The Lodge Restaurant

Shopping and taking a walk around town is a choice, but eating is a must. This is why I would like to share with all of you guys another place that is completely different from the rest of the restaurants you've come across in Paphos, Cyprus. Let's say that you've already had your fair share of delicious Cypriot food, with the meze and the kebab and the stuffed vine leaves and so on and so forth. Then, I would recommend that you head over to The Lodge Steak and Seafood Co.

The restaurant is located on 52 Poseidonos Avenue, just a minute or two from Amathus Hotel. The Lodge is a South African restaurant and specialises in "charcoal grilled, dry aged steaks" as well as cocktails and drinks, with all this at a very good and reasonable price. I must say straight off the bat that this place is the real deal when it comes to fine food, execution of the menu dishes as well as the overall presentation of both the food and the physical restaurant.

Depending on the season, booking may be essential, but just to be super sure, I would give them a call just to make sure that there's a table reserved. With the way the restaurant works, I would say that there are three sections to it. The first section would be what you walk into, which is located indoor just in front of the bar. If you walk in a bit deeper, you will have the center indoor dining area. But the area of the restaurant I would recommend to you guys is their outdoor seatings, in which they refer to as Braai Boma. This outside zone has fantastic breeze and very tastefully selected decorations. I have never been to Africa or been to the safari, but judging from what I see in the movies, I felt like I was dining outside in the open fields with just candles and lamps to help light up the night sky. The only down side to sitting outside that I could think of is the mosquitos. I have a terrible relationship with mosquitos and they seem to always want my blood, even if there are ten other people around me. If you're on the same boat as me, you want to make your decision based on this, or ask the super helpful team members if they have any sort of mosquito repellents.

As you could see from my super high definition photo that is every but, the Braai Boma outside seating area is super chill. Everything on the table and everything you see around you brings elements of Africa and really makes you feel engaged to the dining (or drinking) experience.

Let's move on to the food. They have an extensive menu of what I think are specialities from the South African cuisine as well as other parts of the African continent. They have a very straight forward menu for their starters, which include favourites like halloumi, riblets, squid, chicken wings, mussels, prawns and what I find really interesting but did not try, their village bread. We did not order an starters but were given complementary starters, or amuse-bouche, just to get the palates going. I can't recall what they were exactly nor the official name, but we were served crispy bread with various dippings. The bread was probably closest to a half naan half papadum kind of texture, but it was still quite different. The most important part though, was that it was delicious and also a fun to eat. It definitely served as a good introduction to South African cuisine and what the talented kitchen team had in store for us.

We ordered our main course right away since it was quite late and we were starving. My mom ordered a seafood dish with prawns and a side of red rice, while I ordered flame-grilled chicken with a side of something completely different. The prawns that my mother had ordered were grilled, shell on to keep all the moisture in, then topped with her choice of sauce. Once again I am absolute terrible with names, so I can't recall what sauce she had chosen. But to make up for my gold fish memory, I have found the sauces they offer here at The Lodge :

- Braai Sauce

- Piri-Piri Sauce

- Rib Glaze

- Monkey Gland Sauce

- Chutney

- Amarula Mushroom Sauce

- Madagascan Green Pepper Corn Sauce

- Mango Achar

- Blue Cheese and Wine Sauce

As you could see from a closer look at the prawns dish, it was a textured, and slightly thick sauce that packed quite a bit of heat to it. I say this in a good way, as it turned out to be delicious and we both enjoyed the overall dish. Like I mentioned a bit earlier, the presentation of the food here is also very good. Most places similar in concept in Paphos are not as good at presenting their dishes in comparison to what you see here.

Oh yes, and let's talk about the red rice that my mother had ordered. The official name as on the menu is African Red Rice. I have no idea what ingredients are used to add the bright red colour to the rice, but whatever they may be, they make this bowl of rice look really yummy. If you look closely to this other photo of the rice, it actually looks so red that it may be dangerous to consume. This African Red Rice has gone down in the history book of mine as the brightest food item I have ever consumed, up to date! I am from Thailand and we're well known for our super colourful desserts that are quite bright from the food colouring, but never have I had something this colourful and bright. For those also into the presentation of the food and trying something new and different, I would recommend getting this since it will sure ''brighten'' up your meal.

