Cypriot Food Guide: What to Eat, Situation by Situation

Memorising a list of Cypriot dishes is hard work. Thinking about which table you are sitting at is easier. So this page is split by situation: you are at a meze, you are hungry with a crowd, you are by the sea, you are at a holiday meal. For each one we tell you what turns up, what it is called and what is in it. We are KARTAL, a tavla and PlayStation café in Famagusta, and what we serve ourselves is on our menu.

You sat down to a meze and the plates keep coming

Meze is not a dish here, it is an evening. Small plates arrive one after another and keep arriving long after you thought you were done. Dozens of them is normal. In the north the classic drink alongside is rakı.

Two pieces of advice. Pace yourself, because there is always more on the way. And ask at the start how the meze is charged, per person or per plate. We print no prices, because the lira changes too often.

You want proper Cypriot home cooking

Ask for home-style food and these are the names you will hear:

• Molehiya: jute leaves simmered slowly; the meat in the pot is normally chicken, sometimes lamb.
• Kolokas: chunks of taro root in a pot with tomato and meat.
• Magarına bulli: pasta with chicken. Simple and filling.
• Çiçek dolması: courgette flowers, stuffed.
• Fırın kebabı: lamb left for hours in a slow oven; the south’s kleftiko is a close cousin.
• Kıbrıs köftesi: the island’s own meatballs.

Someone hands you hellim

Hellim is the island’s cheese; English menus say halloumi. The EU registered Halloumi/Hellim as a protected name on 12 April 2021, with the protection applying from 1 October 2021, for cheese made anywhere on the island. Breakfast plates, meze spreads and pastries all lean on it.

Pirohu starts with hellim too

Think of pirohu as Cypriot ravioli: hellim inside, mint on top. If you like anything made of dough, do not skip it.

It is past midnight and the group is starving

Famagusta is a student town; Eastern Mediterranean University has been here since 1979. That means food is affordable and kitchens keep late hours. Kebab and döner are everyday food on this island. Hungry at night with a big group? Kebab or döner never lets you down.

What is şeftali kebabı?

Şeftali means peach, yet no peach goes anywhere near it. Minced meat goes into a fine net of caul fat, and the parcel goes on the grill. It is Cyprus’s own kebab.

You are by the sea and somebody says fish

On the coast, fish is always on the table, from the Kyrenia side to Famagusta. Ask the waiter what came in today: it is the best question you can ask. For somewhere to swim first, see our beach guide.

You are at a bayram or Easter table

Pilavuna is a pastry made with hellim. It is baked mostly for bayram and Easter, so outside those days it is harder to find. If a family invites you in and there is pilavuna on the table, it is your lucky day.

You want something sweet with your coffee

• Kıbrıs kahvesi: Cypriot coffee, the natural partner for anything sweet.
• Macun: fruit or nuts preserved in thick syrup.
• Pekmez: carob molasses. Carob here is called harnup.
• Şamali and ekmek kadayıfı: the two names you will see most on a pastry counter. Try one with a coffee.

You are thirsty

In the heat, ayran is your friend. Fresh citrus juice is a treat of its own, and oranges from Güzelyurt are famous. Zivania belongs to the south; in the north, rakı is what goes with meze.

The bill has arrived

No one has to tip. For good service in a restaurant, roughly 10% is the custom. Check the bill first, because a service charge is sometimes already on it. How to pay is covered in our money guide.