Winter Comfort Food in Cyprus: Trahanas, Avgolemono, Kleftiko and Where to Eat Them

Cypriot winter food is slow, filling and built on what the island stores up in summer: trahanas soup with halloumi, lemony avgolemono, kleftiko lamb from a sealed oven, stifado, kolokasi, louvi and bean soups. Traditional tavernas in every district still cook them, but often only on certain days, so it pays to know what to order and when to phone ahead.

Below we explain each dish, then list tavernas in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and the Troodos that were serving traditional food in 2025–26, with prices from recent reviews and where to buy trahanas to cook at home.

What do Cypriots eat in winter?

From November to March the menu at home and in village tavernas shifts from grills and salads to pots, soups and the oven. These are the dishes you will see most:

Sweets follow the same seasonal logic: hot loukoumades drenched in syrup or honey, and soutzoukos, strings of almonds dipped in thickened grape must, made around the grape harvest and sold through winter.

What is trahanas and how is it made?

Trahanas is the most Cypriot of these dishes. It is a dried, fermented product made in summer from sour sheep's and/or goat's milk and wheat, and a 16th-century historian already noted trahanas being made in July. The method has hardly changed: salted milk is left to sour for about a week, crushed wheat is stirred in and cooked into a thick mass, which is then rested, cut into pieces and dried in the sun for at least eight days. Properly stored, it keeps all year.

In winter the dried pieces are soaked, then simmered in water or chicken stock until thick and creamy. Small cubes of halloumi go in at the end and soften without fully melting. The result is tangy, salty and very filling. The Visit Cyprus recipe is a good starting point if you want to make it yourself; note that most trahanas is already salted, so taste before adding more.

One village is particularly tied to it. In Statos-Agios Fotios in Paphos district, as of July 2026, nearly every household makes trahanas each summer, laying it out to dry in courtyards.

What are avgolemono, kleftiko and stifado?

What is kolokasi and why is Sotira famous for it?

Kolokasi is taro root. In Cyprus it is peeled without washing (so it does not turn slimy), cracked into chunks rather than cut, and braised with pork or chicken, celery and tomato. Kolokasi Sotiras, grown around the red-soil village of Sotira in Famagusta district, has been registered in the EU as a Protected Designation of Origin since 3 August 2016. Small whole tubers are sold as poulles.

Where can you eat traditional winter food in Cyprus?

Every taverna below was serving traditional Cypriot food in 2025 or 2026. Few have their own website, so we link to their official Facebook page where there is one. Opening days and prices change; always phone before driving out, especially for kleftiko.

Nicosia and nearby villages

Zannetos, on Trikoupi Street in the old town and serving meze since 1938, was also listed among Nicosia's traditional tavernas in February 2025.

Limassol

Larnaca

Paphos

For more ideas in the district, see our Paphos restaurant guide.

Troodos villages

Both had reviews from summer and autumn 2026. Mountain tavernas can shorten their hours on weekdays in deep winter, so check before you go.

Where can you buy trahanas and winter ingredients?

• Municipal markets. The covered markets in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos are good places to look for dried trahanas, pulses, halloumi and kolokasi in season. Days and hours are in our markets guide.
• Supermarkets and delis. Packaged trahanas is usually shelved with pulses and grains in the larger supermarkets; delis and village shops often stock homemade batches.
• Village producers. In summer, villages such as Statos-Agios Fotios make it fresh; buying directly is the best way to get a homemade batch.
• Kolokasi. Look for labels mentioning Sotira or "Kolokasi Sotiras" if you want the PDO product.

Tips for ordering winter dishes at a taverna

1. Phone ahead for oven dishes. Kleftiko, tavas and ofto are cooked in batches on set days and sell out.
2. Ask what is cooked today. Many tavernas have daily pot dishes (mayirefta) that are not on the printed menu.
3. Meze is per person, with a minimum. In 2025 Limassol tavernas charged around €24–26 per person, usually for at least two people.
4. Lent changes the menu. During the Orthodox fasting periods, bean dishes, louvi and fasolada are easier to find.
5. Book at weekends. Village tavernas fill up on Sunday lunchtimes in winter.

What to do next

Learn the background to these dishes in traditional Cypriot dishes and where locals eat them, try our kleftiko recipe at home, and plan your cold-season weekends with our guide to winter in Cyprus.