Let us travel back in time to before the iPhone and Google Maps.
Imagine it is 1983, and you decided to travel to the island of Cyprus for the first time, the island the whole of Europe is talking about, the island of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty. Whether it is your first, second, or tenth time visiting the country you want to eat the delicious Cypriot cuisine.
After speaking to the tour guide or hotel representative from where you are staying for your holiday, you are recommended to try Stamna Tavern. The English tour guide tells you it is one of the best places for food in Ayia Napa and that it has the friendliest staff you will ever meet, the epitome of Greek hospitality.
After a hot, sunny day at the beach, you decide to walk or rent a car to try this secret location called Stamna Tavern. After not eating much all day and starving after getting sunburnt by sitting by the beach or pool all day, you walk into a restaurant and are greeted by Andreas & Tony, and their family.
Andreas who is the owner, has a full, black moustache but you won’t see it much as he’s in the kitchen. After a couple of bottles of KEO or a carafe of wine and having the food which Uncle Tony recommended, you are stuffed so much that the thought of food makes you feel sick.
The tour guide who told you to go to Stamna Tavern also comes to the restaurant. She lives up the stairs just outside of the restaurant’s entrance…you can see it to this day. She’s a regular customer, she loves the food and the conversation with the staff and customers who are people from the hotel she suggested visiting Stamna.
That same tour guide fell in love with Cyprus, Stamna food, and last but not least, Andreas!