Restaurant review: Three and the Cuckoo

By Marko Ljubicic

Sometimes I wonder about the motives of the friends, colleagues and family members who recommend restaurants for me to review.

Most, I imagine, have good intentions. They point me towards the finest Indian restaurant in town, the newest hotspot or perhaps a hidden gem tucked away on some side street.

And then someone recommends Three and the Cuckoo (3 Kai O Koukos).

“It’s a taverna that has wagyu souvlaki,” they tell me, which is rather like describing The Godfather as “a film with gangsters”. While technically correct – the best kind of correct – it is neither practically nor contextually correct.

To be fair, one look at the exterior does little to dispel the illusion. Utilitarian chairs and paper-clothed tables pepper a prodigious patio. Waiters weave effortlessly between diners while children dart between the tables.

Yes. Definitely a taverna.

As our party of four is shown to our seats, however, the notion that this is merely a snazzy taverna with wagyu on the menu goes up in souvlaki smoke.

The menu is gargantuan.

An A3-sized laminated affair spanning 85 items (yes, I counted), covering everything from salads and starters to sausages, souvlaki, steaks and seemingly everything in between. As if that were not enough, a second laminated menu lists another 15 dishes of the day, ten of which are available that evening, helpfully denoted by black marker ticks.

I am thankful that the restaurant is bathed in the warm, reddish glow of the setting sun as we wave the waiter away for a second time, our collective inability to decide what to order beginning to betray itself. The fading daylight does an admirable job of concealing the redness of embarrassment slowly creeping up my neck.

The menu begins sensibly enough, anchored by the usual taverna staples: chicken and pork souvlaki, sheftalia and charcoal-grilled meats.

Then the menu seems to lose the ability to say ‘no’.

Wild boar sausages. Deer souvlaki. Rabbit. Rooster. Iberico pork. Kurobuta pork. Wagyu kebab.

And, just in case all that still leaves you wanting, there is an entire section devoted to USDA Prime and A5 Wagyu steaks.

By the time we finally settle on our order, I feel like a round of applause is due.

A village salad, spicy feta dip, wild boar sausage, Iberico pork souvlaki, deer souvlaki, beef short ribs, pourgouri, French fries and, naturally, the dish that started this entire adventure: the wagyu souvlaki.

Incidentally, the wagyu souvlaki appears only on the separate ‘dishes of the day’ menu, meaning it could very well have been unavailable the evening we visited. Go figure.

At first glance – and maybe more so once you see the prices – it would be easy to dismiss Three and the Cuckoo as attempting to subvert the taverna through expensive ingredients and novelty meats.

Ordinarily, I’d probably agree. Except for one rather inconvenient fact.

The food is genuinely excellent.

Deer souvlaki aside, which arrived looking like charcoal and possessed the unfortunate crumbly consistency of overcooked liver, everything else was cooked, prepared and seasoned beautifully.

The wild boar sausage was lean, gamey and wonderfully balanced. Paired with a salad or a small side, it could easily pass for a meal in its own right.

The Iberico pork and wagyu souvlaki were both cooked beautifully, with a buttery texture, deep umami notes and the sort of tenderness that makes you slow down simply to appreciate them.

The beef short ribs were slow-cooked, rich and deeply satisfying.

Somewhat surprisingly, the vegetable-studded bulgur stole the show, tying with the spicy feta dip as the unanimous favourite around the table.

In Greek tradition, the phrase ‘three and the cuckoo’ describes a social gathering attended by disappointingly few people.

By the time dinner service was in full swing, however, the irony was impossible to miss. The patio was packed, with every table occupied.

Looking back, those who recommended this place weren’t wrong.

Three and the Cuckoo is a taverna that serves wagyu souvlaki.

It just also happens to serve another hundred or so reasons to visit.

VITAL STATISTICS:

SPECIALTY: Taverna food

WHERE: Three and the Cuckoo, 49 Antistratigou Evaggelou Floraki street, Nicosia

WHEN: Monday to Saturday 7pm to 1am; Sunday 7pm to 11pm

CONTACT: 22 320380

HOW MUCH: Starters: €2.25 – €10; Sides: €3 – €7; Grill: €9 – €12; Steak: €70 – €225 (per kg)