Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Went there Saturday evening, there was four of us who live within walking distance of restaurant. It is the old Paparas Restaurant

We used the Fırsat Kıbrıs offer on the internet, booked in and all was OK until:

We asked for the drinks list, they didn't have one

Asked how much a bottle of wine was and the cheapest was 40 TL for Villa Doluca which was a shocking start

Efes beer was 5tl for a pint so not everything bad. We also ordered for the girls a bottle of Agora White but had to order ice as it was warm

However, we soldiered on and the cold mezes was OK, it was just over an hour before the next course was ready

The chicken sish was cold and did not come with vegetables as described and then 50 minutes passed until the next hot course.......

It was a chicken wing, yes a wing we laughed as it looked so lonely on a large plate, however the main surprise was about to arrive 30 minutes later.....

It was a chip, yes 1 Cyprus potato chip each, I must complement the waiter on serving it so delicately on our plate

We then lost the will to live as we'd been in there well over 3 hours

During the evening I complained about the smokers as we were inside the restaurant, 9 out of 10 tables were smoking heavily, the manager said he knew nothing about the non smoking regulations. In fact he was serving food with a "fag" in the other hand

There was music laid on which was a nice surprise until we realised it was 6 foot in front of us, the ears were ringing and with the smoke as well, we had a full house

We asked for the bill early as we had lost the will to live but were happy to settle up and go. One bottle of white wine and 2 Efes came to 65 TL

We challenged the cost only to be told the price of the beer had gone up to 10TL each because of the live music, we politely told him to poke it and gave him 10TL for two

The manager received some constructive feedback to which he laughed and took another puff of his cigarette

Personally, it was a shocking evening, the staff and Manager thought it was funny that we were not pleased with their service, quality of food and attitude

Needless to say we will not be there again or recommend it. We felt ripped off, hope you get a better experience. Wish I had a phone to call the police to report the smoking

what a recommendation? what planet did they come form - obviously not local as EVERYONE knows about the no smoking rules, and as for charing you double for music you did not expect/request, that is robbery. don't know how long they have been open but I should not think they will last long, except perhaps with the amry of smokers hwo must think that PaRADISE HAS OPENED UP. As soon as the police swoop down on them though, that will come to an end.

You could still report it to the police of course, and they could go and inspect to see if it is normal.

What a dreadful, costly experienc,e and thanks for the warning. Unless some one can post of an experience that would prove that you had a bad night which was an exception, then it owuld seem best avoided. what a shame. But of ocurse interesting that it has a Greek name! some 'market place' !!!!!!

does anyone else have experience of this new restaurant.

Marion, worst ever experience for food, service and attitude. Two of the hot mezes consisted of 1 chicken wing and 1 chip

I have never heard of anything like it in my life. think I might give it a mention in my Musings as one of the most interesting meze's experienced in Cyprus! No names, no pack drill, as they say, but certainly exceptional!!!!

ha ha, our good friends were in shock also as they have lived here for many years and not experienced this either

it beggars belief the attitude of some of the so called restaurants...its a quick kill for the TL and be done with you....

Agree jock, it was a special offer on the internet but the standard of service and food was unacceptable. It could be that there were to many people there to cope, with 10 tables but they did have 3 waiters. Their smoking which included the Manager was totally unacceptable. I hope the police catch these people out. Seems unbelievable that one of their "hot mezes" courses was 1 chip !

We know the owner of the building who is renting to these people and he would be horrified that this is happening. Previously we've had excellent experiences there with the restaurant being under a different name

Be good if you had taken pictures of the food, then put it up on here .

Perhaps that is what every one should do if the food is below standard.

Then they wonder why they lose money. Shameful and its taking the **** isnt it . People need to walk out more.

...to be honest I thought that was an april fool ?? if its not that was awful and they wont be open long ...nothing new there then !

Yes, but they will not understand why! And of course it will be everybody else's fault.

We had a similar experience, including the inside smokers, at Patina Saki.
Again it was a firsatkibris deal and can go one better than you on the wine, a bottle of Angora set us back 63 TL!
We won't be back!
However The House in Girne always provides excellent food and service even when you are on the firsatkibris deal, as does Al Shaheen in Karakum.

