Is Salt and Fire the best steakhouse in Nicosia? It is the best looking one, and that is exactly the problem. We paid for a tomahawk here, it arrived roughly 90 percent fat, and we could not eat the meat.
Salt and Fire is a beautiful room with a good wine list and a steak that did not deserve either. We score it 2 out of 5, one of the lowest on this site, and this review explains why, what the Tripadvisor crowd says, how to get there and where to eat steak in Nicosia instead.
Visiting Nicosia? Salt and Fire is out of town in Agios Ioannis, so plan your ride before you book. Compare private transfers on KiwiTaxi (affiliate link) or GetTransfer (affiliate link), hire a car with Auto Europe (affiliate link), or find things to do in the city on Klook (affiliate link).
Salt and Fire at a Glance
- Our score: 2 out of 5
- Best part: The setting and a wine list with real choice.
- Weakest part: The steak itself, which is the reason you go.
- Cuisine: Steakhouse and barbecue.
- Price: Expensive. Tripadvisor lists it in its highest price band.
- Where: Kyriakou Matsi 33, Agios Ioannis, on the outskirts of Nicosia.
- Getting there: You need a taxi or a car. Larnaca Airport is 40 to 50 minutes away.
- Better in Nicosia: Henry’s, which we score 4 out of 5.
Is Salt and Fire Worth Visiting?
Not for the steak, and for a steakhouse that is a serious thing to say. We went expecting one of the better meat restaurants around Nicosia, because the room, the reputation and the prices all point that way. We left having not finished the one dish the place is built around.
That is why we call it one of the most overrated restaurants we have eaten at in Cyprus. Overrated does not mean terrible at everything. It means the gap between how a place looks and what lands on the plate is wider than it should be, and at Salt and Fire that gap is large.
What Is Salt and Fire?
Salt and Fire is a steakhouse and barbecue restaurant in Agios Ioannis, a village area on the edge of Nicosia. The restaurant describes its philosophy as simplicity and the finest ingredients, and it pitches itself at people who want an indulgent night built around meat cooked over fire.
It is set up as a destination rather than a casual stop. There is outdoor seating, a poolside feel in the warmer months and a fireplace for winter, and the whole place is designed to look like somewhere you would take a date or a client. On Tripadvisor it currently ranks first among the few restaurants in its village, with a rating of 4.3 out of 5 from a modest number of reviews.
That rating is worth keeping in mind through the rest of this review. Our experience does not match it, and we explain below where other diners do and do not agree with us.
How Do You Get to Salt and Fire in Nicosia?
This is the practical catch. Salt and Fire is not in the old town or on the walking streets, so you cannot simply wander in after a stroll. It is on Kyriakou Matsi in Agios Ioannis, a short drive from the city centre, and there is no real public transport option for a dinner reservation.
By Taxi or Private Transfer
A taxi is the sensible choice if you plan to drink, which with a wine list this good you probably will. Pre booking a private transfer removes the problem of finding a ride home late at night, when taxis on the outskirts of Nicosia can be hard to get. You can compare and book on KiwiTaxi (affiliate link) or GetTransfer (affiliate link), and ask for a return pickup at a set time.
From Larnaca Airport
Larnaca Airport is the main gateway, and Nicosia is 40 to 50 minutes away by road. If you land in the evening and want to go straight to dinner, a pre booked airport pickup through Welcome Pickups (affiliate link) is the easiest way to avoid queues. Our Larnaca Airport review covers arrivals in more detail.
By Car
If you are driving, you can compare hire cars on Auto Europe (affiliate link). Driving makes sense for the journey there, but not if you plan to enjoy the wine list, so nominate a driver or take a taxi back. Our guide to getting around Cyprus explains how driving works on the island.
Opening Hours and Booking
The listing we found shows evening service from Tuesday to Saturday, Sunday lunch and Monday closed. Hours change, so check before you go and book a table, especially at weekends. If you need mobile data on arrival, an eSIM from Airalo (affiliate link) saves hunting for a SIM shop.
What Is the Setting Like?
This is the part Salt and Fire gets right, and it gets it very right. The room looks expensive, the lighting is flattering and the terrace and fire give it a sense of occasion that most restaurants around Nicosia cannot match.
It is the kind of place that photographs beautifully and makes you feel good walking in. If we were scoring décor alone, it would sit near the top of the list. The trouble is that we score the whole visit, and a steakhouse cannot be rescued by its furniture.
Service
Staff are polished and attentive, and other diners also praise the service. Where it let us down was not manner but judgement, because nobody warned us about the state of the cut before it was cooked. In a steakhouse charging these prices, someone should be checking the meat before it reaches the grill.
What Did the Wine List Look Like?
