Where to Eat in Cyprus: Tavernas & Meze, Region by Region
A local-style guide to Cypriot food: what a meze really is, what to order, and the standout tavernas in every region.
Eating well in Cyprus is easy, but eating like a local takes a little knowing-how. The short version: the best tavernas in Cyprus serve meze, a long, generous parade of small dishes that keeps arriving until you wave the white flag. You don't really order a meal so much as commit to one, sit back, and let the kitchen feed you. This guide walks you through what a meze actually is, what to order, and the standout tavernas and restaurants region by region.
A meze (often written 'mezze' or 'mezedes') usually starts with dips and warm pita: hummus, tahini, taramasalata, tzatziki, and the smoky aubergine melitzanosalata. Then come the cooked plates: grilled halloumi, loukaniko sausage, koupepia (stuffed vine leaves), keftedes, grilled mushrooms, and so on. A fish meze leans on seafood; a meat meze builds to grilled lamb, pork souvla, and sheftalia. Two things to know up front: meze is usually ordered for the whole table rather than per person, and pace yourself, because the meat always comes last and there is always more than you expect.
Beyond meze, look for daily oven dishes (kleftiko, slow-roast lamb in a sealed oven; stifado; afelia, pork in red wine and coriander), village bread, local olives, and a glass of the island's own wine or a shot of zivania. Below we go region by region, from Paphos and the wine villages of Troodos down to Limassol, Larnaca, the east coast resorts and the capital, Nicosia, with honest picks.
What a meze is (and how to order one)
Think of a meze as the kitchen's tasting menu of everything Cypriots actually eat at home and on feast days. A full meze can run to a long succession of small plates, so come hungry and don't fill up on the dips, tempting as the warm pita is. Tell your waiter if you want meat, fish, or a mix; most tavernas do all three, and a good one will happily adjust for vegetarians.
The golden rule is patience. Dishes arrive in waves over a couple of hours, and the grilled meats or fresh fish are the grand finale, not the warm-up. It is meant to be lingered over with wine, conversation and the evening cooling around you. If you only learn one Greek word, make it 'siga-siga', slowly, slowly, which is also a decent philosophy for a Cyprus holiday in general.
You'll find meze everywhere, but it is at its most relaxed in the inland villages, where the produce is local and the pace is unhurried. The wine villages around Omodos and the stone lanes of Lefkara are lovely places to eat slowly between sightseeing.
Omodos Village · Lefkara Village
Paphos: old-town tavernas and harbour seafood
Paphos rewards anyone willing to walk a few streets back from the harbour. In and around the old town you'll find proper family tavernas where the meze is honest and the welcome warm. 7 St. Georges Tavern is a long-standing favourite for its garden setting and largely home-grown, foraged ingredients, while Laona is the classic lunchtime spot for hearty Cypriot home cooking. For a more traditional sit-down dinner, Hondros and Pithari Tavern are dependable old hands.
For fish, head down to the water. Theo's Seafood is a harbour institution for whole grilled fish and seafood meze, and Ta Bananas is the no-nonsense local pick for fish and chips done well. If you want something more contemporary, Local by Christos puts a modern, ingredient-led spin on Cypriot cooking, and Muse Kitchen Bar trades partly on its dramatic clifftop view over the old town.
Make a day of it: pair lunch with the drama of Petra tou Romiou, Aphrodite's legendary birthplace on the coast road, or the lighthouse and mosaics around the harbour before dinner.
7 St. Georges Tavern · Theo's Seafood · Petra tou Romiou
Limassol: city buzz and the wine-country hills
Limassol is the island's most cosmopolitan eating scene, and it shows in the range. In the old town and along the marina you'll find everything from traditional tavernas to polished modern kitchens. Karatello Tavern, set in a restored carob warehouse, is a reliable, atmospheric introduction to Cypriot meze, while Ta Piatakia puts a creative, contemporary twist on island flavours. For a special-occasion dinner, Dionysos Mansion serves refined Cypriot-Mediterranean cooking in a grand old townhouse.
Limassol also drinks well. Lost + Found Drinkery is a serious cocktail bar for an aperitif or a nightcap, and in summer the beach clubs west of town, like Guaba Beach Bar, turn long lunches into all-day affairs. Just don't expect a quiet meze at a place built for a DJ.
Save time for the wine villages in the hills above the city. The Krasochoria around Omodos are the heart of Cyprus wine country, and a leisurely village lunch up there, vine leaves, grilled halloumi, a carafe of the local red, is one of the island's great simple pleasures.
