Eating out in North Cyprus

Cypriot cuisine is a fantastic mix of the Eastern Mediterranean and modern European tastes and has many characteristics taken from the island's numerous conquerors. It will not take long for you to discover why one of the national pastimes in North Cyprus is eating! A memorable part of any Northern Cyprus holiday will be missed if you do not sample the local cuisine.

"Meze" is the Turkish word for Hors-d'oeuvres. In many of the local restaurants in North Cyprus food will start arriving on the table soon after you sit down; this means that there is a set menu and that you will be served meze and then usually a choice of grilled chicken, meat or fish or a combination of the three. Most of the appetizers in North Cyprus will change seasonally, as they are usually prepared with home grown ingredients. Remember that this is only the beginning of a Turkish meal so take it ''yavas yavas'' (slowly slowly!).

You should anticipate up to fifteen small dishes of Northern Cyprus meze, including the delicious home-made yoghurt, rice stuffed vegetables, black-eyed beans, humus (puree of chicken peas and sesame paste) and nor (white cheese). As these are slowly savoured a selection of hot starters will be served alongside, which will include sigara borek (filo pastry filled with cheese), kofte (Cypriot meatballs) and the tasty, locally produced, grilled hellim cheese.

Cypriots are great meat eaters; and use mainly lamb and chicken in their cooking. All meat is locally reared. There is no import license issued for fresh meat. As North Cyprus is a Muslim country, pork is not served everywhere, but you can find pork in some restaurants and hotels if the fancy takes you.

For those wishing to dine on some more familiar food, North Cyprus has an abundance of restaurants offering a wealth of culinary delights. Between Girne (Kyrenia) and Guzelyurt there are about 350 establishments, serving French, Chinese, Indian, European and even Japanese cuisine. If you need a recommendation for dinner, don't hesitate to ask us!

One of the most popular drinks for tourists to Northern Cyprus is the Brandy Sour, which makes a delicious aperitif. It consists of liberal helping of local brandy with bitters, lemon squash (usually home made) and soda.

Raki is another popular tipple, and is an aniseed based drink, also known as 'lion's milk'. It turns cloudy when diluted with water, and makes a great accompaniment to fish meze.

Those who'd like to stay sober can try the traditional Cypriot 'Limonata', a refreshingly lemon squash which is almost always home made, or 'Gul surubu', which is a drink made from rose petals.

After your meal, you will almost always be offered a Turkish coffee, enjoyed by all tourists on North Cyprus holidays. The secret of Turkish coffee is to use good coffee beans and create froth on the top. Turkish coffee is served in small cups and can be taken in four different ways - sade without sugar, az sekerli with a little sugar, orta sekerli with medium sugar and sekerli with lots of sugar.