Cypriot Meze — Where to Eat Authentic Meze in Cyprus
There's one mistake almost all tourists in Cyprus make: ordering a single dish. Just one. On an island where the philosophy of eating dictates that the table should be covered with plates from beginning to end of the evening.
Meze — which we're talking about — isn't an appetizer. It's a whole culinary tradition, a ritual of gathering around food, and one of the strongest answers Cyprus gives to the question "what makes you different from Greece?". Similar? Yes. Identical? Absolutely not.
What is Cypriot Meze?
In its simplest form: a series of small plates served over 2–3 hours, together constituting a complete meal. But "series" is an inappropriate word — it's more like a parade.
A typical Cypriot meat-and-fish meze (fullmeze) includes:
Cold Appetizers (first 20 minutes):
- Tahini (sesame paste with lemon)
- Taramosalata (roe bread)
- Hummus — yes, here too
- Tzatziki — thicker and more garlicky than Greek
- Elies (marinated olives)
- Halloumi fresh in slices
- Lountza (Cypriot dried cured pork with coriander)
- Loukanika (Cypriot sausage)
Hot Appetizers (30–60 min):
- Grilled Halloumi — stretches like mozzarella, tastes like cheese from around the world
- Keftedes (meatballs with cumin and coriander)
- Mushrooms with garlic and wine
- Kolokassi (taro in tomatoes)
- Akrinos (lamb liver with lemon)
Main Courses (60–120 min):
- Kleftiko (lamb roasted for 8 hours in clay)
- Szeftalje (grill — sausages in lamb netting)
- Moussaka — meatier than Greek
- Souvlaki pork with pita
- Grilled fish if seafood meze
![[ALT: A table in a Cypriot tavern full of small plates of meze, Commandaria wine, evening candles]]
Meze Rules You Must Know
1. You order the "meze" option, not individual dishes. You tell the waiter: "meze for two" — and wait. The kitchen makes the decisions. You have no influence on the order.
2. Eat slowly. Meze has its own rhythm — you can't rush. A restaurant that serves you meze in an hour either skimps on the plates or doesn't understand the tradition.
3. Wine is part of the ritual. Local Cypriot wine — Commandaria (sweet dessert) or KEO/Aphrodite (dry) — is mandatory. Commandaria is one of the oldest wines still produced in the world.
4. Don't finish every plate. If a plate is empty, the waiter will bring another. This is the meze trap — by eating everything, we’re signing ourselves up for an unconditional ride through the entire menu.
Where to Eat Authentic Meze?
Limassol — Old Town and Surroundings
Limassol has the highest concentration of good meze taverns on the island. The Old Town near Limassol Castle is the epicenter.
Skerka Traditional Restaurant — a family business near the entrance to the Old Town. Kleftiko is ordered a day in advance — literally, because it has to bake for 8 hours.
Linos Inn (Kakopetria) — technically Troodos, but 45 minutes from Limassol. Kakopetria village, an 18th-century stone building. Lamb from the top tastes different.
Zivania Bar & Mezedes — a modern approach to meze. Each plate is a small work of culinary design. For those who want tradition with an aesthetic layer.
Paphos — Port and Surroundings
In Paphos Port and the side streets of Paphos Old Town you'll find several authentic taverns that don't just live off tourism.
7 St. Georges Tavern — old Paphos Old Town architecture, in a garden under a fig tree. The menu is handwritten on a board each morning. Meze with dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) and kedipes is phenomenal here.
Theo's Seafood Restaurant — near the port, specializes in seafood meze. The eight-plate seafood meze for 35 EUR/person is probably the best value for money on the island.
![[ALT: A Cypriot tavern by Paphos port at night — fairy lights, tables outside, reflections of lights on the water]]
Nicosia — Laiki Geitonia
The capital has its own culinary gem in the Laiki Geitonia district — restaurants on the narrow streets of the old city. Here meze is served more mezzogiorno, with Middle Eastern influences (Cyprus was under Ottoman rule for 300 years).
Zanettos Taverna — probably the most famous meze tavern in Cyprus, open since 1938. There's no menu here — you sit down, say "meze" and don't get bored for 2.5 hours. Reservations are essential, even out of season.
Meze Prices in 2026
| Type of meze | Price/person | What it includes | |----------|-----------|-------------| | Vegetarian meze | 18–22 EUR | ~15 plates | | Meat meze | 22–28 EUR | ~20–25 plates | | Seafood meze | 28–38 EUR | ~18 fish/seafood plates | | Full meze (everything) | 35–45 EUR | ~30 plates |
Plus wine (25–40 EUR bottle of local), water (2–3 EUR), pita bread (usually included).
Zivania — The Mandatory Finale
Every true meze ends with a glass of zivania — a Cypriot distillate from grape pomace (like Italian grappa, but stronger and less refined). If the tavern owner brings you zivania himself, without asking — it means he likes you.
Summary
Cypriot meze is an experience that doesn't fit into 30 minutes or on a single plate. It's several hours, dozens of small discoveries, and the best way to understand what Cypriot hospitality is all about.
Book accommodation near the best Limassol and Paphos taverns — browse hotels and villas on CyprusBooker and plan a meze evening as the highlight of your stay!
