My son one a raffle prize of a meal for 2 at Vardar Restaurant and gave it to me as a treat. It certainly was a treat!
An unusual name, I thought, which turned out to be the name of a large river in Macedonia. So named, because the owners themselves were from Macedonia, who arrived in the country in 1978 to run this family restaurant.
I just love to know history of places and how they got named.
Vardar Macedonia, is the area that now makes up the Republic of Macedonia and was once part of the Ottoman Empire for about 500 years, from 1395 to 1912. The’ Vardar’ or ‘Axios’ river is the longest, major river in the Republic of Macedonia as well as a major river of Greece. It is 388 km (241 mi) long, and drains an area of around 25,000 km2 (9,653 sq mi). It’s maximum depth is 4 m (13 ft).
When you first arrive outside the entrance to the Vardar restaurant in Littlehampton, it doesn’t have a very appealing facade. Parking is available, but limited, although you can park close by if full.
There is an adjoining VIP Club, part of the business.
Petrie and Loreta pride themselves in the environment they have created and ensure friendly, polite staff are on hand to wait upon you. nothing seems to be too much trouble.
We were seated at a table near the window, looking across the garden area. Housing, including a tall building of flats, obscure the sea, but this was not always the case. In fact, this side of the restaurant was once the frontage of the original building (3 houses built for 3 sisters). You can see a painting of what it looked like when it had a tennis court and just the sea in between.
We chose from a 3 course meal which was reasonably priced with a wide selection.
My starter, a light, crispy calamari was excellent. This was followed by Klaftiko
– a knuckle of Lamb marinated with onions and herbs and served with vegetables.
A home-made cheesecake dessert was also delicious.
Everything was faultless – the best meal for a long time, served by lovely people.
Apart from a lovely chat with Loreta, we later met her husband,Petrie (chef) as we were leaving. We were fascinated by a most intersting ‘potted history’ of the place as well as some historic Macedonian background history from the days before Yugoslavia was split up. Here was ‘first hand experience’ not some of the so called ‘fake news’ referred to today!
Vardar host various events and functions throughout the year so it is worthwhile checking on line now and again. A good idea to book in advance.
I shall certainly return!
