Restaurant review: Muse Café Kitchen Bar, Paphos

By Sarah Coyne

Having spent the last few months reviewing the takeaway experience, it feels a real luxury to actually be at a restaurant in person. It took a few attempts to find a restaurant in Paphos that was actually going to be open but thankfully I found one of my old favourites in the centre of Paphos. Muse Café Kitchen Bar is positioned just off the Municipal Park down a side street with a large car park, from where there is a superb view. This restaurant probably enjoys the best vista of Paphos.

It has been open for several years and is the perfect venue for coffee, lunch, dinner or a sundowner. The owners have used their time wisely during such a quiet season, and a significant refurbishment has occurred. I thought this place was remarkable in design before, but with two new bars and an extension of the internal terrace, it really is looking very smart indeed.

On the day I visited, it was absolutely pouring with rain. With a deadline looming I thought this would mean I would have to sit on the outside terrace and get wet. It was a massive relief when we were ushered into the enclosed terrace area on arrival and offered protection from the wind and rain. Surprisingly, it was actually quite busy. As far as I could see, all safety measures were firmly being followed and strictly adhered to.

As part of their refurbishment, I had already heard that a new menu had been introduced. However, the old favourites were still there. The menu at Muse is extensive and nicely divided into sections. The restaurant is open all day with breakfast in the morning and the main menu available from midday. The fabulous breakfast menu has various cooked options, including eggs benedict, omelettes and pancakes. There are also healthier options available, with vegetarian dishes throughout the menu.

On the main menu there is a good selection of starters, which is quite challenging to select from. In the end, my dining partner and I went for one of the new choices and one of the old ones. The halloumi bruschetta is a new Cypriot version of a traditional Italian antipasto dish. It is halloumi, on a small ciabatta bread, but with robust flavours of ginger and basil. The combination worked very well. Our other starter was another halloumi dish, but this time wrapped in crispy smoked bacon with arugula leaves, and a superb pomegranate molasses dressing. Superb!

The main menu includes platters to share, salads, sandwiches, pasta plates, burgers, seafood and all combinations of meat dishes. As it was wet and our first time out in a restaurant for three months, the need for comfort food was utmost in our minds, so we chose a six-cheese chicken dish and a brisket burger.

The main dish of grilled chicken fillet was topped with a sauce made using six-cheese varieties, served with puréed potatoes and vegetables. The chicken was cooked to perfection, and the sauce was very different from a standard cheese sauce, obviously due to the delicate inclusion of so many cheeses, which offered a lot of flavours. The vegetables were superb, a selection of asparagus, artichoke and sweetcorn.

The burger was made of American brisket beef, served with cheddar cheese, caramelised onions, jalapeños, tomato and lettuce served in a rustic bread bun, with the signature Muse round potato chips served on a skewer. Brisket offers an alternative texture for a burger and certainly creates more taste, but watch out for the jalapeños, as they are hot, but give a perfect kick to the dish.

As the portions are very generous we didn’t have any room for dessert, but they have a small selection with carrot cake, apple pie, lava cake and cheesecake.

After three months of home cooking it was refreshing and a very welcome change to get back into a restaurant. We were surprised at how busy it was, so would recommend booking. The last week has also seen some other restaurants open their doors in Paphos, and hopefully as the weather improves more restaurants will follow suit. Now more than ever, they need our support.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY International

WHERE Muse Café Kitchen Bar, Andreas Ioannou, Paphos

WHEN Normal hours 09.00 – 01.30. Currently under 11pm curfew.

CONTACT 26 941951

HOW MUCH Main courses from €12