An authentic Latin treat in Nicosia

Buenos diaaaass! And the energy for the day ahead has just changed.

Rincon Latino is just that: a Latin Corner tucked away in central Nicosia, where Roberto Nicolas Aquino serves the most delicious empanadas you have ever tasted.

With the smell of brewing coffee released into the street in the early morning, ready for people waking for their working day, Rincon Latino welcomes everyone for freshly-baked savoury pastries and homemade sweet churros – crunchy on the outside and just the right amount of soft in the middle.

This small café, with its flags of nations on every table and books from the Latin world to flick through over coffee and snacks, is a gem that is not to stay hidden for long.

Aquino is from Argentina and became acquainted with Cyprus while serving in Unficyp. He now lives on the island permanently with his family and has an ever-growing ‘family’ of fans who learn a word or two of Spanish on every visit.

The first time I went, I had dragged myself in for a coffee fix. I left with a bag full of empanadas, churros, a tin of Dulce de Leche which my mouth waters for every time I think about it and a box of chocolate, caramel and meringue-layered slabs that travelled all the way from Argentina to my coffee table.

To complete the experience, Rincon Latino offers Maté tea and Aquino can tell you the benefits of drinking this unique herbal infusion every morning.

In this feel-good place, you can purchase Maté to take home, as well as the traditional cups to make the experience even more authentic.

Aquino welcomes his customers with a broad smile and a melodious ‘buenos dias’, so that every order is infused with good vibes.

“I bring lots of products from Argentina that people can only buy here. I make the empanadas myself, as well as the chimichurri sauce and asado. And, of course, the churros,” he says.

Empanadas are a traditional pastry filled with mince – usually beef – from Argentina. “One usually eats empanadas with chimichurri sauce before asado, a main dish of meat grilled or cooked on an open fire.”

Chimichurri sauce, he explains, is a blend of fresh parsley, chili peppers, garlic and oregano, mixed with olive oil and lemon juice.

“Empanadas and churros are very popular here,” Aquino says.

He makes most of the goodies he sells himself. If you order a slice of cake to go with your coffee – and I advise you do – you will get the latest cake he has made: sometimes a lemon torte, other times a layer cake with a generous filling of Dulce de Leche.

If you get there on time, you will find the display overflowing with empanadas and Venezuelan stuffed flatbread arepas.

Rincon Latino, which opened just a few weeks ago, has caught on in the Latin community and is a new favourite among locals too.

Embassies have already donated travel books and classic novels from Argentina to Venezuela, Brazil to Cuba and Chile to Peru, “so that people can get to know the Latino world.”

Be warned: Spending some time in Rincon Latino instead of ordering to go will put a spring in your step and you’ll be humming tangos throughout the day. You might even forget to return to the hustle and bustle, succumbing to every palate-pleasing morsel.

“People are happy here,” Aquino says with a smile.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Empanadas followed by churros

WHERE Rincon Latino, 7, Andrea Michalakopoulou str, Nicosia

WHEN Monday to Friday 7am-4pm, Saturday 8am-2pm

CONTACT For orders call 99 588339, follow Rincon Latino on Instagram and Facebook

HOW MUCH Churros €0.80, Pies from €3