By: Zander Weinberger

Two friends and I were walking around after doing some shopping, and we wanted to find something to eat, so I went on Google Maps to find something nearby. I found a place called “To Magkali,” a 3-minute walk away, but it only had a few photos of a garden and a couple of dishes listed on Google Maps. We walked over there and saw a couple of dozen tables and chairs laid out, surrounded by a small canopy of trees. There was a small indoor building, but it didn’t appear to have any seating. An older man slowly approached and asked, “Food?” We said yes, and he sat us at our table. His English wasn’t amazing, but we could understand the gist of what he was trying to say. It was around 6 pm, so it was surprising to see that we were the only people being served at the moment. It was very quiet with all the trees, and it had an overall calming atmosphere. We didn’t see any employees for around 5 minutes until another lady, looking the same age as the man, came out with some laminated menus for us. The menu was only 2 pages, but it instantly caught my interest with some of the stranger items they had on it. They had things such as octopus, squid, pigeon, and rabbit. Everything was at an affordable price as well. When the man came by, I ordered a pigeon for the table and a rabbit for myself. I never order any drinks at restaurants here because they charge even for water, and I just take the tap water in my water bottle everywhere. It took around 30 minutes, but the pigeon emerged, looking very similar to a chicken, albeit with a darker brown color. However, I’m not sure if that’s just due to the way it was grilled. I had a wing and a thigh; they tasted similar to chicken, but noticeably leaner. When the man came over next, we asked how he got the pigeon, and he said he had a pigeon farm out in the countryside. He propped up a chair and sat on his phone, pulling up a picture of a pigeon as well. I suppose he wanted to ensure we knew what a pigeon was. My rabbit then came out, which consisted of two leg pieces and two breast pieces, and also came with fries and a small salad. It too looked like chicken, but tasted much richer. I was pretty full by the end, so it was hard to finish all the food. While we were eating, 3 other people came out of the building and sat outside near us. The restaurant was owned by a family, which the man said had bought the land around 20 years ago. I forget his name, but it might have been Alexander. The bill between the 3 of us only ended up being around 50 euros, with my 2 friends also ordering drinks. I would definitely recommend this place for students, as it felt like an authentic Cypriot dining experience, and is only a 15-minute walk from the Blazer.