I went for a meat dish of "juicy bantam chickens with African Rub and a basting sauce" and a side of my choice. You could either go for half the chicken or the whole thing, but since I wanted to save room for dessert afterwards, I only went for the half. The chicken was grilled perfectly and was juicy inside. It had that great taste from the charcoal grill and was extra juicy with the basting sauce lying generously on top. It was also seasoned afterwards with what I see as chilli powder, but since my knowledge of this type of cuisine is limited to almost zero, it could well be something completely different. My grilled chicken also came with a little wooden bowl of what was like tomato chutney. This little bowl of deliciousness was fantastic and it saved my meal - wait for it. The side I ordered was pap, which is mashed polenta. Pap is a staple in South Africa apparently, and with me being me, I had to try something new and original. At the time, I had no idea what I had ordered or what it could end up tasting like. When it arrived to the table, you could see just below that it looks very similar to an ordinary bowl of mash potato, with a bit of salt and pepper on top. As for my honest opinion, I would not recommend you guys to try this, unless you really want to also experience something unique. The pap had no taste and was bland, but maybe that's how it's consumed in South Africa. This is where my little bowl of tomato chutney came in, as I would add it to every bite I had of the pap. This added extra flavour to the pap, which I guess is kind of like eating plain rice by itself.

Other than the delicious food, we also particularly enjoyed the atmosphere. During the time, the restaurant was not very busy and only had a few tables occupied, and this may be a trend for certain months. If you have heard of this comment before, the reason for this is simply the roller coaster ride in terms of tourism which really depends on the season of the year. Some people may think that they look empty or are not very busy because the quality is bad like other restaurant, but no, I will defend this restaurant as one of the best you could find on this side of Kato Paphos.

Anyhow, towards the end of the night, we had almost forgotten that we wanted dessert, actually more like I wanted dessert. They do have specials for desserts depending on what clever ideas the chef has, and while I was there, it happened to be their deconstructed cheese cake. I think it was a cheese cake, but my photo won't really show anything much due to the outdoor lighting.

The cheese cake was really goood, as any cheese cake should be, and it's presentation in the form of an ice cream sunday in a glass was a nice change to the usual on the plate, little rectangle slide, like a tart. Credits to them for bringing another fun side of this brilliant dessert because the taste was really good too. Obviously the idea is to take a bit of every layer so that you have the complete cheese cake experience, but since it's deconstructed, I was always tempted to take just individual pieces from the portion. We need to say no further that the deconstructed cheese cake in a milkshake like glass was a great conclusion to the meal.

Actually the dessert was not the official conclusion to our evening. The chef took time out from the kitchen to visit our table and to run through the usual questions like how was the meal and was there anything we liked and/or disliked in particular. I always like when chefs would sacrifice their work load in the kitchen to visit the clients outside in the dining room. It's a nice added touch in my opinion but in the real world of restaurants, not every single chef and come out and greet their clients every single time and at every single table.

The chef himself is from South Africa and has had various working experiences in some top destinations for hospitality in the world, including Dubai. I can't remember where else he had worked, but his experience and knowledge are clearly illustrated on the plates and boards that arrived to our table that night.

I will definitely pay The Lodge Steak and Seafood Co. a visit the next time I head back to Paphos to visit my family. I had a fantastic first impression of the restaurant, the menu, the chef and of course, South African and its neighbouring cuisines. Just like other places I have shared and recommended here in Cyprus like Kourides, Stavros, Baan Thai Kitchen and so on, dining or having a drink here at The Lodge is an experience on its own.

I mean, what's better than good food in a cool environment right?

The Lodge Steak and Seafood Co. Official Web Site

The Lodge Steak and Seafood Co. is also on Trip Advisor! Check out the link down below to what locals and tourists have to say about this spot! :

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