Izgara Turkish Restaurant Whetstone

 We like all the Izgara Restaurants. The one in Hatch End is large. The one in Edgware served a great meal. 

But the one in Whetstone was our choice for a change. It seemed elegantly decorated .

But a plus point. A bit quieter so easier to talk.

We didn't order starters. The restaurant gave us hot bread, yogurt dip and olives.

I ordered a reasonably priced Prosecco.

I recommend the red fruit cocktail.

Main courses

I ordered meat moussaka. Good meat, and at the bottom hidden slices of potatoes.

Others ordered: lamb; kebabs; spinach pasta.

In a long street full of restaurants.  We might return, here or try another nearby.

Desserts

Baclava

Excellent. Moist. More-ish.

Coconut cake.

Turkish coffee.

The bill came with Turkish delight.

We were given foil takeaway dishes and pretty paper small totes.

Update on parking tickets November 15 2025

A short time afterwards we received a parking ticket. A parking ticket saying we had failed to pay the fine which had now doubled. We had not received the first supposed letter. We went back to the parking area down an alley. The signs did not make it clear that after eight pm you must pay. We photographed the signs and have appealed.

If I get a parking ticket I don't go back to the restaurant. Even if I forget about the parking fine, or don't blame the restaurant, somehow my memory of the occasion has moved out the section of my brain in which I store memories of places I must visit again. I can walk to Izgara in Hatch End. That will be my first choice of their restaurants. 

My Favourite Foods and Drinks In Cyprus, at a luxury Larnaca hotel, the Indigo, and free (included) hotel bedroom touches

Angela enjoying dessert at the Hotel Indigo in Larnaka, Cyprus.

 Photo by Trevor Sharot.

We ended our two week stay in Cyprus in Larnaca at the grandest and best appointed hotel of our trip. As we drove up to the hotel, I was apprehensive about the unpretentious exterior. The hotel was in the old quarter, and a flat-fronted block, with flat balconies, in bright colours, yellow and blue, like the one star hotels in France along motorways. 

But inside, quite the reverse of one star. A boutique hotel. Luxury in Larnaca. Have you heard of Hotel Indigo? They have a big building in Houston, according to Wikipedia.

The Indigo hotel, Houston, USA.

The Austrian airline staff stay at Hotel Indigo in Larnaka, Cyprus, wearing their jolly red uniforms. Red stockings. As you might expect, Larnaka has an airport, as well as a shipping port. 

Hotel Indigo, Larnaca

Hotel Indigo is a top style and price hotel in the old quarter of Larnaca in Cyprus. Our stay started well with a welcome drink. Like a calamansi juice.

The manager explained, 'We are an 'adults only' hotel."

 Adults only does not mean a red light district hotel.  'Adults only' means no high chairs or cots, child portions, child menus, or family rooms with discounts. Nor swarms of fighting children and crying babies. Just the occasional well-behaved single child with parents in the restaurant.

What is Hotel Indigo? I had never heard of them. They are part of a huge network of hotels including the Holiday Inns, which are the complete opposite of the Indigo hotels, as we learned later over dinner from the manager.  Holiday inns are the same worldwide. He said, 'Each Hotel Indigo is different, in local style, franchised, kept spotlessly clean with four colours of cloths for the bathroom, bedroom, balcony and outdoors ...' and so on. 

Although they don't have a concierge desk, which you would find in a five star hotel, 'the receptionists are expected to know all the local shops, museums and businesses'. Yes, we needed a suitcase and they directed us to a nearby shop which stocked suitcases. (Gogo - described in another post.)

Bedroom and Bathroom Delights at Indigo hotel

In the bedroom we found a proper explanation clarifying that the water in the fridge was free, not chargeable. Also an espresso machine with two capsules. A kettle. Green tea and breakfast tea bags. A small bag of complimentary almonds. 

Other good points were a plethora of sockets, . A desk wide enough for two people to sit. 