The wine was the highlight of the evening. There is a genuine choice, enough to find something that suits a steak dinner without being pushed to the most expensive bottle, and the pairing advice was sensible.
Several Tripadvisor reviewers point out that wine is marked up heavily, and that matches how restaurant wine pricing works across Cyprus, so expect to pay for it. If you want to understand what to pour, our guide to Cyprus wine covers the island’s grapes and regions, and a bold local red such as Maratheftiko is a natural partner for red meat.
A good wine list makes the steak problem more frustrating, not less. You can spend well on a bottle and still sit in front of a plate you cannot eat.
How Was the Tomahawk?
This is why Salt and Fire scores 2 out of 5. We ordered the tomahawk, which is the showpiece of any steakhouse and usually the most expensive thing on the menu. It arrived looking dramatic, with the long bone and the char, and it was close to all fat.
We would describe it as about 90 percent fat. When we cut into it there was almost no usable meat, and what there was sat in thick layers of unrendered fat that was impossible to eat. We could not finish the dish, and for a cut priced as a premium sharing steak that is a serious failure.
Why Does a Tomahawk Go Wrong?
A tomahawk is a bone in ribeye with the rib bone left long. A good one has a generous cap of fat on the outside and fine marbling through the eye of the meat, and when it is cooked properly the fat melts and bastes the steak.
A bad one is mostly the fatty cap and the surrounding muscle, with a small eye of meat. That is a buying and trimming problem rather than a cooking problem, which means the kitchen should have caught it. A restaurant choosing premium cuts should inspect them, trim them and refuse the ones that fall short.
Is It a One Off?
That is the fair question, and we try to be careful about it. One bad dish is one bad dish, and kitchens have off nights. Our view is based on our own visit, and we do not treat it as the last word.
What matters is that we are not alone. Reviews on Tripadvisor mention a fatty cut, steaks cooked wrongly and orders going missing. Those are what other diners report rather than our own experience, but the pattern points the same way as ours: inconsistent execution at a restaurant that charges for precision.
What Do Other Diners Say?
We always compare our visit with what other people report, because one night never defines a restaurant. On Tripadvisor, Salt and Fire holds 4.3 out of 5 from a modest number of reviews, and it ranks first among the restaurants in its area.
What Reviewers Praise
Reviewers who liked it point to the meat and the cooking, and especially to starters such as foie gras and steak tartare. They also praise knowledgeable staff and the setting, with the poolside seating and fireplace getting regular mentions, and some call it one of the best steakhouses in Cyprus.
That is a real group of happy diners, and we do not dismiss them. A restaurant can deliver for some tables and fail for others, which is exactly the problem.
What Reviewers Criticise
The most common complaint is price. Diners find sides, non meat dishes and wine expensive, and some feel portions are small for the cost. Others describe inconsistent kitchen execution, with missed orders, steaks cooked to the wrong temperature and a fatty cut, and a few mention pushy upselling.
The remote location is also a drawback for some, which fits with the transport point above. A restaurant that expensive, in that position, has to be reliably excellent to justify the effort, and reliability is the thing reviewers question.
Is Salt and Fire Expensive?
Yes. Tripadvisor puts it in its highest price band, and another listing shows it one step lower, so treat it as a premium restaurant. A steak, a couple of sides, a starter and a bottle of wine will add up quickly.
We do not mark a restaurant down for being expensive. We mark it down when the bill outruns what arrives on the plate, which is what happened here. When a premium steak is mostly fat, the price stops being a reflection of quality and starts being a reflection of the room.
How Does Salt and Fire Score?
We weigh food quality most heavily, then consistency, service, value and setting, as set out in how we review. Here is how it breaks down for this visit.
- Food quality: Poor. The signature steak was largely inedible, which outweighs everything else.
- Consistency: Weak on our visit, and other diners report similar problems.
- Service: Polished and friendly, but it missed a problem it should have caught.
- Value: Poor. Expensive pricing without matching quality.
- Setting: Excellent. One of the best looking restaurants around Nicosia.
- Wine: Good, with real choice, though marked up.
That gives an overall score of 2 out of 5. On our scale a 2 sits below mixed and means something significant is not working. Here the something is the steak.
What Would Make Us Change the Score?
A return visit with a properly trimmed, well marbled steak would move it up, and we would say so openly. We would also like to see the kitchen inspect premium cuts before they leave the pass, because that single habit would remove the biggest complaint.
We would go back for a second visit if someone gave us a reason to believe the quality control has changed. Until then it does not make our list of recommended steakhouses.
Where Should You Eat Steak in Nicosia Instead?
If you came here searching for where to eat in Nicosia, there are better ways to spend a steak budget, and most of them are closer to the centre.
