Restaurant review: Pitot, Limassol

As seemingly the last Limassol resident to have not eaten at the popular Israeli restaurant, visiting Pitot was long overdue. I did once attempt to visit Pitot but unluckily happened to swing by on a national holiday, encountering a shuttered joint. That mistake has finally been rectified.

Pitot is a small place, a perpendicularly set up street food style restaurant with a row of tables in the interior, and a few tables outside. It is undoubtedly a casual experience, so have that in mind in case you’re pondering a visit. It is at its busiest during the workday, with swathes of office workers from the nearby area making it their designated lunch spot. Indeed, it has found a fitting home in Limassol’s old town, benefitting from foot traffic, tourists, and the aforementioned local workers. It is also a popular home delivery option.

If you are to visit the restaurant in person, inside you will see modern decoration similar to that of many a street food place elsewhere in Europe, with bare concrete visibly part of the decor, framed pictures on the wall, wooden tables, plants, and two glass drink dispensers filled with water, one with lemons and the other with basil leaves, both free to use for all customers.

As we were not familiar with Pitot’s portions and their sizing, we may have overshot the food quantity a smidgen. We ordered a portion of chicken schnitzel, a half pitta of kebab, spicy tomato salad, a dish called ‘hummus with everything’, and a muhallebi for dessert, along with a couple of soft drinks.

If you wish to skip ahead and end the review now, well, everything was great, so no qualms about anything on our order, which I would replicate in the future in a heartbeat. The kebab, which you can customise in terms of fillings and spice level, was soft, juicy and flavourful, with their spicy minty sauce perfectly accompanying the various vegetables and tahini we had selected. Word to the wise for any Cypriot readers who tend to have an aversion to pink-looking meat, the kebab is not cooked to the point of being well-done, so do not get spooked by the colour. Just trust your taste buds.

The chicken schnitzel was again made perfectly, pounded thin and cooked to a golden, crispy finish, it works very well with some freshly squeezed lemon juice. The lemon did not come with the dish, but the restaurant was happy to slice a fresh lemon for me. Along with the chicken, there are hummus, tahini, fresh salad, and a side of your choice. I went with a particular type of rice dish with caramelised onions and chickpeas which was fantastic. The restaurant calls this Mori’s rice and I’d recommend you try it.

The other small dishes were all great, although the tomato salad is essentially a side, while the hummus dish came with some falafel, which, like in another Israeli restaurant in the city, are green on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Finally, the muhallebi, which came with rose cordial, shaved coconut and peanuts, was good, but it could have been even better if it had skipped on the rose cordial, which overpowered the creamy dessert. All in all, I would definitely return if I was in the vicinity, and will definitely keep it in mind for home delivery.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Israeli street food

WHERE Nafpliou 1, Limassol

WHEN 10am-10pm

CONTACT 25 260171

HOW MUCH €10-€18 for a main, €6-15 for a starter, €6-8 for dessert