Laila Maidenberg
Sometimes after a morning of digging, you need something to do in the afternoons that’s less warm and salty than swimming, but more exciting than hiding inside your air-conditioned room (as tempting as that sometimes seems). My solution: one of my favorite Portland pastimes, trying out new coffee shops. While I was on a quest for an American style iced latte, I did notice that interestingly, many drinks here, either hot or iced came with a layer of foam on top, which was different, though not unwelcome from what I expect from an iced latte.
Larenca is filled with all sorts of cute shops to try, and I’ve ranked them below all on the following factors:
- Taste- how was their coffee? Disclaimer: this metric is based on an iced latte, so primarily rating their espresso, not drip coffee.
- Distance walking from the blazer
- A/C?
- Snack offerings and quality
- Atmosphere- rated primarily for sitting and reading a book
- Cost- again, for an iced latte
All factors are consolidated in this spreadsheet. And here’s a map, if you’d prefer a visual reference.
Nick’s Coffee bike:
Though definitely not a coffee bike, Nick’s is a very cute coffee shop with vintage inspired decor, and comfortable couches to sit on. They only offer indoor seating, but have a variety of different seating options, both higher tables, and lower couches. Their coffee was pretty good, and they do offer multiple different espresso options with different tasting notes. Snacks on offer are mostly sweets, but their loaf cakes are pretty good.
Koffea Espresso Room:
I thought that this was definitely the best latte I had here in Larnaca. The espresso was dark, but not too tannin-y or acidic, and it was exactly the right balance of espresso to milk to make a latte that was the right strength. It is a smaller shop than many of the others that I visited, and only has a few tables inside, making it less of an ideal place to sit down. But, they do also have a very cute ram mascot.
Paul’s specialty coffee roasters:
Absolutely adorable, and only a two minute walk from the blazer, I had high hopes for Paul’s. The environment felt very much like any hipster coffee shop you might find in America- high ceilings, plants, a simple color scheme. It was a very pleasant place to sit with indoor seating and an outdoor garden, and they had ample cookies and pastries on offer, but their coffee was a bit bitter.
Lazaris Bakerybar:
This one’s a bit more of a brunch place than purely a coffee shop, with a menu that offers American, British and Cypriot breakfast options. Conveniently located near the Lazarus Church, they have both outdoor and indoor seating. Their latte was pretty good, and they offer the standard syrup flavors. Their breakfast is quite good, and they make a very good halloumi, cucumber, and mint sandwich.
Menta Specialty CoffeeShop:
This is a pretty cute shop right near the Lazarus Church. It had ample seating, with both booth style and smaller tables, and was well decorated, with lots of plants and perhaps as an ode to the name, a very mint green color scheme. I tried one of their flavored lattes, which was unfortunately very strong on the syrup and sweet, but barely tasted like coffee. They do also have a pretty good selection of pastries.
Tooges:
They made an ok latte, and a pretty good waffle. There aren’t many situations where you can really go wrong with banana and Nutella. They only offer outdoor seating, but the secluded garden out back would be pretty pleasant on a cooler afternoon.
Costa Coffee:
To those familiar with west coast chain coffee shops, I would akin Costa Coffee to be the “Peet’s” of Cyprus. It’s a chain with around a dozen locations on the island. Their coffee is perfectly average, and they offer most of the standard syrup flavors (vanilla, chocolate, caramel etc.) as well as frappes, and various iced teas. Their pastries are not very good. The location closest to the blazer is a 4 minute walk, and offers both indoor and outdoor seating.
Cafe Nero:
This was another local chain, with two locations in Larnaca, one near the beach, and one in the square by Lazarus Church. Their coffee was not very good. The beach location offers both inside and outside seating, but the one near the church is smaller and only has outdoor tables.
Honorable mention:
While it technically isn’t a coffee shop, and so I can’t in good faith put it on this list, to anyone visiting Larnaca, I’d also like to recommend Fahrenheit Bakery. It’s an adorable family bakery run by a Cypriot & American husband and wife team. They bake fantastic sourdough loaves, proper bagels, and delicious scones and pastries, and an assortment of iced teas. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating, and it’s a pleasant place for an afternoon snack.