As you already know Cyprus is an island, so the simplest, most common and most importantly the cheapest way to get food Cypriots have at their fingertips. The island is surrounded by a crystal clear sea, where many species of crustaceans and molluscs live, which are highly valued in many cuisines of the world.
Cypriot cuisine
Almost every town in Cyprus, and especially in the main tourist centers of the island, there are many restaurants, taverns and bars serving dishes of both regional and international cuisine. Many restaurants are dominated by Greek cuisine. Generally speaking, in Cyprus you eat abundant but unsophisticated dishes. The Cypriot cuisine is dominated by fried potatoes. Fries are served here for practically everything. Disappointed gourmets staying in the south will be comforted by excellent beer, brenda and Cypriot wine. An interesting fact worth noting is that in the northern part of Cyprus restaurants serve slightly lighter meals and more willingly experiment with less known dishes.
More original and carefully prepared dishes should be sought in restaurants run by immigrants (especially in the north, where excellent and ingenious cooks from Pakistan work), as well as in secluded corners of villages in the south, where local residents are served by rural restaurants, called exochika kendra, which offer a modest but very good menu. It's also worth a look at downtown Ouzeri (another term is meze-house, or "bar meze"), where besides drinks, local specialties are served. The meze, the bar version of these delicatessen, is served in turn on no more than twenty small plates, which are reported to where the customer does not feel full. This is usually a very tasty and well-prepared meal, but in the south at least two, and sometimes four, customers are needed for one "series". The main dishes are usually abundant, and portions of fries are even a bit too generous to eat to the full.
Examples of dishes served in Cyprus are, among others:
Soups: Avgolemono (chicken broth with egg and lemon) and Psarosupa (fish and vegetable soup)
Attachments: Tarmpsalata (smoked stockfish milk), Tahini (sesame paste), Humus (chickpea paste with pepper and olive oil)
Pork: Siphlaki (shashlik) - meat sticks from a spit served with wheat cakes and with the addition of lettuce and sauces; Afelia (pork goulash in red wine sauce), Lunza (pieces of smoked pork ham).
Lamb: Tawas - roast lamb
Other meat dishes: Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves, reminiscent of our pigeons), Kypriakes ravioles (Cypriot raviolli stuffed with hallumi, or hard goat's cheese).
Salads are served with most dishes. Salads depend on the season, usually a composition of tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. The dish known in Greece as Greek salad, in Cyprus is sometimes called a country salad.
Cyprus is famous for its excellent wine Kommandoria, it is a fairly strong dessert wine, appreciated by gourmets around the world.