Pictures over the bed. (A decorative touch which was lacking in the hotel we had moved out of on pre-booked night two the previous week earlier in our stay. That was Eins Gallery rooms in the larger city of Lemassos, which the English call Limasol).

In the Hotel Indigo in Larnaka, the shower room had white towels rolled up showing the ends like a double layer of Swiss roll cakes.

Parking Tips

A free public car park is opposite. Overgrown at the edges with straggly weeds. A pity they can't persuade the car park owners to landscape it. Get a local garden centre to do this for free, or at a discount.

You can overlook your car from your bedroom balcony in Hotel Indigo.  (My husband joked, 'and watch who's stealing from it!') 

We left our car completely empty. Years ago, my friend 'Susan', who was driving me in her car, told me, 'Leave nothing visible in our car in public car park. Not a jacket or bag. You know that your car or jacket contains no valuables. But thieves don't know there's nothing. If they break in and find nothing, they could be angry and vandalize the car. Give the impression that it is a waste of time and energy to break into your car. Not a pair of old sunglasses. Not a coin. Not a sweet paper. Not a map. Nothing left behind. Nothing forgotten. Nothing of value. Nothing. Make it look completely cleared out. Completely empty.' 

Our Hotel Indigo air conditioning kept going off. The hotel reception re-set it. 

I wondered if they switched off the air-con it to economize. Next morning it was off again. This time I found the confidence to challenge them by politely asking, "Why does the air con keep going off?" 

The receptionist, Maria or Kelly, said, 'If you leave the balcony door open, the air con shuts off automatically.' I wish they had explained that previously, or had a note warning that. 

The balcony door would not close properly. We reported it. While we were out, hotel staff fixed the problem. 

The shower room door also did not close. A construction error. When the shower room's glass door was almost but not quite closed together at the top, a diverging parallel line led to a larger gap at floor level. 

On the other hand, Hotel Indigo provided the best toiletries, better than any of the other four hotels we had previously visited. 

Dinner

At dinner we had a 'sweet cheese' dessert with grapes. My favourite. I have always liked cheesecake. This was a variation on it. The sweet cheese had the consistency of thick Greek yogurt. The white creamy base layer was adorned with green and red grapes and crunch red pomegranate seeds were hidden below.   

The second evening I tried another dessert, three types of 'spoon sweets'. These were cherries, whole walnuts, and slices of almost see-though watermelon, soaked in thick syrup.

Breakfast

At breakfast we had Cypriot coffee. The grounds at the bottom are thick. (The same as Greek coffee and Turkish coffee.) 

I order it medium sweet. (In most hotels they speak English. If not, I ask for, 'Medio', which means medium.)

I also started with a fresh grapefruit juice. Fine flavour.

To go with our toast, I had Fig jam. Runny honey.

If you want marmalade with your breakfast toast, ask for orange jam. We were given toast with small glass jars of orange jam, fig jam and honey.

Other people had ordered huge plates of English style grilled breakfast. Which included triangular potato which Americans call hash browns, also known as rosti in Switzerland, and latkes in Jewish style restaurants in London.

Our waiter told us that Cypriot coffee, Greek Coffee and Turkish coffee are the same. The style originated in Persia, now called Iran, but is no longer so popular there.

Sightseeing Within Walking Distance

From the hotel we could walk to the sea front with its long seafront promenade. It has a short, low pier. You can swim.

Lots of restaurants are along the seafront. In the side streets are more restaurants, bars and wine tasting shops. 

And souvenir shops. Great jewellery shops with necklaces in silver and colours. 

The Church and Tomb Of Lazaurus

Also in walking distance, just around the corner, is the main church containing the tomb of Lazaurus, who Jesus raised from the dead thirty years earlier. Mind your head, down a few steps. A few stone slabs. Not much to see.

On Larnaka promenade is the statue of the Greek, Zeno, who founded stoicism. (Wikipedia.)

Larnaka has a saltpot and pepperpot museum, run by an Israeli. You can see several sets in the shop window. Many more sets are inside.

A grand Jewish museum beside a synagogue shown on maps was still under construction when we visited in early June 2022. The synagogue was closed for Jewish holidays. 

