Cypriot food - 20 dishes you must try in Cyprus

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: May 2026 | Cypriot food offers wonderful Mediterranean flavors and a wide selection of dishes. Here you can enjoy meze, i.e. lots of small dishes, and – of course – Cyprus' pride, halloumi. In this article you will get even more tips on Cypriot food.

What to eat in Cyprus? - a quick overview

We have previously written about Greek food and Turkish food, and now we turn our attention to Cypriot cuisine! In Cyprus, influences from both Greece and the Middle East come together, creating an exciting variety of dishes. Here are some typical examples of what to eat in Cyprus:

• Small dishes: Meze with mixes, salads and snacks
• Meat: Souvlaki, kleftiko and grilled meat
• Fish: Fresh fish and squid from the Mediterranean
• Oven dishes: Moussaka and macaroni tou fournou
• East: Halloumi and anari
• Sweet: Baklava, glyko and loukoumi

We have visited many places in Cyprus and particularly appreciate meze - the Cypriot version of small plates - where you can try many different dishes during one meal.

Typical Cypriot food - 20 classic dishes

Here we list Cypriot dishes that are interesting to try, including meze, desserts and sweets.

1. Cypriot Meze

The first thing we have to mention when talking about Cypriot food is meze, or small dishes to share. This is perhaps one of the most common and popular ways to eat in a Cypriot tavern.

Either you start the dinner with a few small starter meze and then move on to each main course, or you run the whole meal ”meze style”. Always very good and nice! The variety of dishes feels endless:

• Greek salad
• Bread and mixes
• Oliver
• Halloumi
• Air-dried ham
• Vegetable dishes
• Deep-fried cheese
• Vine leaf dolmar (Koupepia)
• Courgette balls
• Stuffed vegetables (gemista)
• Sausages and meatballs

2. Greek salad

Almost every meal we had in Cyprus started with Greek salad, or Cyprus Horiatiki Salata (Village Salad), as it may be called here. You might think that you would get tired, but we did not. Firstly, the vegetables are so fresh and tasty, and secondly, there is only a small portion per person.

Salads always contain cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and olive oil. Other ingredients may include peppers, onions, olives and capers. In addition, good bread and tasty mixes are often served at the same time ...

3. Tzatziki, hummus, tahini, taramosalata and other mixtures

It's not a Cypriot meze without delicious stir-fries! Some common sauces and stirs include:

• Tzatziki (garlic sauce with cucumber)
• Hummus (chickpea scramble)
• Tahini (sesame paste)
• Taramosalata (mixture of salted and dried fish roe)

We were also served many other stir-fries, for example with chilli, lentils or peas.

4. Halloumi

One of the most important ingredients in Cypriot cuisine is halloumi (i.e. Cypriot cheese, often made from sheep and/or goat milk). This cheese is the pride of Cyprus and could even be said to be its national dish.

Cheese is often served fried or grilled, just as it is. Sometimes you can get it deep-fried, or perhaps served with an unexpected side dish. At a rural restaurant we were served it in its fresh form (small picture on the left), as it is a bit softer. Very tasty!

5. Fiskmeze

If you get tired of the "regular" mezze, you can try fish meze at one of the coastal resorts. We had fish meze at Vassos restaurant in Ayia Napa, and it was a delicious experience. Here we got to enjoy lots of dishes focusing on fish, squid and seafood. Cold dishes were served first, followed by fried dishes, then grilled dishes and finally stews. 

6. Grilled fish and squid

Of course, fish does not only have to be eaten in the form of meze. In fish restaurants, you'll find squid and different types of fish, preferably grilled, on the menu. Common fish include swordfish, tuna, seabass and seabream.

7. Stifado, kleftiko and other stews

Cyprus is the land of stews, and during our trip we were offered some form of stew at almost every meal. Stifado is a spicy stew made with beef, and adhesive tape is a lamb stew with potatoes and vegetables. There are also many other types of stews!

8. Souvlaki, kebabs and gyros

The Greek dish souvlaki is also a popular Cypriot food. The dish usually includes small pieces of charcoal-grilled meat on skewers, such as pork or chicken, along with a large amount of vegetables and pita bread. Other popular fast food dishes include kebabs and gyros (bread filled with sliced meat and various condiments).

9. Sheftalia (Cypriot sausage)

A juicy Cypriot sausage made from minced pork and/or lamb together with onions, parsley and other spices. The mince is wrapped in a thin layer of fat and grilled.

