Going somewhere new!!!

Today John and I were being treated to lunch by Mum and Lilian and they had chosen a venue which we have seen but not eaten at.  In fact years ago when a whole group of us used to go for a walk on Boxing Day down by Coralia beach we would walk past the venue and it was an abandoned warehouse.  The place is Porto Antico which is on the coast past Coralia and before Oniros.

The restaurant overlooks a particularly rugged and beautiful stretch of coastline and today, even though it was exceptionally hot, there was no humidity so no fug in the atmosphere and the views were super clear and the sea and sky where fabulous shades of blue.

John and I arrived first, we had been to see Les who is home from hospital but sadly looking very frail and is considerably more confused than previously.  I found it quite sad when he clasped our hands like we were his oldest most treasured friends.  I promised I would make him a curry and I did so when we returned from Lunch.  I shall pop it round tomorrow before I go off for the first session of my gum treatment.

On our arrival we bumped into Cecil and Sue Habib.  They were friends of my Mum and Dad's and lived, until recently, in Droushia.  I used to see Sue at Ladies Lunches but haven't seen them for a while although we bumped into them in the Bank the other day.  They now live very close to Porto Antico.  Cecil must be in his 90s but he still looks like the robust dapper man that we meet years ago.  Sue was on crutches - she had had a foot operation - fortunately not as a result of an accident.

We chose a seat in the centre of the restaurant under the shade so we could ensure that Mum was covered as she has to be careful with the skin on her face since she had it zapped.  There was a bit of breeze but it was very very hot.  Lilian and Mum joined us shortly after - Mum had a quick chat with Sue and Cecil before we sat down to peruse the menu.

There was a really great choice of food on offer and when it arrived it was beautifully presented.  I love pretty food!!!  The nice thing is that many of the main courses allow you to chose two sides to accompany it so if you want rice and veg or salad and chips or any other combination of those four you can.

My salmon was outstanding and came with a lovely mango sauce and I had chosen salad and fries (mainly so Mum could share the fries).  John had sea bream and he said it was amazing.  As it was lunch we just had the main meal - it was all I could have managed anyway. 

The service was impeccable.  We only drank water but the waiters served that as if it was the finest of white wines.  A couple behind us shared their mammoth pork chop meal and the waiters didn't blink an eyelid at that.  It was really nice to feel that your order was their most important of the day.

As we left the chef had come outside and stopped to check with us that we had been happy with our food which was a nice touch.  So all in all a really great lunch and somewhere I would really like to go back to again as there were loads of things on the menu that I would like to try!!!

It was a fabulous evening - so clear and still - and as the sun went down the land was swathed in a pinky orange hue.  Tomorrow the temperature ramps up - there are weather warnings around so, irrespective of whether I was going to the dentist or not, we would be taking things super easy.