Betty’s Crispy Chicken, Limassol

When Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote his famous line about the best-laid plans often going awry, I doubt he had fried chicken in mind. The plan that went awry? Eating at Betty’s Crispy Chicken.

Well, the food was consumed. But the location changed. When planning to go, I hadn’t expected to be ill and Limassol to be engulfed in dust, even though the latter is becoming increasingly frequent. So, we took our food to go.

Let’s keep things simple. The restaurant offers American-style fried chicken and comfort food. Think burgers, wraps, sandwiches. No need to dress it up in anything more complicated or pretentious than that. What did we try? Four mains and two sides. I had skipped lunch. No, I did not manage to finish everything. Naturally, three of the four items revolved around chicken. These included their chicken wrap, chicken wings, and chicken burger. But having seen the pictures beforehand, we also felt tempted to try their beef burger.

The chicken wrap, while still good, was my least favourite item. Not because the chicken wasn’t well cooked or the flavour was bad but because some of the ingredients took away from the overall result. While I enjoy bell peppers in general, in this case, they made the wrap a tad too sweet. Combined with the pickles and condiment it was all a bit too moist. I’d get this again but opt out of these two ingredients.

The chicken wings? Very good, I would get them again. Quite spicy though, at least for the broadly tame Cypriot palette. Just the right amount of crispy and juicy. Not something your cardiologist would approve of, however. As for the fries, the portion is generous enough to just about suffice for two people, at least when they’re not feeling particularly greedy. To the restaurant’s credit, they seem to be hand cut and freshly fried. A Limassol burger spot that I’d been frequenting for literally decades recently switched to generic frozen chips and I felt like a part of its charm instantly faded away.

Not much to say about the coleslaw other than it’s creamy, well-tasting, and leans on the sweeter side. It’s also large enough to share among two people, perhaps more so than the fries. So, if there’s two of you ordering, one opting for fries and the other coleslaw might be the best option.

Now for the two most substantial items, the burgers. When trying to rank everything in my head these two were neck and neck, but I had to ultimately crown the chicken burger as the standout item. It’s funny because they were very similar in everything but the type of meat. Soft, fluffy, flavourful brioche buns, onions, vegetables, thick and juicy patties in each case. But the chicken burger just pipped it, with everything adding up perfectly. The beef burger, which also had melted cheese and their version of a special sauce, was also very good, however.

As for the prices, they’re in line with most restaurants of this type in Limassol. Would this seem a bit expensive elsewhere in Cyprus? Perhaps. But that’s where the market is right now. Would I revisit the restaurant? Certainly, but now armed with a bit more wisdom as to what I’d order and how I’d customise it.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Fried chicken, burgers, wraps

WHERE Betty’s Crispy Chicken, Ayias Zonis 41, Limassol

WHEN Monday to Saturday 11:30am-10:30pm, Sunday closed

CONTACT 25 329999

HOW MUCH €2.20 per chicken piece, €6.60 for 6 chicken wings, €8.80 for a chicken burger, €13.20 for a beef burger meal (one side, one drink)