Cyprus: Food and the National Dish

An island cuisine shared across a divided line

Cyprus has been split since 1974 between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north, but its food is one of the few things the two communities still largely share: grilled meat, meze spreads, halloumi cheese and strong coffee are eaten, under slightly different names, on both sides of the line. The wider cuisine draws on Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking, built on olive oil, citrus, grilled meat and a serious tradition of small shared dishes.

The signature product: halloumi

Halloumi, a semi-hard cheese traditionally made from sheep's and goat's milk (commercial versions now often add cow's milk), has a high melting point that lets it be grilled or fried without falling apart — the trait that made it famous internationally. In 2021 the European Union granted Halloumi (called Hellim in Turkish Cypriot use) Protected Designation of Origin status specifically tied to Cyprus, a registration that covers cheesemakers anywhere on the island, north or south, under both names.

Kleftiko and the meze table

Kleftiko, lamb or goat slow-cooked for hours in a sealed oven, often wrapped in parchment, until it falls off the bone, takes its name from the klephts, Greek guerrillas and outlaws of the Ottoman era who reportedly cooked stolen meat in a sealed pit so the smoke wouldn't give away their position. Meze, an extended spread of many small dishes — dips, olives, halloumi, grilled meats, stuffed vegetables — served one after another, is less a single dish than the whole Cypriot way of eating a proper meal.

Dishes to know

Five more to recognise across Cyprus:

• Meze — a long procession of small shared dishes, the standard way to eat

out for a proper meal rather than a starter course.

• Souvla — large chunks of lamb, pork or chicken slow-roasted on a long

skewer over charcoal, set further from the heat than souvlaki.

• Koupepia — vine leaves stuffed with rice and often minced meat, the

Cypriot take on dolmades.

• Sheftalia (şeftali kebabı) — minced lamb or pork with parsley and onion,

wrapped in caul fat and grilled, a staple for both communities.

• Loukoumades — small balls of fried dough soaked in syrup, a dessert

shared with Greece and Turkey, where it is called lokma.

Commandaria and Cypriot coffee

Strong, unfiltered coffee, brewed and served the same way across both communities, is offered to guests as a basic gesture of hospitality on either side of the island.

Eating as a traveller

Vegetarians can eat well from meze's many vegetable and cheese-based dishes, though kleftiko and souvla are both built around meat. Tap water is generally safe to drink. A proper meze meal takes real time — treat it as an evening's activity rather than a quick dinner, and pace yourself through the courses.

What to take from the table

Grilled halloumi and a plate of kleftiko cover the two things Cyprus does best — a cheese distinctive enough to earn its own protected name, and meat cooked slowly enough to fall apart on its own.