- Henry’s: our top pick in the city, rated 4 out of 5. It is on the walking street, with a bar, a serious wine list and a menu that runs from sushi to steak. It can slip on quality control, but it is a far safer evening.
- Pyxida Nicosia: rated 3.5 out of 5, a good option if you prefer seafood to red meat.
- Taverna tou Theodosi: a traditional tavern near the city, where a proper Cypriot meze is a better use of an evening than a disappointing tomahawk.
For steak in Limassol, try Prime at City of Dreams or Beefbar at the Amara. Our ranked guide to the best restaurants in Cyprus puts every place we have reviewed in order, and our Nicosia guide covers the rest of the city.
Where Should You Stay in Nicosia?
Nicosia works best as a city break of a night or two, and the walking streets and old town are the places to be based. We have not yet reviewed a hotel in Nicosia, so start with our Nicosia guide and our overview of where to stay in Cyprus.
If you would rather base yourself on the coast and visit Nicosia for dinner, Limassol is under an hour away. We have reviewed several hotels there, including the NYX Hotel Limassol and the Amara. Either way, book a transfer from the airport with KiwiTaxi (affiliate link) so the journey is simple.
What Else Can You Do in Nicosia?
Nicosia rewards a day of walking. The old town inside the Venetian walls, the buffer zone crossing and the museums are all worth your time, and a food tour is a good way to eat well in the centre. Look at tours and tickets on Klook (affiliate link) and Tiqets (affiliate link).
If you are comparing the capital with the coast before you decide where to base yourself, our guides to living in Nicosia and Limassol show how different they are.
Who Is Salt and Fire For, and Who Should Look Elsewhere?
It may suit you if the setting matters more than the plate, for example a celebration where you want somewhere that looks impressive and plan to spend most of the night on wine and starters. Ordering the starters other diners rave about, and avoiding the headline steak, is the safest route.
Look elsewhere if you are going for a great steak. At these prices you deserve consistency, and on the evidence of our visit and a pattern in public reviews, you may not get it. If you do go, ask to see the cut before it is cooked and send it back if it is mostly fat.
Tips If You Decide to Go
- Check the steak first: ask to see a tomahawk or any large cut before it goes on the fire, and look for marbling in the eye of the meat.
- Order a smaller cut: a fillet or sirloin is harder to get wrong than a showpiece sharing steak.
- Lead with the starters: diners single out the foie gras and steak tartare.
- Book a taxi both ways: the location and the wine list both argue against driving.
- Check the bill: sides and wine are where the cost builds, so keep an eye on them.
- Speak up on the night: a restaurant at this level should fix a bad cut at the table, not after you have left.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Salt and Fire Worth It?
Not for the steak. We score it 2 out of 5 because our tomahawk was mostly fat and we could not eat it, even though the room and the wine list are good.
Where Is Salt and Fire in Nicosia?
It is at Kyriakou Matsi 33 in Agios Ioannis, on the outskirts of Nicosia. You need a taxi or a car to reach it.
How Do I Get to Salt and Fire?
Take a taxi or private transfer, which you can compare on KiwiTaxi (affiliate link) or GetTransfer (affiliate link), or hire a car with Auto Europe (affiliate link).
How Far Is Salt and Fire From Larnaca Airport?
Nicosia is 40 to 50 minutes from Larnaca Airport, and Salt and Fire is on the edge of the city. Book an airport pickup with Welcome Pickups (affiliate link) if you land in the evening.
Is Salt and Fire Expensive?
Yes, it sits in the top price band, and diners find sides and wine especially pricey. A full dinner with wine will cost a lot.
What Is Good at Salt and Fire?
The setting and the wine list are strong, and other diners praise the starters, including foie gras and steak tartare. The steak was the weak point for us.
Where Is the Best Steak in Nicosia?
We would book Henry’s on the walking street, which we rate 4 out of 5, ahead of Salt and Fire.
Where Is the Best Place to Eat in Nicosia?
See our best restaurants in Cyprus and our Nicosia guide for the full list.
Where Should I Stay in Nicosia?
Base yourself in the old town or near the walking streets, and start with our where to stay in Cyprus guide. Limassol is an alternative if you want the coast.
Do I Need to Book at Salt and Fire?
Yes, book ahead, particularly at weekends, and check opening hours first because they can change.
Final Verdict
Salt and Fire is a restaurant that looks like a 5 and ate like a 2. The room is lovely and the wine list is good, but a steakhouse is judged on its steak, and ours was a plate of fat we could not eat.
If you want a great evening in Nicosia, book Henry’s instead, and see our ranked guide to the best restaurants in Cyprus for everything else. We explain how we reach these scores in how we review.