Sam’s Food

GC:EAT SAM’S FOOD

LIMASSOL CYPRUS

If you are like me and work in central Limassol, its nice to get away at lunchtime for something that is quick, informal and does not involve a reservation. For me this trifecta is satisfied with a visit to Sam’s Food very close to St Nicholas roundabout.

For those not familiar with Lebanese food, don’t be intimidated as everyone must eat a shawarma at least once in their life. And to make it even easier I would suggest is going straight for the lamb version accompanied with yogurt, tabouleh, pickles and two spoons of chili sauce. It used to be great when they had many random international drinks in there to go with it, now just grab something mainstream cold and fizzy to make the perfect bedfellow.

Don’t expect to be visiting the ritz when you walk in. What I love about the place is that it is probably the same as when it first opened, preparing the food with no fuss and is in your hand fast. Your focus should be on getting one of the two tables outside, where you can gorge on your wrapped lamb, whilst watching car drivers argue with bus drivers about who has the right to park in the bus stop.

This is perhaps the best place for when you don’t feel like eating a burger, which I feel has become massively impractical lunchtime gastric exercise. Many places now seem adamant on serving you a burger that is a minimum of 30 cm tall. Nobody wants it with 18 different toppings and requiring a forty-minute sleep after. I think this is probably the only thing in life where men and woman agree that size does not matter! The shawarma has been designed over many centuries to combat this nonsense and is the perfect antidote to this. Elegantly packaged in a nice light bread and easy to digest without the dear of facing a disciplinary procedure for collapsing into a meat induced coma in the afternoon.

There is a science to ordering a shawarma in portion control based 100% of Game Changers led scientific data analysis. The perfect portion is one shawarma for lunch, and if you are visiting after having a couple of beers at a local bar you probably need to order two, but you will hit the wall at about 1.5. Ordering fries is pretty much an irrelevance as it will take you away from your primary goal of lamb inhalation…do not get distracted.

Who can begrudge a place that happily boast to have made the world largest shawarma, and has been credited, verified and noted in the Guinness book of records. Moreover, at 3.50 EUR what better value is there at lunch time.