Ever heard of the word meze or mezze?

A meze is a selection of small dishes served with few food in each of them. They can be either fish meze or meat meze. The number of dishes can vary from one restaurant to another and can be between 15 to 30 dishes ! To clarify, the price of the meze is quite worth it considering the number of dishes and the amount of food you are presented with.

You cannot go to Cyprus and Ayia Napa without tasting a meze. Ayia Napa is  a resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus, south of Famagusta, and forms part of a larger area known as Kokkinochoria. There are 27 beaches in Ayia Napa and hundreds of restaurants.

What to expect in a meat meze?

A meze can vary from one restaurant to another but it will always look something like this: Salad with Fetta cheese, Tzatziki (Dip made with yoghurt, cucumber, garlic), Taxini (dip made with sesame paste and garlic), Houmous (dip made from chick peas), Taranoslata (dip made from fish eggs), Olives, Holoumi (goat cheese), Lountza (smoked ham), Keftedes (meatballs), Stifado (beef cooked in wine and onions), Kleftiko (lamb cooked in the oven), Pork kebabs, Lamb chops, Grilled chicken and chips.

Below is part of a typical meet meze, so take your time to view the pictures.

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What food to expect in a fish meze?

A meze can vary from one restaurant to another but it will always look something like this: It is a variety of locally caught fish is served grilled and fried, including small-fry, sea bream with olive oil and lemon dressing, cuttlefish, mussels, calamari and octopus. You will also have olives and various dips, such as yoghurt, Tahini (sesame seed dip), Skordalia (potato and garlic), Taramosalata (fish roe), and Tsatziki (cucumber and mint), all served with fresh bread and a bowl salad.

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Good food restaurants for meze

During my last visit in Ayia Napa (August 2019), I ate mezes on a daily basis, alternating between fish and food meze. I visited the following taverns or restaurants, and I recommend them all. They all provided good service, nice ambien and perfect food:

Restaurants for Fish Meze:

Isaac Fish Tavern (near harbour)

Napa Tavern (further up the Ayia Napa Monastery)

Esperia Harbour (close to the harbour)

Apple Restaurant (very close to Nissi Beach)

Restaurants for Meat Meze:

Moomoo Tavern (close to the Luna Park)

Farmers Traditional Tavern (in front of the road leading to the Luna Park

Levanta (close to the Luna Park)