A tiny lunchtime legend tucked beside Phaneromeni church, where office workers and old-timers queue for whatever slow-cooked dishes came out of the kitchen that morning. Choice is limited and it winds down by mid-afternoon, but this is honest Cypriot home cooking at its most authentic.
Home-style Cypriot · Tavernas · Nicosia (Old town, by Phaneromeni church) · ★ 4.5 (1200 reviews) · €
Known for Daily slow-cooked stews.
Mattheos is old-school Nicosia at its best — a lunchtime institution beside the Faneromeni church where the day’s pots (think slow-baked lamb, beans, seasonal vegetable stews) run out when they run out. Go early, point at what looks good, and eat like the old city has for decades.
A 4.5-star average across well over a thousand public reviews puts it firmly on the shortlist for Nicosia.
The thing to order: daily slow-cooked stews. This is traditional Cypriot eating: charcoal, clay ovens, village wine and plates meant for sharing. Come hungry — meze here is a marathon, not a sprint.
Mattheos is in Old town, by Phaneromeni church, Nicosia. Nicosia’s old city, ringed by its Venetian star-shaped walls, is where the capital eats and drinks — Ledra and Onasagorou streets and the lanes off them, a world away from the business districts outside the walls. Cypriots eat late; go from about 8pm for the full atmosphere, and book ahead on summer weekends — good tavernas fill with local families, which is exactly the sign you want.
Directions · More hotspots in Cyprus
