The Last Castle, Peyia, Cyprus - review

The reason I haven’t updated this blog in a month is because I’ve been on recent short-notice trips to Thailand and Cyprus. I wanted to pick the best one from my trips to talk about, and in the end the best was this one. Obviously, comparing Thai and Cypriot/Greek food is a pointless challenge, as is juxtaposing Bangkok with the sleepy expat city of Paphos. But looking at the trips objectively, The Last Castle provided the best experience.

The Last Castle is situated on a cliff-edge in the Akamas peninsula, overlooking the Mediterranean. It opens after Easter, and closes at the onset of autumn. The building itself is still run by the original proprietor, who was granted the building due to his bravery in combat in the mid-70’s conflict. He has created an absolute idyll; the terrace itself is open-air, but buttresses over the area are swallowed by gorgeous vines, which shield you from some of the sun and produce their own wine, sold in the restaurant. Everything is vivid in the extreme – the colours, the heat, and the food.

The Last Castle does three things – barbecued chicken, and barbecued pork. (The third thing is having both.) The proprietor I spoke about  - now in his 80s – still stands in the sun, day after day, barbecueing the most moreish, succulent meat you can imagine. We went for pork – my companion had been before, and refused out of hand to contemplate anything else, not due to the inferiority of the chicken but simply the quality (and amount) of the pork. I have no idea how anyone can simply barbecue a piece of meat and get such a range of textures and tastes – the outside is raw and crackled, and the fat is bubbled with heat. The meat itself is soft, juicy, and positively bounces around your plate and and your mouth – it almost seems happy that you’re eating it.

With your meat you get potatoes and salad. Predictably, these are almost as delightful as the meal’s centrepiece – everything in the restaurant comes from the land, and somehow this genuinely makes a difference when you experience the crunchiness and creaminess of the potatoes, and the wet crispness of the leaves and vegetables. The Last Castle is an utter, utter joy – over the last month, there have been too many times when I’ve looked at a 20-page menu and thought, “I don’t know where to start”. Here, they just do everything for you, and it’s perfect. (The one piece of advice I’d give to people journeying to The Last Castle is, hire a four-wheel drive car – I wasn’t joking about the cliff edge.)

Lunch for two, with beer - €29

10/10