Karatello Tavern · Dionysos Mansion · Limassol Old Town & Marina
Larnaca: Mackenzie seafood and old-town classics
Larnaca's eating splits neatly in two. Down on the Mackenzie beach strip, the draw is seafood with your toes near the sand: Ammos at Mackenzie is the stylish, breezy choice for fish and a glass of wine, while Zephyros is the long-running local favourite for fresh fish meze. For a sundowner before dinner, Hobo Mackenzie does the job.
In the old town and back streets, the cooking turns more traditional. Militzis Tavern is the place for kleftiko and clay-oven dishes done the old way, and 1900 Paei Kairos and To Kazani both serve generous, unfussy meze in characterful surroundings. For coffee and cake, the grand old Art Café 1900 is a charming pause.
Walk it off along the Finikoudes promenade, or pair lunch with a visit to the Larnaca Salt Lake and Hala Sultan Tekke just outside town, at its most striking in the cooler months when the flamingos arrive.
Militzis Tavern · Ammos at Mackenzie · Finikoudes Promenade
Ayia Napa & Protaras: beyond the party strip
The far east coast is best known for nightlife, but there is genuinely good eating here if you look past the neon. In Ayia Napa, Limelight Taverna and Demosthenes Garden Tavern are dependable for a proper meze, Olympic Flame is a solid traditional choice, and Napa Mermaid does a more upscale dinner. For something special, Sage Restaurant & Lounge brings a more modern, refined approach.
Protaras tends to be the calmer, more family-friendly side of the resort. Vorkos and Aeoli are well-regarded local tavernas, while Karousos Beach Restaurant and Captain's Table are the go-to spots for seafood with a sea view. For coffee or a relaxed brunch, Pralina Experience is a Protaras institution.
It's an easy plan to combine: a swim at the famously turquoise Fig Tree Bay or Konnos Bay, then a long, late lunch nearby. If you want a special-occasion dinner with a view, The View at Grecian Park near Cape Greco is hard to beat at sunset.
Vorkos Tavern · Karousos Beach Restaurant · Fig Tree Bay
Nicosia: the capital's home cooking
Inland Nicosia is where you eat with locals rather than holidaymakers, and the food is all the better for it. Zanettos Taverna is one of the oldest and most beloved meze houses in the country, a no-frills institution where the small plates just keep coming. Piatsa Gourounaki is the place for souvla and grilled meats done properly and informally.
The capital also has a lively craft-beer and bar scene tucked into the old walled city. Pivo Microbrewery is a good spot to pair a local brew with small plates after a day of wandering the lanes within the Venetian walls.
Nicosia rarely tops a beach-holiday itinerary, but for anyone who cares about food it's worth the inland trip. The meze here is unselfconscious and generous, cooked the way Cypriot families actually eat.
Zanettos Taverna · Piatsa Gourounaki · Pivo Microbrewery
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Cypriot meze?
- A meze is a long succession of small shared dishes that the kitchen brings out in waves. It typically starts with dips and warm pita, moves through cooked plates like halloumi, sausage and stuffed vine leaves, and finishes with grilled meats or fresh fish. It's usually ordered for the whole table rather than per person.
- What should I order at a Cyprus taverna?
- If you're hungry and have time, order the meze and let the kitchen decide; just say whether you want meat, fish or a mix. Otherwise, look for grilled halloumi, souvla (slow-grilled pork or lamb), sheftalia, kleftiko (oven-baked lamb), afelia (pork in red wine and coriander) and koupepia (stuffed vine leaves), with a glass of local wine or a zivania to finish.
- Which region has the best food in Cyprus?
- Every region has standout tavernas, but inland tends to be most authentic. The wine villages around Omodos, the old town of Nicosia, and traditional Paphos tavernas all serve excellent, locally sourced meze. Coastal towns like Larnaca's Mackenzie strip and Protaras are best for fresh seafood.
- Is it expensive to eat out in Cyprus?
- It can be very good value, especially inland and at family-run tavernas, where a shared meze easily feeds a table. Harbour-front and resort restaurants in the main tourist areas tend to cost more, and a full meze is best value when several of you split it rather than ordering individually.
- Is there much for vegetarians at a Cyprus taverna?
- Yes. A lot of the meze line-up is naturally meat-free: dips, salads, grilled halloumi, mushrooms, gigantes (baked beans), stuffed vine leaves and village bread. Tell the taverna in advance and most will happily put together a vegetarian meze.
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