National Foods of Cyprus: There’s Not Only One, there’s Many…!!

Cyprus doesn't have one single official national dish, there are many traditional foods that are considered national dishes, here we list the ones that have made it onto our list of our favourite Greek-Cypriot dishes.

If you are a foodie, you will love this…!! :-)

Our Mediterranean dishes are very healthy (well, most of them anyway… :-) ) and delicious…!! Mouthwatering traditional foods…You can’t get enough of…!! Try our traditional dishes – listed below – and your palate will thank you forever…!! :-)

So, are you ready…?

Let’s dive in…!!

To check out the national foods of the island – and our favourite ones – just click on the quick link below…

Quick link...

National Foods of Cyprus

National Foods of Cyprus

It’s a “sacred time” when all of the family sit down around the table to eat…!! Sharing food is a blessing in every corner of the world, especially here in Cyprus…!! :-)

Why are we saying this…?

Our Greek-Cypriot grandparents taught us the importance of dining as a family…!!

We remember back-in-the-day when we were little kids, our grandparents used to serve us the most delicious traditional dishes…food that melted in your mouth, and warmed your heart…!!

Foodies themselves, our grandparents used to prepare the food with love and cook it in their traditional beehive-shaped Cypriot clay oven, known as a Fourno.

We remember those Saturday evenings when we were waiting eagerly to be served with grandmas wonderful homemade cooking…!! What a wonderful childhood memory…!! :-)

We have made some beautiful memories here on the island…today, we cherish those memories so much…!!

Since as far back as we can remember, we’ve been feasting on delicious traditionally cooked food with our family and friends.

Below, you will find some of our favourite dishes (foods, desserts, and dips), that we love to enjoy regularly here on this wonderful mystical island…

Note: If you wish to take a look at our review of our favourite restaurants and taverns here in Cyprus (where they serve this delicious traditional cuisine) click here on The Best Restaurants and Taverns on the island.

Food

Pork souvlaki
Chicken souvlaki
Shieftalia (an alternative type of Cypriot sausage)
Cypriot sausages
Pastourmas (spicy Cypriot sausages)
Pork, lamb, or chicken souvla cooked over charcoal
Grilled fresh fish
Fried fresh fish
Fresh fish cooked in a traditional clay-oven with delicious Cypriot potatoes
Tavas (pork, lamb, or beef cooked either with rice or potatoes in a traditional clay-oven)
Makaronia tou fournou (pasta cooked in the oven)
Mousakas
Afelia (pork baked in the pot)
Ofto kleftiko (lamb or goat meat cooked in traditional clay-oven for more than 4 hours)
Keftedes (Cypriot meat balls)
Choriatiki Salata (village salad) – if you like feta cheese, ask the waiter to serve the salad with feta
Meat (either lamb, pork, or chicken) and potatoes cooked in a traditional clay-oven
Pourgouri
Koupepia (pork mince, rice, and spices mixed together and wrapped in vine leaves)
Halloumi (Cypriot cheese)
Anari (dairy product)
Stifado (slow cooked meat, beef is the most common modern choice, although traditional versions often use rabbit. Other variations include lamb, pork or octopus)
Fish meze (various fish dishes – if you visit a fish tavern ask for the meze. You will love it!)
Meat meze (various meat dishes – if you visit a tavern that serves traditional Cypriot meat meze, try it, you won’t regret it…!! J)

Dips

Tahini
Houmous
Tzatziki
Talattouri
Taramosalata

Desserts

Loukoumades
Shiamishi
Galatoboureko
Pourekia
Soutzoukos
Baklava
Cyprus delights (Loukoumi)
Glyka tou Koutaliou (Sweets)

Note: There are many many more traditional Greek-Cypriot dishes available (foods, dips, and desserts) to vitalise your palate. The reviews that we publish are guided towards our favourite dishes that we love to enjoy every time we are in the mood for traditional Cypriot food like the dinners that grandma used to make us on those Saturday evenings so long ago…

…If you are lucky enough to sample some of the dishes we’ve reviewed (foods, dips, and desserts), you’ll be blown away. You’ll be able to safely say that you have tried the Greek-Cypriot cuisine, as it is supposed to be cooked…!! Awesome…huh…!! :-)

So, our dear foodies, we wish you a wonderful and adventurous culinary journey through Cypriot cuisine here on the beautiful mystical island of Cyprus. Bon appetite, mon ami…!! :-)

...And that wraps up this article on the “National Foods of Cyprus”.

We wish you a wonderful holiday here on our beautiful island, say “Hi” if you bump into us whilst you’re exploring…!! :-)