Cyprus food: 15 dishes to try, from meze to halloumi

The useful answer to “what food should I try in Cyprus?” is not a single dish. Start with a meze for the table, then learn a few names before you order. Cyprus food is built around sharing: dips and village salad first, then grilled cheese, vegetables, meat or fish.

That makes the island an easy place to eat well without treating every meal as a checklist. The official tourism guide describes meze as a social meal whose make-up changes with the season and with whether you choose meat, fish or mixed; it commonly runs to 15–20 dishes including bread and dips. Visit Cyprus has a useful overview of how it works.

Cyprus food at a glance

Dish or style	What it is	A good first encounter
Meze	A long, shared sequence of small dishes	Order for the table and pace yourself
Halloumi / Hellim	Salty, semi-hard cheese, served cold, grilled or fried	With watermelon at breakfast or charred in a meze
Souvla	Large pieces of meat slowly cooked on a long skewer	A relaxed lunch rather than a quick snack
Sheftalia	Seasoned minced-meat parcels grilled over charcoal	In pita, or as one plate in a meat meze
Kleftiko	Slow-cooked lamb	When you want one substantial main
Koupepia	Vine leaves filled with rice, often with meat	Alongside other vegetable dishes
Afelia	Pork cooked with coriander and wine	A warming taverna-style main
Kolokasi	Taro root, often in a tomato-based stew	Ask if it is in season and how it is prepared
Loukanika and lountza	Wine-cured sausage and cured pork loin	With halloumi, eggs or bread
Commandaria	A sweet Cypriot wine	A small glass with dessert or cheese

15 things to eat in Cyprus

1. Meze: the meal to understand first

Meze is a format rather than one recipe: olives, tahini, yoghurt-based dips, skordalia, taramosalata, bread and salad may be followed by cheese, vegetables, sausages, stews, fish or meat. A fish meze and a meat meze are different meals, so choose according to the table rather than expecting one fixed menu. Do not order extra mains until you know it has stopped arriving.

2. Halloumi / Hellim

The island’s signature cheese is firm enough to grill or fry and is also eaten cold. You may see the names Halloumi and Hellim; the European Commission’s PDO scheme covers the name for cheese produced on Cyprus to the relevant specification. Its explanation of the certification is worth reading.

Try it grilled as part of a meze, in a sandwich with cured pork, or simply cold with watermelon, bread and olives. Visit Cyprus also lists the different ways halloumi is used, which helps explain why it appears on breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

3. Souvla

Souvla is meat cooked slowly on a large rotating skewer over charcoal. It is not the same thing as a small souvlaki skewer: expect larger chunks and a more leisurely meal. Pork is common, and lamb or chicken may be available too. Treat it and meze as two different shapes of meal rather than automatic companions.

4. Sheftalia

Sheftalia are seasoned minced-meat parcels, traditionally wrapped in caul fat and grilled. They are often served in a pita with salad, but they also turn up among the grilled dishes in a meat meze. The texture is softer and richer than a conventional sausage, so one or two is usually enough to understand the idea.

5. Kleftiko

Kleftiko is lamb cooked slowly until tender, commonly with potatoes and seasoning. It suits the diner who would rather have one centrepiece than a table full of small plates; preparation varies by kitchen.

6. Koupepia

Koupepia are vine leaves rolled around a filling based on rice, often with minced meat and herbs. They sit comfortably beside salad, yoghurt or grilled dishes and are an easy way to add a vegetable-led element to a meat-heavy table. If you are vegetarian, ask about the filling rather than assuming every batch is meat-free.

7. Afelia

Afelia is pork cooked with coriander and wine. It is a compact lesson in the island’s fondness for wine, spice and slow cooking. Order it when you want something more distinctly sauced than grilled meat; it is often served with a grain or potatoes.

8. Kolokasi

Kolokasi is taro root, used in Cypriot cooking in stews and other home-style dishes. Its firm, starchy character makes it closer to a potato than a leafy vegetable. It is one of the dishes that turns an otherwise familiar Mediterranean menu into something recognisably Cypriot.

9. Loukanika and lountza

Look for these on a breakfast plate, mezze board or grill menu. Loukanika is a village-style sausage, commonly cured with red wine, while lountza is cured pork loin. The tourism authority notes that both use red dry wine, salt and garlic; its guide has the background. Pair them with bread, olives, halloumi and something fresh.

10. Trahana

Trahana is a dried cracked-wheat and yoghurt mixture used for a restorative, gently sour soup. It can include halloumi and is especially welcome when a hot lunch is not the priority. Not every visitor will encounter it on a resort menu, but it is worth ordering when you do.

11. Village salad and the dips

Do not dismiss the first plates as filler. Salad, olives, tahini, yoghurt dip, skordalia and bread give the rest of a meze contrast. Tahini is sesame-based; taramosalata contains fish roe, so it is not vegetarian. Ask about ingredients before the dishes arrive if you have a dietary requirement.

12. Fish and seafood meze

On the coast, choose a fish meze when the table prefers a progression of fish and seafood to grilled meat. The official meze guide names grilled and fried fish, sea bream, cuttlefish, calamari and octopus among the likely dishes, but availability is naturally seasonal and restaurant-specific. A harbour meal is a good moment for this format; our Paphos restaurant guide and Limassol restaurant guide help you choose the wider evening, not just the plate.

13. Cypriot potatoes and pourgouri

Potatoes are an important side dish beside grilled food. Pourgouri is cracked wheat, often cooked with tomato and onion, and makes a useful alternative to chips or rice.

14. Commandaria and other local drinks

Commandaria is the sweet wine to know: a small pour suits the end of a long meal. If you want to turn food into a day out, our Cyprus wine-tour guide explains how to plan a responsible tasting day in the wine villages.

15. Spoon sweets, loukoumades and fruit

Finish lightly: preserved fruit or “spoon sweets”, honeyed loukoumades and seasonal fruit are common endings. In summer, cold watermelon with halloumi is a simple sweet-and-salty combination.

How to order well without over-ordering

For two people, pick either a meze or two or three dishes plus a salad and one side. For a larger group, a shared meze lets everyone try more; check whether it is for the whole table and whether there is a minimum number of diners.

Choose a meat meze for souvla, sheftalia, loukanika and slow-cooked meat; choose fish meze for a seafood-led meal; ask about a vegetable meze if the table includes vegetarians. Pork and lamb are common in traditional dishes, and fish roe can appear in dips, so say what you do and do not eat at the start.

If you are still deciding where to base a food-first holiday, our Cyprus holiday guide compares the coast, cities and travel style. For a broader view of what the trip may cost, read our realistic Cyprus budget guide before you start choosing restaurants.

The short version

Start with a meze, treat halloumi as more than a grilled side dish, and look beyond the familiar names for souvla, sheftalia, koupepia, afelia and kolokasi. Cyprus food is best understood as a shared table with a rhythm, not a race through fifteen individual plates.