Traditional Cypriot Cuisine

What do people traditionally eat in Cyprus? 🇨🇾 Is it the same as in Greece? 🇬🇷 Or does it have its own island touch?

Considering Cyprus' location, it's not surprising that the traditional Cypriot dishes have been influenced by the cuisines of the surrounding countries. So here you will find typical Greek dishes like Souvlaki, but also influences from Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Syria.

After almost three months, we can't give a final conclusion or provide a clear answer to the initial question, but we can take you to a small tavern that I, Doreen, visited the other evening. Oh yes, it was my first free evening since the birth of our children. 🤗 Timo put the two of them to bed on his own, and we were all very excited. But it worked out great, so we repeated this "experiment" a week later. The second time I wasn't actually meeting anyone, but just pretended to be and cruised around in the car. 🚗 Fellow moms, you surely know that it's not so easy for kids to let dad put them to bed when mom could do it just as well. Well, we'll continue to pursue this topic, and next time I'll just retreat to the terrace and hope that after a few weeks, maybe I can even stay sitting on the sofa. 😅

Back to the food. With Aileen in tow, I headed to Aradippou, where we managed to secure a free table in a cute tavern (https://www.facebook.com/ParadosiakiTavernaToKazani) until 9pm. We were the first guests, because Cypriots naturally eat later. You can get a good impression of the exterior from the pictures. The menu is small but offers typical Cypriot Meze (appetizers). However, we decided against it because the taverns are known for their extensive Meze, and we probably would have rolled out of the place afterwards. We will dedicate a separate blog article to Meze at some point.

We chose the chicken Souvlaki and the grilled vegetables. Both are typical Cypriot dishes. Besides that, there was also the classic pork Souvlaki, lamb chops, fillet of beef, a plate of mixed meats (as you can tell, meat is highly regarded on the island), grilled calamari or shrimp, and a children's dish - that was it.

You will hardly find food here that is similar to Greek restaurants in Germany. Did you know that Metaxa sauce was invented in Germany and is more or less unknown in Greece? And what really surprised me was that the Cypriots prepare their Tzatziki differently than we are used to at Greek restaurants in Germany. It has little in common with the yogurt-garlic bomb that we were accustomed to. It leans more towards a lighter "oriental" style, usually with mint. Each family probably has their own Tzatziki recipe here. We will also try that and adapt it to our taste.

In addition to the classics mentioned above, hearty stews with meat, lentil dishes, and pastries are part of Cypriot cuisine. Not to forget Moussaka. And soon, snails will be in season. 🐌 😳

There is not really a dessert culture here. The Cypriots love their karpouzi, watermelon 🍉, as a dessert and are also fond of a piece of Baklava. Occasionally you will still find milk puddings on the menus.

In Cyprus, you will find international restaurants just like in Germany. We have even walked past a Hofbräuhaus here. There are also Japanese restaurants, Italian pizzerias, steakhouses, burger joints, Lebanese, Indian, and many more. It won't get boring here so quickly.

Finally, let it be mentioned that the food at the tavern was excellent. Souvlaki tends to be dry, but that was not the case here.

Coffee, watermelon, and Baklava were on the house, and we paid €33 for the two dishes plus Tzatziki, half a liter of house wine, and a bottle of water. 👍