Sightseeing Drives

We drove to the salt lake, where storks are to be seen November until March. At other times of year, April to October, less interesting wildlife than my local pond in England, and the flocks of migrating birds swooping past the balcony at the Rodon hotel where we stayed at Agros in the mountains in central Cyprus.  

We quite liked the multi-arch aqueduct. As Jonson famously said, 'worth seeing, but not worth going to see'. All in all, in the summer season, the best parts of Larnaka were the beach, the jewellery shop, closed on Sunday, my husband was glad, and our lovely luxury boutique hotel.

Cheaper hotels

If you want a more modest hotel, we stepped into the Opera hotel where a friend of ours had previously stayed. Up a white staircase to Reception where two ladies greeted us. No restaurant, but the serve yourself drinks and snacks bar counter opposite their reception desk is open for a bread and coffee breakfast time and all day. You are within walking distance of the seafront and alleyway restaurants. Operetta apartments, along the street, is in the same brochure, if you want self-catering.

Hire Cars

We hired an Avis car. A Kia car. Very good. All the controls were clearly marked on the dashboard. Room for round drinks containers in the door and between the seats. Two sockets for mobile phones in the dashboard.

The boot had just room for two small suitcases. When we bought a third suitcase, we had to go straight to check into our next hotel to avoid leaving a suitcase visible in the car.

However, if you cannot afford a grand hotel, my favourite ice cream was the red fruit flavour in a cone from a van by the Tombs Of The Kings archaeological site on the seafront in Pafos. We arrived in Pafos and left from Pafos, on Ryanair.

Useful Websites

Ryanair (to Paphos)

https://www.ryanair.com/flights/gb/en/flights-to-cyprus

Larnaca

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larnaca

Indigo Hotel

Church of St lazarus

http://www.mcw.gov.cy/ 

gov stands for government and cy is the abbreviation for Cyprus.

More photos soon.

What To See In Cyprus, Land of Eternal Love

Flag of Cyprus



Cyprus, Land of Eternal Love! that has a good future, a good omen. For happy holidays and happy honeymoons. Where Aphrodite fell in love with Adonis. It has history. For history buffs. A past. Tell me more.

First, the flag of Cyprus is easy to identify. In the centre of the flag is the shape of the island which looks like a swordfish.

Where is it? In the Eastern Mediterranean sea. East of Greece, near Turkey. Like many Greek islands. Like many islands, it is or was owned by one country, whilst near to another.

Now it is divided between Greece and Turkey.

Location
When you see how near Cyprus it is to Israel, which used to be surrounded by hostile countries, which the Israelis would not or could not visit, you can see why Israelis went to Cyprus on holidays and honeymoons.

Horrid History and Happy History
Cyprus also has a long British history. British visitors have got over the blips. Many Brits are keen to visit, and keen on Greek culture. We already know Greek and Turkish food.

Delightful Food and Delightful Drinks
I am keen on Turkish coffee and Turkish Delight. Oops. On my last visit I discovered that on the Greek side the coffee is Greek coffee, and the sweets are also known by a Greek name.My family say, not even Greek coffee, Cypriot coffee.

Turkish Delight
Fry's Turkish Delight is a brand name very well known in Britain and around the world. Rose flavoured, covered with chocolate, is the familiar one.

In addition to the big brand, most local versions, in Greece, Cyprus and other countries, come covered with white icing sugar. Otherwise they would be too sticky and stick to the wrapping and plate and box and your fingers.

After the exotic versions a plain version seems dull. But the rose flavour is delightful. Other countries also have their specialities. I like lemon flavour, and pistachio nuts to take off the sweetness and provide protein.


Turkish Delight. From Wikipedia article fo the same name.


Other Favourite Foods
As in Greece: rice wrapped in vine leaves. Adds a touch of vegetable to the starch.

Greek Language
Hm. The language on the Greek side of Cyprus is, as the saying goes, 'all Greek to me'. At least it was. Good news about learning Greek later.