10. moussaka

A traditional dish in Greece, but also in other countries of the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. It is also common in Cyprus. The dish, which is baked in the oven, usually consists of lamb or beef mince, aubergine, egg custard and cheese. Classic and delicious!

11. Makaoronia Tou Fournou (baked pasta)

A typical Cypriot dish, also cooked in the oven, is Makaoronia Tou Fournou (oven-baked pasta). This dish consists of layers of pasta, minced meat, bechamel sauce and cheese. Really good comfort food!

12. Ttavas (lamb stew)

Ttavas is a flavourful Cypriot stew made from lamb or goat, accompanied by rice, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. The dish is associated with the countryside and in particular Lefkara, which is why it sometimes goes by the longer name of Lefkaritikos Ttavas.

13. East Anari

Anari is a fresh mild whey cheese produced in Cyprus. The cheese is often eaten for breakfast, perhaps with honey, or as a filling in the pastry bourekia (see below). We found it on one of the hotel's breakfast buffets.

14. Greek-style yoghurt

The yoghurt in Cyprus, as in Greece, is thick, creamy and rich in protein. Very good, and a completely different experience than eating yoghurt at home in Sweden. We enjoyed yoghurt in the mornings, with fruit or granola.

15. kattimeri (sweet pastry)

A sweet Cypriot pastry baked with flour, sugar and olive oil, and possibly flavoured with a little cinnamon. It can be eaten as it is, or with honey. During our trip, we found it on one of the hotel breakfast buffets.

16 Bourekia

A dessert is made from dough filled with cheese, such as Anari cheese, and then deep-fried. We were able to take part in a workshop to make the treat and then taste it. So good!

17. baklava

A sweet pastry common in the Middle East and the Balkan Peninsula, it can be eaten as a dessert. So, far from being unique to Cyprus, this sweet is very common here. The sweet and savoury pastry is made from filo pastry and contains nuts and honey, among other ingredients.

18. glyco (tinned fruit)

A kind of tinned fruit, which can be served as a sweet dessert in Cyprus as well as in Greece.

19. Loukoumi (Cypriotic delights)

A kind of marmalade confection similar to Turkish delights, but since we're talking about Cyprus, we'll call them ”Cypriotic delights” instead. The delights can be found on buffets, and are also sold in shops, often in pretty gift boxes.

20. Shoushoukos (grape juice sweets)

This snack is made from grape juice mixed with flour. Nuts are then threaded onto strings and the strings are dropped several times into the batter. The result is a sweet snack with chewing resistance. Perfect as a little energising snack when energy levels are low!

Cypriot food in restaurants in Cyprus (and Stockholm)

Want to try Cypriot food in a cosy taverna in Cyprus? Here are some tips on nice restaurants around the island - and one in Stockholm! We have eaten at all the restaurants below very good food.

• Ayia Napa: Vassos Fish Tavern, Ayia Napa harbour
• Limassol: Kipriakon, Old Harbour
• Kathikas: Yannis Taverna, George Kleanthous 11
• Omodos: Stou-Kir Yianni, Linou 15
• Pafos: Uzeri, Coastal Broadwalk
• Sotira: Mousikos, Sotira 6
• Tochni: Tochni Tavern, Mersinies 3, Cyprus Villages
• Stockholm: Restaurant Cyprus, Valhallavägen 50

Drinks in Cyprus

Cypriot beer are available to try, including in the form of KEO, a light lager brewed in Limassol and also sold at Systembolaget. This beer tastes excellent and we chose it several times - an excellent combination with Cypriot food.

Wine in Cyprus is made partly from domestic grape varieties such as Xynisteri, but also from international grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Chardonnay. We visited the pleasant Vasilikon winery, and in addition to this there are many other wineries, and also grapevine for those with a keen interest in wine.

Star wine is also available in a local version. Cyprus is known for the strong wine Commandaria.

methylated spirits can be tested in the form of the Greek spirit Ouzo, which is flavoured with aniseed, or Zivania, which is made by mixing distillate from pressed grapes with dry wine. Another Greek spirit is mastic, which we tried as a flavouring for ice cream.

More about food in other countries

Here you can find more stories about food in different countries:

• Albanian food - 20 Albanian dishes
• Italian food - 25 Italian dishes
• Greek food - 25 Greek dishes
• Maltese food – 16 dishes in Malta
• Turkish food - 20 Turkish dishes