10 Cyprus Delicious Foods – The Ultimate Guide for Foodies
From its sun-drenched Mediterranean shores to fertile inland valleys, Cyprus serves up an incredible array of fresh, flavour-packed cuisine waiting to delight every visiting food lover. This beautiful island’s unique geographic position fuses Greek, Middle Eastern, and European culinary influences into an enticing melting pot of mouthwatering Cyprus delicious foods. Whether you crave crispy street food snacks, succulent meze platters, fresh seafood, or decadent desserts. Cyprus delivers authentic and unforgettable gastronomic experiences around every corner. Get ready to indulge and tantalize your taste buds with these iconic Cyprus delicious foods that must top your vacation dining bucket list!
10 Cyprus Delicious Foods to Try for Foodies & Travellers
1) Halloumi – One of the Best Cypriot Dishes to Try
Halloumi reigns as Cyprus’s most beloved national food. This firm, brined cheese boasts a unique rubbery texture that is squeaky yet creamy when cooked.
Served hot, halloumi’s mildly salty, tangy bite best shines when grilled or pan-fried to golden brown crisp on the outside. You’ll find halloumi generously:
- Grated onto salads
- Stuffed into breads, or,
- Served as a standalone meze platter protein topped with herbs, lemon and olive oil.
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2) Meze – Traditional Cyprus Foods for Tourists
Like Greece, the tradition of meze (appetizer or small plate spreads) is deeply ingrained in Cypriot dinner culture. But Cyprus takes meze to new levels of deliciousness.
Dozens of small, shareable dishes arrive in waves covering the entire table at traditional meze houses. From hot/cold dips and salads to grilled seafood, meatballs (keftedes), skewered meats (souvlaki), and more. Cyprus meze celebrates fresh, simple flavours at their finest. It’s the ultimate taste of Cypriot hospitality and generosity. All you need is a Cyprus Tourist Visa to relish this delightful food with loved ones!
3) Souvlaki – Popular Cypriot Dishes for Foodies
Throughout Cyprus you’ll encounter souvlaki, or skewered grilled meat similar to Greek souvlaki. However, Cyprus souvlaki forges its own identity with:
- Distinct grilled halloumi cheese
- Mouthwatering marinade blends, and,
- Sauces like yoghurt mint sauce or shatta (spicy cilantro sauce)
Speciality skewers feature grilled halloumi alongside chicken shish souvlaki, lamb shashlik souvlaki, or loukaniko (smoked sausage). Whether found street-side or in restaurants, warm flatbread, fresh tomatoes, onions and tzatziki cool the smokiness of Cypriot souvlaki.
4) Molehiya (Mulukhiyyah) – A Unique Cyprus Dish
This slippery “Jew’s mallow” green plant is a popular Cypriot staple, particularly in coastal towns like Larnaka. Often compared to okra, the molehiya leaves take on a satisfying sticky consistency when cooked into fragrant chicken, beef or shrimp stews.
Garlic, lemon, tomato and warm spices like coriander and allspice coax out molehiya’s delicious earthy and nutty flavors. Although slimy in texture, the iron-rich green’s unique taste and nutrients make Cypriot molehiya a true delicacy.
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5) Tavas (Kleftiko) – Great Dish for Your Cyprus Food Bucketlist
Slow-roasted in a sealed terra cotta pot, tavas (also called kleftiko) is Cyprus’s signature dish featuring fork-tender lamb shoulder.
Tavas is typically cooked for hours by wrapping the meat in greaseproof paper with lashings of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and white wine. When it’s fully cooked, the lamb emerges fall-apart succulent, basting in its own luscious juices. Mopped up with herbed potatoes and village bread to soak up all the flavorful juices, this rustic roasted lamb tavas is quintessential Cypriot comfort food.
6) Sheftalia (Seftalia) – Tasty Cyprus Delicacy You Should Try
These mouthwatering, baseball-sized grilled meat patties consist of savory ground pork and lamb meat stuffed into rounds of caul fatty membrane casing. Sheftalia’s seasoning blend gives these unique souvlaki skewers an incredible depth of flavors from cumin, oregano, parsley and a hint of spicy chili.
Sheftalia showcase Cyprus’s Ottoman legacy and makes for perfect hand-held street food. It tastes especially delicious when stuffed into pita with fresh tomatoes, parsley, tahini and a squeeze of lemon.
7) Calamari – An Unforgettable Cyprus Delicious Food!
