For our last evening we decided to try something new for dinner and went for dinner at the Taverna Niotis in Kefalos. This taverna doesn’t have a menu, rather you will get served whatever the two old ladies in the kitchen are cooking. The only choice you get is fish or meat for the main course and if you want to order dessert. Otherwise it’s an adventure, but that already started when we looked for this place.
hidden behind the shrubs is a small veranda @Taverna Niotis
Rather hidden in a side street somewhere up in Kefalos, this taverna has really limited space with just four tables on the veranda, of what appears to be the home of one of the cooks and her husband, who manages the service. Since there was no menu, we sat down and ordered some wine. Then the food started to arrive. First up tzatziki, always a crowd pleaser. Deliciously rich and garlicky, it vanished in no time.
tzatziki @Taverna Niotis
Next up was a big bowl of Greek salad, maybe a bit frugal on the feta cheese. But overall a great mix of tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and olives.
Greek salad @Taverna Biotis
Warm fava beans mash with a pepper and herbal topping arrived. We all dug in, but honestly we were only starting. So far, so good. Everything tasted lovely!
warm fava beans mash @Taverna Niotis
Then a bowl of warm lentils arrived in some kind of tomato sauce. There was a hint of spice somewhere, which made it very interesting. I really liked that dish!
warm lentils @Taverna Niotis
As you can see it was already getting crowded on our table and still the food kept coming!
this was only the beginning @Taverna Niotis
We also got some Briam, a dish we had eaten for the first time the day before. Briam are roasted vegetables, kind of like a ratatouille mix from the oven. It did taste different though from the day before, so apparently each family has their own recipe. Might not look like much, but it tasted great.
Briam @Taverna Niotis
We also got scrambled eggs with zucchini. As you can see the table was full of vegetarian dishes. This is the real Mediterranean diet.
eggs with zucchini @Taverna Niotis
The zucchini and potato fritters were really crunchy, hot and fatty. Exactly what you want from a fritter. Dipping it into the tzatziki elevated it to pure bliss.
potato and zucchini fritters @Taverna Niotis
For the main dish we got a choice of rabbit or fish, so we went with the fish which was called ‘ropa’. It’s probably differently written, but I couldn’t find it online. The fish was fried and topped with the same herb mixture as the fava beans. Quite a lot of bones, so a bit difficult to eat. I didn’t mind that much, because by that time I had eaten my fill. The taste and from the looks it seemed like a bigger sardine.
‘ropa’ fish @Taverna Niotis
Most astonishingly was the house wine. It was so good that we asked twice for a refill. We really had an amazing time at Taverna Niotis. We certainly a great last evening and dinner! So if you are in the area of Kefalos, I can’t recommend it enough. Yours, Pollybert
Taverna Niotis
Unnamed Road, Kefalos 853 01
Tel: +30 693 824 4904
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g910630-d7123071-Reviews-Taverna_Niotis-Kefalos_Kos_Dodecanese_South_Aegean.html
our dinner @Taverna Niotis
