Food and drink – A Guide to eating in Paphos
Food and drink (places to eat)
Eating out has become a local habit and is part of entertainment in Cyprus. There is a wide variety of restaurants, catering for all tastes. Along with taverns, which provide local and Greek dishes, there are restaurants that offer international cuisine such as French, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Lebanese, Japanese, Russian, Mexican and others.
The old staples of Greek cuisine – moussaka, stifado, kebab and Greek salad – will be much in evidence. The meze is perhaps a good way to get an insight into Cypriot food. Meze, or mezedhes, is a series of small different dishes that are provided throughout an evening, and may cover absolutely everything or pursue a fish or a meat theme. In a good restaurant the meze can contain up to 30 different dishes and it is important to pace yourself throughout the meal.
Kebab (souvlaki) appears in all menus and lamb is another common dish, either lamb chops or the more traditional kleftiko, which consists of large pieces of lamb baked slowly in traditional kleftiko ovens. Cypriots also have a taste for smoked meats, most notably the traditional loukanika sausage.
Fish is expensive, although kalamari – squid cooked in batter – is good value and widely available. Other fish options include swordfish, red mullet (Barbouni in Greek), whitebait and sea bass. Alternatively, fresh farmed trout is on the menu in some of the mountain villages.
Halloumi cheese is the main dairy product distinctive to the island. It is made from goat’s milk and is often served grilled. The cheese is now available in most supermarkets.
Visitors should seek out some of the cake shops that attract local custom. The traditional Greek desserts such as baklava and cadefi may be too sweet for some tastes, but the wide range of custard bakes should appeal to us all, as will the biscuits, which can be bought by weight in these shops.
Places to eat in Paphos
Zaffron – Kato Paphos
The most fashionable of restaurants with delicious food. Zaffron has a Mediterranean menu, a good cocktail lounge and is open for lunch and dinner. Wedding Venue only during the summer months.
Fetta’s Corner– Ktima
A little old lady cooks and dishes meals out through a little window on the side of a house while you sit at a table on the pavement in the park area over the road. The food is simple, meze and grills, but it’s cheap and tasty and the service is great. Open for lunch & dinner.
Kiniras Garden– Ktima
Oasis like restaurant in the leafy shaded garden of the Kiniras hotel. The owner buys ingredients fresh depending on the number of customers expected so you must book. Open for dinner only.
Hondros – Kato Paphos
Hondros boasts a lovely terrace, great service and traditional and delicious food. There is a simple kids menu available. Open for lunch and dinner.
Koh-i-Noor– Kato Paphos
North Indian cuisine, lovely tandoori dishes and good wine list! Everyone recommends this place. Open for dinner only.
Mothers Restaurant – Kato Paphos
Mothers serves lovely seafood and vegetarian food. Open for dinner only.
Argo – Kato Paphos
Lovely kleftiko made on Tuesdays and Saturdays when it’s advisable to book.
The moussaka is recommended. Argo claim to offer the best meze in town which visitors say is warranted. It has a small terrace and is in a relatively quiet area. Open for dinner only.
Almond Tree – Kato Paphos
One of Paphos’ better-kept culinary secrets. Almond Tree features Cypriot fusion cuisine – Thai-Cypriot tastes and stock Cypriot and international dishes. Open only for dinner.
Nikos Tyrimos Fish Taverna – Kato Paphos
The place to come for fish – caught daily by the owners own boats. You can choose from the fish on display or enjoy an enormous helping of a 22 dish fish meze.
Gina’s Place – Kato Paphos
Bistro-café and wine bar serving gourmet sandwiches and salads with superior imported wines.
Kings Aphrodite Restaurant – Kato Paphos
Greek restaurant offering excellent souvlaki, suckling pig and the usual Greek offerings. Music played live several nights a week.
Cavallini – Kato Paphos
Offering tasteful modern Italian cuisine in a stylishly rustic setting.
Wine, brandy and beer
Cypriot wine is plentiful and inexpensive, and it is claimed that is has been made in Cyprus since 2000BC. The main wineries are at Limassol, but, increasingly, smaller producers are developing and some of the villages and monasteries now produce their own wines. It is an important business that is now worth €20 million a year in exports.
Commandaria sweet wine is one of Cyprus’s best known wines and it is said that is was drunk during the ancient festivals of Aphrodite. However its origins can only be definitively traced back to the estate of the Knights Hospitaller at Kolossi, 700 years ago.
