Possibly the best value restaurant in Europe

Tremendous things have happened at Limanaki Harbour in Paphos over the last few years. One new restaurant opening which quietly happened was the relocation of the central Paphos Ocean Basket to its new position right on the quayside.

Parking is a dream, and unusually, free. The new restaurant is housed in a beautiful traditional stone building with the addition of some striking modern features. In the chain of over 200 worldwide Ocean Baskets, Paphos must be one of the most attractive and offers a beautiful vista. Other Ocean Baskets across the Island (there are nine) which I have visited have looked nothing like this. At the front, near the water, they have two large dining pods, an entrance with the kitchen on the ground floor, and an ample internal dining space upstairs with a lift for easy access.

We decided to sit on the balcony upstairs, which gave us great views of the harbour, and for that lunchtime, we felt very much like tourists enjoying the sun and watching the world go by. Two chefs I know and respect told me they love eating at Ocean Basket on their nights off. The central ethos of this seafood and sushi restaurant is to make fish available to everyone at affordable prices.

The menu is extensive, but obviously, you would have to be a fish lover; otherwise, you might be stuck with one of the salad options, of which there were plenty to choose. The menu runs from small dishes to create your own meze to huge seafood platters. Prawns are also prominent and feature heavily in the selective fish medleys with various seafood combinations. Ocean Basket is also renowned for its sushi, which includes Maki, Nigiri, Sashimi, Uramaki, and Signature Rolls.

Their Famous Fish and Chips was the cheapest main course at just €8, and it seemed a good idea to put their claim of offering affordable seafood to the test. The meal started with a generous sliced bread basket with three small accompaniments on the side. The garlic one was powerful, but it made an excellent start to the meal and was also useful for the main course. The fish can be fried or grilled, served with chips or rice (or half and half). To try to be healthy, we asked for grilled fish with half rice and half chips.

The dish arrived at the table in a metal frying pan which was very hot. The grilled fish sat on a bed of rice with chips on the side and a wedge of lemon. The fish was hake and drizzled with a lemon cream sauce, which is synonymous with Ocean Basket. It would have been nice to have had more of this sauce to add flavour and depth to the whole dish. However, for €8, the dish was incredible. When you consider the stunning venue, sitting on the harbour watching the boats sail in and out, the pedestrians promenading up and down, it is hard to think of anywhere in Europe that could offer such value.

The wine list offered South African and Cypriot wines and a large selection of cocktails. We recognised the waiter who seated us from the old Ocean Basket, and he had evidently been with the company for six years. While he was excellent, some of the other servers were a little hit-and-miss and quite possibly new. We asked for a few things that did not arrive, and at the end of the meal, we had to ask for the bill repeatedly. It only came after I exclaimed that we had requested it twice, and maybe it was free.

I would return to this branch of Ocean Basket and add the King prawns to the Fish and chips or go for a whole Sea Bass at €15.80. There are many tempting options on the menu, all at affordable prices, as they state is their mission. Yes, some will claim there are better fish restaurants around, but at a very different price point.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Fish

WHERE Ocean Basket, Apostolou Pavlou, Paphos Harbour

WHEN Daily 12 noon-11pm0 Mon-Sun

CONTACT 26 961379

HOW MUCH Small fish dishes from €5, Main fish from €8 to €18.50, Platters from €18.50 to €62 and desserts from €3