Wine and Walking
I have been to Cyprus before. But for my next trip I am planning walking and wine, with a group and with family.

Next question is, how long do we need? How much is there to see? How far apart? When to go?

Season
You either choose to go when you are free, national holidays (yours and theirs) or off season, or when the weather is warmer and less rainy, or cooler. February to May is cooler than June, July and August. Check the weather and your schedule and prices.

Distance
The distance tip to tip is over a hundred miles and whilst that would be fast on a motorway, in the USA or Europe, in a little hire car, on tiny humpy bendy roads, with stops for photos and drinks and toilets, and sightseeing, not so fast.

Visas
Also the country is divided into Turkish half and Cypriot half, so you might needed visas. We looked at visas for Brits going from the Greek side to the Turkish side. You can order visas online.

One half of my family says, wait, we can buy on line later if we need it. My view is get them now, you might decide to go in a hurry and not want to waste half an hour, nor give out your passport and password details online at a foreign destination, nor risk being in a mountain or hotel with no internet connection. Do paperwork at home in advance and not waste time at the last minute.

Learning To Read Greek & Turkish Signposts and Road Signs
Time to start learning or brushing up your Greek and Turkish. If Greek is all Greek to you, have a go.
I remember thinking I could not read a word of Greek. In Greece I saw a repeated sign to Athens. It started with letter Theta. I was amazed how quickly and instantly I could recognize the word Athena and the letter Theta.


Duolingo



Wines
Numerous wineries. Red, white and sweet dessert wines. Award winning wines.
Places to visit in or near the centre of the major cities. Wineries are on the Greek side for Geographical reasons and because the Greek culture is in favour of drinking wine and the Muslim culture does not favour growing grapes to produce wine and alcohol, only dessert grapes.

Retsina, based on the resin used to seal the pots in the old days, used to be nasty stuff in the nineteen sixties.  However, retsina now refers to wines ranging from the admittedly awful to the delightfully delicious.

Useful websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_delight

About the Author
Angela Lansbury

Tash Turkish Restaurant in Stanmore for Fast Service and Large Helpings

Problem
Where to go with our fussy friends for lunch, reasonably priced, not too pretentious, healthy, interesting, ethnic. Somewhere new. Not the old favourites where we eat at so often. (B and K in Hatch End.)

Answer
We drove up and down Stanmore and Edgware looking at restaurants. What about this one? What about that one? This place was too expensive. That place was too cheap. Tash looked just right. At least it was new to us.

We tried to book on the phone but they said lunch time midweek, not necessary, no problem getting a table.

We managed to park on a meter right outside. Another big car park where you pay is behind the shops.

Our friends were already seated in the back room. But we were immediately offered a better seat in the brighter front room at a table which had come free, by the manager or owner. I didn't have time to find out which he was, because we were too busy talking to each other, catching up on a year's news, to add a fifth to the already overcrowded conversational competition.

The back room has walls decorated with enough items to keep you entertained for hours, plus changing coloured lights.

On our table in the front room was a small bust of a famous Persian hero.

We started with a plate of mixed hors d'oeuvres, hummus and taramasalata. You find the same in restaurants all around the mediterranean sea, Greece, Turkey and Israel, all of which I visited long ago as a student in a clockwise tour.

Our main courses were moussaka, lamb or vegetarian, and chicken shish kebab with rice. After the plentiful starter larger enough for a snack lunch, the huge main course was so large that we immediately divided our in half and later asked for two portions to be wrapped up to go home.

I had ordered a yogurt drink. It came up salty, to match the savoury main course. This was a surprise. In Indian restaurants I have sweet lassi.

The dessert of baklava was excellent.

Our meal ended with Turkish coffee.

More photos in next post.

Tip
If ordering yogurt check whether it will be salty and if you want sweet or neither salt nor sugar tell them.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my profiles and posts - more blogs on blogger.com, also Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn. Please follow me, like my pages and share. Send me feedback if there is anywhere you'd like me to visit and review, London, Europe, Singapore, worldwide.