Cypriot Cuisine

Cypriot cuisine is a generous, sun-soaked celebration of the eastern Mediterranean, blending Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern and island influences with an abundance of fresh local produce, olive oil and herbs. The quintessential experience is the meze, a lavish, seemingly endless procession of small dishes, dips, salads, grilled halloumi cheese, souvla and sheftalia meats, seafood and vegetables. Beyond the meze come slow-cooked kleftiko lamb, fresh fish, stuffed vegetables and, to finish, honey-soaked sweets and the strong local coffee, all often accompanied by island wine or fiery zivania.

What's there

• The meze feast - the endless parade of small dishes.
• Halloumi and souvla - the grilled cheese and skewered meats.
• Kleftiko - the slow-cooked, meltingly tender lamb.
• The local wine and sweets - the island wines and honeyed desserts.

When to go

Year-round; a leisurely meze at a traditional taverna, ideally shared among friends over several hours, is the definitive Cypriot dining experience. The island's ancient wine tradition, including the sweet Commandaria, one of the world's oldest named wines, is well worth exploring in the Troodos wine villages.

Practical notes

A full meze is enormous, with dish after dish arriving, so it is best shared and approached with a big appetite and no rush; ordering one can defeat solo diners. Coastal tourist tavernas vary in quality, with the best food often in village tavernas inland. Generous, fresh and full of Mediterranean flavour, though, and paired with ancient island wines, Cypriot cuisine is a genuine delight.

Nearby

Every town and the Troodos wine villages have their tavernas.