We stress the word village as it is only in the traditional villages that you will find the most authentic local food as opposed to the mass produced meals in alot of restaurants in the main resorts.
We're not saying there is anything wrong with the "fast food" in some of these places
but the Cypriot way is to take time over a meal...try lots of different dishes...and relax.
The best place to do this is to find
your own special little Cyprus taverna up in the hills where the locals will welcome you with open arms and where you will eat like
a king for a pauper's price.
Where to eat the best Cyprus food
Our "best of" Cyprus restaurant guide is currently limited to the WEST of the island as that is where we live. It also happens to be the most unspoilt part of the island,"far from the madding crowds" as Thomas Hardy would have said, so we accept that we are totally biased in our opinions...all of the Cyprus restaurants here are unique in one way or another so pleaseDO give them a try on your next holiday to Cyprus.
But first, we are SO lucky in Cyprus.
We have the freshest fruit and vegetables imaginable.
Everything TASTES so good, as most Cyprus food is freshly picked the morning you buy it.
As the quality of the produce is so good, it follows that you will get a great meal in most tavernas.
We say MOST as the best food is made by taverna owners who have one love in life -
FOOD!
Now don't expect white table cloths or fancy cutlery in the mountain villages AND don't expect to be offered a huge menu.
Stop! In fact,
don't even bother to ask for the menu!
In our first few days on the island, we were told to avoid the local village tavernas by a local
Cypriot as he didn't think their food was fresh due to the fact that many of them do not have a regular flow of customers.
If you are unsure of going into a place with very few customers, take our tip and forget the menu...
Top Tip: Just ask the taverna owner what they are cooking that day and what is available for you to try.
Whatever they are cooking, they will be eating themselves so you can be SURE it will be fresh.
They will also be using
seasonal fruit and vegetables so you can be certain you will never have the same meal twice.
NB: Most
of the village tavernas in the hills don't have fresh fish on the menu as they are not near the sea.
So what is our BEST Cyprus restaurant?
Well, we've tried lots on the island and have many we return to again and again but our #1 Favourite is still:
KOUPPAS STONE TAVERN run by Andreas.
The taverna is situated opposite the co-op supermarket in the traditional stone village of Neo Chorio
(pronounced Nay-oh Xhor-ee-o) on the Akamas peninsula. In the summer you can sit outside and watch the world go by whilst you enjoy your meal.
That will usually include the wonder of regular traffic jams as delivery vehicles go head to head with cars, jeeps
and the school bus just after mid-day. In the winter just sit inside the stone tavern itself where the locals hang out.
Andreas has all the usual Cyprus specialities on his menu (beef stifado, afelia, sheftalia) but we usually just ask him to
bring us a small meze (a variety of mixed dishes). We say small for a very good reason -
you only have to look at Andreas to realise that small actually means very large!
Depending on the season, Andreas will tempt you with a variety of unusual dishes - over the years we've had
beans with wild "grass" (freshly picked by his grandma - only she knows which grass to pick), wild rabbit Kouppas-style
and even snails (when it rains in November here, the snails come out in their thousands and you can just scoop them up
in a bucket!).
His Cypriot specialities are the best we've tasted too, especially the
Afelia
(slow cooked pork in red winewith coriander seeds).
One word of warning - DON'T order the full Meze unless you can eat a 32 oz steak and still haveroom for more. We did order it once (the Meze not a steak) and couldn't believe how much food we had to leave - now we always make sure we ask for a "small" meze!
N.B. There are two stone taverns in Neo Chorio. Kouppas stone tavern is the SECOND one in the centre of the village nearest the church.
We do have other favourite Cyprus restaurants, of course, especially those that do great meze lunches. Click on the links below for more "best Cyprus restaurants"
These are just some of our favourite tavernas and we'll keep adding to the list as we find new ones.
If you have found a special Cyprus restaurant, maybe one that does exceptional mezes too, please share it with us via the form below and create your very own webpage about it!
If, like me, you like to cook great food at home for family and friends, you probably have high standards as far as eating out goes. So good restaurants have to have fresh food packed with flavour via careful use of herbs and spices or simply to serve food in a unique way.
We have our favourites but we'd love to hear about your favourite restaurants too and so would all our visitors.
So why not tell us about your best Cyprus restaurant here?
YOUR Best Cyprus Restaurants
Click on the links below for best Cyprus restaurants all written by those who've been on this page.
Anatolia restaurant Protaras
The owners and staff at the Anatolia restaurant in Protaras, Cyprus are always very friendly and make you or the party you are with very comfortable.
They ...
Makrinari tavern in Omodhos (Troodos mountains)
Makrinari is a traditional restaurant in Omodhos. This old house has been restored carefully keeping it's old charm and character. It has everything to ...
Gourmet Taverna, Kato Paphos
The menu offers a range of Local Cypriot dishes as well as other classic food. Their Soutzakakia Smyrneica are to die for and my wife's favourite is the ...
Mystery Tavern, Polis
My husband and I recently returned from Cyprus (Feb 2009) and often ate at the Mystery Tavern. The food and atmosphere was great. Best calamari ever! Still ...
Petradakis Tavern, Kathikas
Bambos the chef/owner and wife Niki are charming and courteous. The food is always delicious, the decor is lovely, (just a little 'cut above the rest'...
RAJ Indian restaurant, Kato Paphos, Cyprus
Finding a great Indian restaurant in Cyprus is not that easy. There are a lot of mediocre places in Paphos where the Indian food on offer tastes more like ...
AMBELOTHEA TAVERN, OMODHOS VILLAGE
I have been in Omodhos and I could never forget a great place from where I have met people from all over the world. At this restaurant I had the pleasure ...
TAO Restaurant, Kato Paphos
The TAO restaurant is a Chinese / Japanese kitchen with very delicious food and very good service.
I can highly recommend it.
Smygies tavern, Neo Chorio
Very small traditional tavern. The food was lovely, try the Pork Kebab. The hospitality was great, prices reasonable. Would definately recommend it!
Lenya's restaurant in Asgata, Cyprus
Not rated yet
The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team that hail from Zygi. However, they stress that they like to cook meat rather than fish and after a spell ...
Domus restaurant
Not rated yet
Its simply the best restaurant on the island (Nicosia), great food innovative cuisine, top level service, incredible music and an excellent interior design,...
Sienna Restaurant, on road to Coral bay
Not rated yet
First of all the food is absolutely brilliant, service is perfect, surroundings are beautiful and the staff are lovely! The Sea Bass is to die for - they ...
Jin Ciao Chinese Food
Not rated yet
Small and cosy , very good prices and the food is excellent. We met Marinos Tsiorvas (the owner) and he offered us a Chinese tea set for home. One of the ...
We recently went for an Indian meal to the Flavours of India Restaurant in Pissouri Bay, which we can highly recommend. Very pleasant and efficient ...
Most restaurants in Troodos square are expensive and the menu is poor. On a cool windy day in Troodos ...
Peyia Tavern
Not rated yet
No menu, just a list of food barked at you from the gruff owner! Nevermind him or the dated decor, the food is fantastic.
TAO Chinese and Japanese restaurant in Kato Paphos
Not rated yet
Best decor, food is very different from the other Chinese restaurants and they also serve Japanese food. The location is perfect in the centre of Kato ...