As an island nation, it’s no surprise that fresh seafood features prominently in Cypriot cuisine. And few prepare calamari as exquisitely as Cypriots. Cooked to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, Cyprus calamari can arrive deep fried, grilled skewered over charcoal, or sliced into garlicky sauté dishes.
Calamari “a la plancha” is especially popular that cooks prepare by searing tender calamari steaks over high heat. Then it is finished with a drizzle of olive oil and herbs like fresh dill. No matter your preferred preparation, order Cypriot calamari with a side of tzatziki or tahini for sublime dipping. Booked your Cyprus visa appointment yet? Do it now. Cyprus’ delicious cuisine is waiting for you!
8) Loukoumades – A Gastronomical Delight of Cyprus
No Cypriot dining experience is complete without indulging in traditional desserts, starting with these heavenly loukoumades.
Similar to sugared Greek honey donuts, loukoumades combine pillowy fried dough puffs bathed in luscious syrupy honey goodness. Often flavoured with rosewater or orange blossom water, loukoumades take on an extra ambrosial quality when rolled in chopped nuts or dusted with cinnamon.
These sweet syrup-soaked pastries are meant to be savoured slowly. They are best enjoyed fresh from the fryer with Cypriot coffee or mint tea for dunking into each bite’s honey drippings.
9) Baklava – Mouth-Watering Sweet in Cyprus
This rich, ultra-sweet delicacy boasts layer upon layer of flaky phyllo pastry. Look forward to relishing sticky honey syrup with ground nuts like pistachios or walnuts between each tissue-thin phyllo sheet.
Believed to have originated in the Ottoman kitchens, baklava transcends its honey-soaked flavours to an art form amongst Cypriot bakers and pastry chefs. Achieving the perfect crunchy-gooey texture balance in each bite is pure pastry mastery.
10) Mahalepi – Complete Your Delicious Cypriot Meal with This!
To complete a Cypriot meal on a dreamily light and sweet note, sip on a glass of rich mahalepi dessert drink.
Chefs make this delicious drink by combining milk or water with mahalepi (a Middle Eastern sweet powder from ground cherry kernels), rose water, sugar, and garnished with cinnamon and chopped pistachios. Mahalepi’s warm, comforting and floral flavours prove simply irresistible after a hearty meal
Many prefer this Ottoman-inspired drink during cooler winter months and celebrations.
Family and friends usually share this drink over long leisurely meals recounting the day’s events and news. Much like Cypriot cuisine, a cup of mahalepi delivers flavours deeply embedded in its crossroads of cultural influences.
Conclusion
From iconic halloumi cheese plates and dips to succulent roasted lamb and syrup-soaked desserts. Cypriot cuisine delights visitors with its rich medley of Mediterranean influences and flavours. The traditional saying that Cyprus produces more edible dishes than days in the year certainly rings true!
With so many vibrant tastes to discover, this sun-soaked island proves a tantalizing culinary delight for food lovers. All you need is a Cyprus Visa London to get started on your Cyprus culinary holiday!
FAQs
Q1. What are the most famous drinks from Cyprus?
Beyond Cypriot coffee and teas, some of Cyprus’s most iconic beverages include Commandaria (amber dessert wine), zivania (a brandy-like drink made from grape pomace) and pitsilleia (aromatized retsina-style red wine made by sealing pine resin inside the wine casks).
Q2. How vegetarian-friendly is Cypriot cuisine?
Look for signature meat-free Cyprus foods like falafel and hummus mezze dishes, stuffed vegetable gemista, molehiya and bamies (stewed okra) alongside plenty of halloumi cheese dishes, fresh salads, olives, legume-based stews and vegetable pilafs.
Q3. Which region of Cyprus has the best cuisine?
While you will find delicious foods across Cyprus, the Paphos/Polis region and inland Troodos mountain villages often rank among the top for farm-fresh produce, cheeses, honeys and smoked pork sausages. Many consider Polis to be the culinary capital of Cyprus for its regional specialties.
Q4. Do Cyprus food tours exist for visitors?
Yes, guided food tours led by locals are an excellent way to sample authentic Cyprus delicious foods. Nicosia city tours showcase street food and historic coffee shops, while regional village outings visit rural farms, wineries, monasteries and olive oil producers.
Q5. Which Cyprus foods should I get when buying souvenirs?
For edible souvenirs, stock up on Cyprus delicacies like cured lountza (smoked pork loin), shoushoukos (smoked grape molasses), halloumi cheese, olives, wine from endemic grape varieties like Mavro and Xynisteri, loukoumia (rose-flavored Turkish delight gelatin candies), plus jams, dried fruits and herbs.
