Wining and Dining
Pleasures on a plate from the island garden
"Kopiaste" - sit down with us, eat and drink with us, be welcome! The hospitality and gusto of the Cypriots is overwhelming. Even in the tiniest mountain villages you will discover taverna serving delicious island specialties.
The traditional "meze" meal makes sampling very simple: it consists of hot and cold fare providing a tasty sample of Cypriot cuisine. Small portions of up to 30 different dishes are served, accompanied by delicious sauces.
Fish and meat dished, even vegetables, are frequently roasted on the charcoal frill or in large dome-shaped clay ovens. Typical regional treats are Halloumi (a firm white sheep's milk cheese, grilled or raw); Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves); and Hummus (sauce of chickpeas, sesame, olive oil and lemon juice). A special delicacy is the root plant, Kolokasi (Colocasia esculanta).
Meals are accompanied by local beer or one of the excellent wines of the island, produced either in one of the big wineries of the hinterland. Even Mark Antony acclaimed their quality: With the words "Your love my beauty, is sweeter than the wine of Cyprus," he presented the island to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. Also popular are the local sherries and brandies, as well as the desert wine Commandaria - on the world's oldest wine vintages.
The traditional "meze" meal makes sampling very simple: it consists of hot and cold fare providing a tasty sample of Cypriot cuisine. Small portions of up to 30 different dishes are served, accompanied by delicious sauces.
Fish and meat dished, even vegetables, are frequently roasted on the charcoal frill or in large dome-shaped clay ovens. Typical regional treats are Halloumi (a firm white sheep's milk cheese, grilled or raw); Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves); and Hummus (sauce of chickpeas, sesame, olive oil and lemon juice). A special delicacy is the root plant, Kolokasi (Colocasia esculanta).
Meals are accompanied by local beer or one of the excellent wines of the island, produced either in one of the big wineries of the hinterland. Even Mark Antony acclaimed their quality: With the words "Your love my beauty, is sweeter than the wine of Cyprus," he presented the island to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. Also popular are the local sherries and brandies, as well as the desert wine Commandaria - on the world's oldest wine vintages.