Cyprus Meze Explained: How It Works, What Is Served and What It Costs

A Cypriot meze is a set feast you order per person, usually for a minimum of two. You do not pick dishes from the menu: the kitchen sends 15 to more than 30 small plates to the table in waves, and everyone shares them. In 2025, a meat meze cost €24 to €30 a head and a fish meze €32 to €38. Some Nicosia neighbourhood tavernas charged €16 to €18.

Meze prices are a guide; confirm the current price when you book.

Our deep dive into food in Cyprus explains where meze fits in Cypriot culture and covers the individual dishes. This guide is the practical part: how to order, what comes out and when, and what you will pay.

How does ordering meze work in Cyprus?

Meze is a single order for the whole table. You tell the waiter how many people want meze and whether you want meat or fish. From then on, the kitchen decides what comes out. A few points catch newcomers out:

• Minimum two people. Meze is priced per person, and almost every taverna needs at least two people to order it. Karatello and 5 Eucalyptoi in Limassol and Ta Pinakia in Paphos all stated a two-person minimum in their 2025 reviews.
• Everyone shares. Dishes come as platters for the table, not individual plates.
• Do not order extra starters. Do not add salads or dips before the meze arrives. The meze already includes them, and you will run out of room.
• Plan for two or three hours. A full meze is a slow meal, which is why it is a weekend and celebration favourite.
• Book at weekends. Popular tavernas fill up with Cypriot families. Forsos Tavern in Mouttagiaka is one example: in December 2025, booking there was very much a necessity.

What comes in a Cypriot meze, and in what order?

There is no single fixed menu, and the dishes change with the region and the season. The sequence is fairly standard, though:

Meze sizes vary a lot. A smaller meze has about 15 dishes and a large one 25 or even 30, and many of those are tasting portions. Here is what the reviewers were served:

• Karatello Tavern, Limassol (2025): village salad, dips, boiled halloumi, sheftalia, loukanika, stuffed mushrooms, lamb kleftiko, chicken kebab, flamantzeri and kontosouvli, with fruit and then loukoumades with ice cream.
• Forsos Tavern, Mouttagiaka: snails in tomato sauce, oyster mushrooms, keftedes, pork belly and souvlaki, with loukoumades to finish.
• 5 Eucalyptoi, Limassol: kleftiko on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only.

If you want kleftiko or souvla, ask which days they are made.

Meat meze or fish meze?

Meat meze is served all over the island. It is usually the cheaper option, and village tavernas in the Troodos are known for charcoal-grilled meat.

Fish meze swaps the grills for seafood:

• Usual dishes: octopus, calamari, prawns, small fried fish and a grilled fish of the day.
• What it costs: more than meat meze. Psarou on the Chloraka coast road charged €32 a head in 2025, and Ta Pinakia in Paphos €38.
• Where it is best: in fishing villages such as Latchi and Zygi, where the catch decides the menu.

At Psarou the 2025 spread included tahini, taramosalata and a spicy cheese dip, a tomato and feta salad, seafood risotto, calamari, fried baby octopus and prawns, marida (small fried fish) and a whole grilled sea bass.

Can vegetarians and vegans eat meze?

Yes, but you need to say so before the food starts arriving. Many tavernas will make a vegetarian version, though the choice varies from place to place. A good number of standard meze dishes are meat-free anyway:

• Dips: tahini, talattouri, hummus
• Salads and vegetables: village salad, raw vegetables, grilled vegetables, mushrooms, courgettes with eggs
• Cheeses: halloumi and, in season, anari
• Pulses: louvi (black-eyed beans with greens)

Some places put a meat-free meze on the menu:

• Meze Taverna in Limassol's Old Town: meat, pork-free, fish and vegetarian meze, and it marks allergens and gluten-free options on its online menu.
• Ta Pinakia in Paphos: a vegan meze at €30 a head, the same price as its meat meze, as of February 2025.

If you are gluten-free, keep away from the bread, the pastry dishes and anything fried.

What does a meze cost in 2025–2026?

These are per-person prices from 2025–26. Drinks are not included.

As a rough budget for two people, allow €50–€60 for a meat meze at a typical Limassol taverna before wine or beer, and more for fish. Prices go up from year to year, so ask when you book.

Where can you eat meze in Cyprus?

These tavernas are a starting point, one or more per district.

A simple rule for finding others: pick a village or fishing-village taverna over the busiest tourist strip, and take a dining room full of Cypriot families, especially at weekends, as a good sign. For the hill villages, our 10 best day trips from Limassol is a good place to start planning.

What is the Taste Cyprus label?

Taste Cyprus is the gastronomy programme of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, run together with the private sector. Its quality label recognises tavernas, restaurants, hotel dining rooms, agrotourism businesses, producers and shops that meet set standards for authentic Cypriot food and local products. The certification launched in June 2025.

The detailed criteria are not published. Use the Taste Cyprus website to look up participating tavernas, and ask the taverna if you want to know whether it holds the label.

What is the etiquette at a meze?

• Pace yourself. The best dishes usually come last, so go easy on the bread and dips.
• Try a little of everything. It is fine to leave food once you have had enough. The waiter will usually check before bringing the next round, and you can ask them to slow down or stop.
• Mention allergies and diets first. Do it when you order, not when the hot dishes arrive.
• Children. Meze is priced per person, so ask when you book how the taverna charges for young children and whether they will make a plain grilled dish instead. Our guide to family-friendly restaurants in Cyprus lists places with play areas.
• Drinks. Cypriots often drink local beer or a Cypriot red or rosé with meat, and a crisp white with fish. Zivania, the grape spirit (40–50% alcohol), comes in small glasses and is meant to be sipped. Read more in our zivania guide, and explore local wine on our wine routes guide.
• Getting home. A three-hour meze with wine and zivania calls for a designated driver or a taxi.

What to do next

• Pick your style: meat for value, fish on the coast, or a vegetarian meze if you need one.
• Book for a weekend lunch or dinner, confirm the per-person price and minimum, and say how many children are coming.
• Arrive hungry, skip the extra starters, and leave room for the grills.

Related guides: food in Cyprus, traditional Cypriot dishes, and the district hubs for Limassol, Paphos, Nicosia and Larnaca.