips of white wine, we are ready to continue this gastronomic trip!
Hot appetizers
The waiter arranges the dishes of the small shrimp and red mullet, fried in deep fat. A very thin crust, crispy, not greasy dish, and the seafood preserved its freshness and flavor. Shrimp can be eaten along with the shell.
Next up is octopus and a large meaty grilled squid with feta baked with a sweet tomato sauce. The light sweet saltiness of the cheese and sauce – is the perfect combination of supplementing delicate seafood. At this point, many guests think the meal is complete. Probably, in another restaurant it would be, but not at Limanaki! You have not tried the king of this meal yet!
Hot dishes
Grilled sea bream – a meaty, perfectly separated, served with grilled vegetables and sauce with olive oil and lemon juice.
Yes, this is the ‘way’ of the Meze: the main dish appears on the table when you are almost filled. However, this does not hinder you from engulfing and appreciating the excellent taste of this noble fish.
Dessert
Finally, in stylish elongated dishes the waiter brings the Cypriot sweets and fruit. What else could you ask for? A cup of the fragrant Cypriot coffee, which is also prepared in Turkey – we are in the east, right? But also from the coast of Israel to Africa, along three hundred kilometers! And, if desired, a glass of zivania – the Cypriot counterpart of grappa. Cheers!
Conclusion
Just now I noticed a colorful native: a black-eyed cat. A furry friend, reminding a formidable pirate, raised and kept there. The hotel manager Andreas joked: “We have tamed the most fearsome cats, which protect the territory from pesky beggars.”It seems to be true, I truly tell you, at Limanaki a crowd of cats do not annoy the guests.
It seems here they really give emphasis to the important things: music and its volume, training and, of course, order and cleanliness. Thanks to these trifles, for me dinner at Limanaki was remembered for a long time as a festive evening spent on the beach, under the stars, surrounded by caring friends.
The restaurant is open every day from May until mid-November (depending on the weather).
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