Cyprus Food and Drink

Ayia Napa Circus Square

Ayia Napa Circus Square is an open bar area in the lovely cobbled main square of Ayia Napa. The square consists of four main bars facing the square, leaving a spacious middle area where everyone can party to their heart’s content. DJs and live acts perform on the Circus Square stage along with actual live circus shows, making it one of the most dynamic and entertaining places to be on Ayia Napa.

It is also where huge, weekly events such as the Kandi Street Party on Mondays and Napa Holi Fest on Thursdays are held. It is mainly young people visiting this area during the evening, drinking in the bars and then joining others outside to enjoy the party atmosphere and basically just having a great time.

There are many places to eat and drink just off the square if you want time out to recharge your batteries.

Beachfront bars

Cyprus has an abundance of beach bar restaurants from the fun and inexpensive to the fine dining, chic and stylish all offering delicious food and great atmosphere right by the blue sea.

If a drink, music and partying are what you are looking for then the Nissi Bay Beach Bar at Ayia Napa could be the place for you. It is the island's most famous beach bar and is especially renowned for its live DJ sets from some of the biggest club events in the world.

The Ammos Beach Bar at Larnaca, overlooks the sea and the accent is on great fresh fish dishes such as octopus and sea bass. They also have a wide range of excellent cocktails to choose from.

Perched overlooking the shore at Ayios Tychonas stands the Dream Café, an ideal place to visit if you fancy enjoying something traditionally Greek.

Cheap places to eat

The abundance of inexpensive places to eat throughout Cyprus makes it difficult to select just a few. However, here is an example of the type of eating experience you can expect to get at a couple of restaurants, known for quality food at very reasonable prices:

Andy's Place at Limassol is a great place to eat and is popular with both locals and tourists. A variety of meals are on offer, the meze and souvlakia are especially delicious. You can choose to eat inside or under the vines outside, which has the added advantage of having a play area for the children.

Santa Marina Fish and Chips Café can be found at Coral Bay, Paphos. As the name suggests, the thing to have here is fish, the sea bream and sea bass are particularly good and the house wine is delicious and very reasonably priced.

Columbia Plaza

Columbia Plaza, situated in the heart of Limassol’s old town is where you can find fantastic restaurants, bars, and stylish nightspots. Whatever your taste in food, you will be well catered for here. The award-winning Columbia Steak House, guarantees you the best steak in town, exquisite seafood dishes and international creations from across the world.

For more casual dining, there is La Boca, a self-service style Italian restaurant serving pasta, pizzas, salads and Asian dishes freshly made to order.

If Greek food is your favourite, why not try the Avli Tou Vasilea taverna? You can enjoy the popular Meze with its traditional dishes or choose from the a la carte menu, to accompany the meal there are Cypriot and Greek wines.

If you are not quite ready for a meal, the Plaza Cafe offers a variety of coffees and delicious homemade cakes. Wherever you choose, you will not be disappointed.

Larnaca Marina

Larnaca Marina is located right in the heart of the town, in front of Phinikoudes, a palm tree lined promenade with many restaurants, cafes and bars.

For vegetarian eating, you can do no better than the Maqam Al-Sultan Restaurant which offers a variety of delicious vegetarian meals. The veggie mezzes are exceptionally good and great value for the price, the desserts are delectable and the atmosphere and service are both excellent.

If you like Italian food, the Marzano Restaurant is a good choice as both the food and wines are fantastic. Marzano’s signature style is the mouth-watering choice of perfectly prepared grilled, baked and charcoaled fish and meats. Delicious.

With lovely views of the marina from the upper deck, the Aquarium Bar Cafe is a great place to relax and unwind. Delicious food, reasonable prices and the best hot chocolate ever.

Latchi Harbour

Latchi Harbour is a pretty fishing harbour and the perfect place to sit and relax with a fish meze and a glass of ouzo. Because of the location, there are a variety of fish restaurants to choose from and many have special offers on fish dishes.

Most of the restaurants around the harbour are very good, but The Molos, has a little something extra. It serves delicious fish platters with different dips and salads which are great value and the fish pie is divine with plenty of good firm fish chunks, salmon, swordfish, plaice, prawns and a lovely cheesy sauce with delicious Cyprus potato mash, grilled on top to perfection. Follow this with the homemade apple pie and you feel as if you are in heaven.

If it does get a little chilly you can sit inside next to wood burner – very cosy

Limassol Marina

Limassol Marina has many bars, cafes, and restaurants to choose from. The Tavernaki is situated in the heart of the marina and offers Greek and Cypriot cuisine in a traditional and beautiful setting. The food is simply delicious and includes favourite dishes like bouyiourdi, feta with honey and of course the traditional Cyprus kebab.

The Wagamama Restaurant meals are based on traditional Japanese, Indian, Chinese and Thai flavours and offer fresh Asian-inspired food in a friendly, vibrant setting. The chefs prepare dishes full of authentic ingredients right in front of your eyes, in the open kitchen space.

If a tipple (or two) is all you want, look no further than the Marina Roof Bar. Enjoy the impressive view of Limassol Marina as you sip your cocktail, beer or soft drink, enjoy the music and relax in this venue’s special atmosphere.

Local cuisine

Most towns and villages in Cyprus have traditional souvlaki shops that serve chicken or pork kebabs in pita bread or on a platter. They also serve delicious gyros with beef.

Most tavernas are located in village centres and almost all villages have at least one. They all offer a Meze with a variety of dishes available and many also do great vegetarian and vegan mezes upon request. The standard meze is either meat or fish for the main dishes and a plethora of small, side dishes ranging from salads, potatoes, and eggs to hummus and tsamarella.

The premier Meze house in Paphos is the Seven St Georges. Here, the platters change constantly, are all sourced locally and may include wild fennel mushrooms, bladder campion sautéed with eggs, pickled cauliflower, tsamarella (goat salami) and flash-fried agrélia (wild asparagus). They grow all their vegetables organically on a small farm nearby.

Paphos Harbour

Steeped in ancient mythology, there’s no nicer place to soak up the sun than Cyprus’s richly romantic harbour town of Paphos. What could be nicer than relaxing with a drink at one of the harbour cafes such as Steve’s Cafe Bar? Located right on the quayside with fantastic views of the castle, they serve snacks such as burgers, omelettes and jacket potatoes and various cold drinks and beers. The food is very good and reasonably priced.

The Harbour Café Restaurant is also an excellent venue to enjoy a drink and have a meal. The menu is varied and includes Cypriot specials as well as English dishes and the portions are large. Happy Hour is between 4pm and 5pm and is great value 2.5 Euro for a large glass of wine and cheap cocktails. This is an ideal place to relax and watch the world go by.

Protaras Strip restaurants

The popular resort of Protaras has a wide choice of restaurants ranging from open-air traditional Greek and Cypriot restaurants to fast food eateries and international restaurants offering anything from Mexican, Thai, Italian and Chinese, to name but a few.

The Erato is one of the most popular restaurants on Protaras Strip, serving generous sized portions of delicious, well-presented food, good quality wine and great cocktails, all in a lovely setting. The staff are friendly and the service is very good.

If you like live music, then a visit to the Ghetto Cocktail Bar is a must as they have amazing acts including tributes to Boy George, Adele, Whitney Houston, Neil Diamond, Olly Murs and Robbie Williams.

It is a great bar with open-air seating or if you prefer you can sit inside. They serve lovely meals and truly excellent cocktails.