Have posters who experienced such poor service informed the on-line providing source (Fırsat Kıbrıs)of their dis-satisfaction? It would be interesting to hear their reaction/thoughts.

I have emailed firsatkibris to complain and will advise if there is a response

We had a poor firsatkibris at Carpenters but I think the owner was having a bad night as he was complaining that the Brits were not prepared to pay as much for his wine as the Cypriots

At Agora there is very much the likelyhood that they will charge a premium over and above so that you contribute to the cost of the live music so please be aware

I have been informed by a good friend that when there is live music (whether you want it or not) then the price of drink goes up. a reminder to me to avoid live music when all I want is a quiet meal!

I think it's good that you named and shamed scarlets...a place to be avoided when we come over...

The place sounds a complete disgrace-I had a look on trip advisor and couldn't see the place listed.
Scarlets- have you considered a review on there to maybe prevent holidaymakers getting ripped off?

If memory serves, isn't this the place back in the days of C44 that you were helping the previous owners to find a buyer and I commented on how great the kitchens were? What is it with these Kibris deals. Last year I took one of them up for a nail job, when it came to paying, the price had changed from tl to GBP. I said that it was TL on the offer, and was told "they have made a mistake". I paid the TL price in cash and left with "we will call the police" ringing in my ears. I don't think place in question is there any more.

sorry guys, but my ignorance is hanging out here in full view of all to see, but what the heck are these Kibris deals you are all talking about. I have no idea of what they are, how you get them, but in view of what is being said, maybe that is better for me.

But someone please share with me what they are? Thanks.

Marion.

Go to bed.??

Marion.

This is the link to your cheap meals, nails, mese, ect. with todays deals.

http://www.firsatkibris.com/firsatkibris-tumsehirler

Hi Karmels, sorry I had no idea of the nail offer, not my type of thing

Yes I know the owner of the building and the kitchen is exceptionally well stocked with modern equipment but he has rented out to several different people over the past couple of years

Received a phone call and email from Firstkibris regarding my complaint and took time out to apologise and to say they had spoken with the restaurant also

Firstkibris want their customers to receive the same treatment as any other customers in their "offer" restaurants

Well done Firstkibris, a first class response

Well done scarets and well done Firsat Kibris.

I opened up my 'inbox' a few minutes ago and guess what was there? Yes a Firsatkibris deal for the Agora Restaurant!!!

I am so pleased that I saw Scarlets thread last night as this saves us from another 'wasted night', the first being the Patina Saki where we had a similar experience but no where near as bad as the Scarlets.

Thank you Scarlets for saving me some money and time

Thank you Squashmad

To see if there is any improvement whatsoever I am booking a cheap offer for Friday to see if there is any improvement whatsoever. We are going for a few beers in Oris Bar around the corner so no hardship and the costs is not much, even cheaper than before

I am happy to give the Agora the benefit of the dought a to having a bad evening and will report back on Saturday

I will the camera at hand this time to report back any commical lapses

I must say I think you are very brave in returning.
Given that you posted one of the most scathing reviews (with justification it would seem)I have ever seen on any forum.
If I were you I would get a table that gives a good view into the kitchen as I suspect you might get some of the chef's 'special sauce'
In your food!

Ha Ha Thanks Philoz, we will be there on Friday and the Mnagaer will not be pleased he will know it was me who complained to firstkibris. Nevertheless, I am happy to front up and go through everything again and hope he is also game for a challenge

Well the saga took an interesting twist yesterday

We paid for our meals through firstkibris on the internet and went down to Agora Restaurant, Karaoglanoglu to book a table, goodness know why though

The 2 workers in the restaurant said it was ok but would check with the Manager on the phone because it was a set menu through first kibris. We were told that the Manager had said they could not accept our booking because they had 70 people booked in for the evening. I said it would not be a problem because we wanted to eat a little earlier but they said no they were fully booked

As it turned out we didn't go out until gone 7.00pm and drove past the restautant and there were 2 people inside. On our return at around 9.20pm we past the restaurant again and there was a table of 4 eating and 3 people drinking at the back, nobody else was there

When we stopped outside there was a mad scramble becuse they recognised me and on the phone presumably to the Manager who appeared not to be there

Despite paying through firstkibris on the internet they refused to accomodate us and there we were giving them a second chance to put things right

Scarlets, they obviously do not understand the concept of these "Groupon" type sales, which are basically created to give the customer a big discount to get them onto their premises, then impress the customer inorder to achieve return business in the future.

