Vaha Spa Restaurant

In terms of hotels, restaurants, bars as well as social and entertainment facilities and amenities in Northern Cyprus in general, it’s fair to say that there are two distinct angles that proprietors tend to favour.

On the one hand you have those who go for the affordable quality angle and on the other hand you have those focused on the exclusive, luxurious and sumptuous quality angle - and the Vaha Spa restaurant certainly falls into the latter category!

While AboutNorthCyprus.com is not a restaurant review site (we leave the restaurant reviews to the capable Cyprus Today team) we couldn’t wait to tell you all about the Vaha Spa restaurant experience that we had a couple of weeks ago because it was just so incredible!

We wrote about the Vaha Spa and Health Club before it had even opened its doors to the public and reported to you the range of amenities and facilities on offer to the public, to members and to guests and so it was really only in the nature of fair and accurate reporting that we were forced to return to check out the facilities in person and for ourselves now that the spa is fully operational!

Vaha is easy to find, just head out along the main road from Girne to Karsiyaka and just before the turning to the village of Karsiyaka you’ll see a signpost to the olive oil factory. Take that left hand turning towards the factory and then after a short distance take the first tarmac road on the right which has a big mosaic sign for Vaha on the corner…drive down and pop your car in the car park next to a Porsche or two.

We arrived in the dark and even so the exterior of the spa complex is impressive, the landscaped gardens are beautifully laid out and lit up and the main restaurant is up a flight of steps and located in a designer lit, circular and incredibly impressive dining room. We were met by the maître d’ who was sincerely welcoming and friendly and showed us immediately to our table and made us feel at home – he also talked us through the impressive menu and wine list, explaining some unfamiliar terms and making modest recommendations and was thoroughly professional and approachable.

We chose the hot goats’ cheese and sun dried tomato tart which came with coriander and cashew nut pesto, balsamic baked tomatoes and toasted seeds and the beef carpaccio which is marinated beef fillet and it comes with potato salad with sherry vinegar, pepper dressing and parmesan cheese for starters. Before these dishes were brought to us we sampled some excellent wine (their list is impressive and contains recommendations from France, Australia, South Africa, Italy and Turkey) and enjoyed some tasty appetisers.

The starters were presented beautifully, they were perfectly cooked and we were surprised at how much food was actually served! So, luckily before we went on to our main course we were given a guided tour of the now fully working spa. It is stunning – even in the winter when the circular outdoor pool is less inviting than on a hot summer’s afternoon. The treatment rooms are lavish, the gym is state of the art, the full range of treatments now available is second to none and the sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi were all calling to us – but then so were our main courses!

I had lamb and my husband had steak and both were prepared as directed and again presented so beautifully with a good selection of perfectly cooked vegetables…all in all the staff, the service, the location, the ambience, the food, the wine and the experience was second to none and not just in terms of what’s available in North Cyprus – Vaha Spa would stand head and shoulders above similar facilities throughout the world.

Congratulations to the Vaha Spa team, we’ll be back and we recommend it to everyone we speak to because despite being such an amazing venue its restaurant is sensibly priced and offers a wide selection of dishes so even the fussiest eaters (me) can find a few dishes to choose from and what’s more, a night out at the Vaha Spa restaurant is one you’ll remember for all the right reasons for a very long time. Call 0533 869 4262 for reservations…