Platanos Tavern, Lania 05-2018

To break up the drive between Ayia Napa and Paphos, there's the relatively (from what I read) unexciting Limassol and the more wild Troodos mountains. Certainly the drive inland was met with lots of mountainous scenery and greenery.

Lania (or Laneia?) is a little village reputed for the old charm of cobblestones and printed pictures on outdoor walls. Every street seems to be lined with plants and homeless cats too.

There's only about 3-4 places to eat in Lania, and Platanos seems to have the best reputation/reviews online.

Certainly on a quiet Friday afternoon, there were only 2 other groups of diners feasting on the meze. It's a good thing the area is pleasant because our grilled dishes took a good 45mins to come. But when they did, it was worth the wait.

Chicken €9.5 was a grilled, marinated a well charred crisp skinned leg quarter, divine in charcoal flavour and tender beyond belief. Lamb chop €13.5 included 1 thick chop, 2 small cutlets and an added rectangular piece I'm unsure where from. Similar to the chicken, it was flavoursome, charred and the fat kept the meat moist. It had been cooked through rather medium/medium-rare but this certainly had no effect on the tenderness.

The meats are all sourced locally and come with decent fries (could have been crispier on the outside) and standard salad. 4 warm pitas also came too. Ice coffee €1.5 was large and refreshing too.

This was the tastiest meal in Cyprus. I was envious of the mezedes and would have really liked to sample more of the meats, particularly the pork chop. Next time...