I slowed down when I went past yesterday evening (about 7.25) and I thought I saw 4 cars but no more. They really are twits aren't they and most certainly shouldn't be in the service industry - they haven't a clue. I can't see anyone going there, unless they catch unwary holiday makers. I also noticed the Cod Babba and Chicken Planet were also very quite for a Friday night.

Thanks, I pass there every day and it is usually empty. I understand it's a cheappie but they have instigated the offer

The Agora Restaurant offer is not the same offer as they promised firstkibris, so their discount claim is not credible. They then sting them for drinks

I have asked firstkibris for a refund on my card and hope they will sort this out as we cannot possibly go to this place again

For the very first time ever in my life I hope this restaurant fails and very very soon so that other people are not disappointed and tricked like us

Well I thought it was good of you to give them a second chance.

It was good of you to give them a second chance and I hope you get your money back (but that might be another post!).
Everyone who has ever been in business has 'bad days' , and when you are in a service industry it costs nothing to throw your hands up and say 'very sorry but we got it wrong that night'.

You gave them a second chance.

I cannot fathom the logic in running a business the way they are doing,and the only theory (somewhat wacky) I have is that the place is a money laundering operation and they don't actually want any customers.

I refer to one of my previous posts suggesting you post on tripadvisor to maybe stop some poor unsuspecting holidaymaker getting ripped off of their hard earned cash.

will do Philoz, these people should not be in the business

Still waiting for a response from firstkibris but I am sure it will come soon

I think letting everyone know that this 'restaurant' is dreadful is an excellent service for the unsuspecting public. Another forum,(wont mention which one) won't tolerate bad reviews, they believe all restaurants are good lol. no wonder it is dying a death.

Some of the restaurants that don't seem to be fancy are the best like The Stroll Inn, always excellent food and good value for money. Not 'posh' but always a good meal.

My favourite place of all time is Al Shaheen's, Imtiaz and his staff are always pleased to see you and the service and quality are first class.

Thanks Belle, I would never run something down unless I was 100% certain of my facts and also residents here were with us. The staff are part of the experience and help determine how things go. We also have eaten in a number of places over the past 7 years that are not so glamerous and had a fantastic time

still waiting for a response from firstkibris

forstkibris have emailed to say they will refund me the money. It is not a lot of money but a matter of principal and it will be closure for me. We will not darken their door for as along as the same people are there

We are passing on info to our friends about this restaurant and try to ensure nobody else gets turned over there.

Me & my husband also bought the firsat   Voucher for Angora but we had a really nice evening. 

The waiter seemed a little dishevelled at times but he was really pleasant and made sure we had everything we needed. The drinks were a little more expensive than usual (8tl) but all in all for a 3 course meal thats the same cost as a McDonalds back home we thought it was great and we really enjoyed it.

The food was lovely, the fish main was to die for the best fish I have ever had and we found the ambience and the whole experience not far off perfect.

Maybe your second time would of been better if they would of accommodated you. 

Its the same in all restuarants sometimes some may have a bad experience while some dont, you was just one of them unlucky few a think

dandelite wrote:Me & my husband also bought the firsat   Voucher for Angora but we had a really nice evening. 

The waiter seemed a little dishevelled at times but he was really pleasant and made sure we had everything we needed. The drinks were a little more expensive than usual (8tl) but all in all for a 3 course meal thats the same cost as a McDonalds back home we thought it was great and we really enjoyed it.

The food was lovely, the fish main was to die for the best fish I have ever had and we found the ambience and the whole experience not far off perfect.

Maybe your second time would of been better if they would of accommodated you. 

Its the same in all restuarants sometimes some may have a bad experience while some dont, you was just one of them unlucky few a think

Was smoking allowed when you were there?

Nope no ones was smoking from what I remember but then I wasn't looking as
my eyes were firmly fixed on my Gorgeous fella lol