Best Restaurants in Cyprus: Rankings, Districts and Prices (2026)

Best Restaurants in Cyprus: Rankings, Districts and Prices (2026)

This guide is current to 29 October 2026. It sets out what published rankings, award lists and official sources say about the best restaurants in Cyprus: which lists exist, how each one is compiled, which venues they name in each district, what the island’s food heritage rests on, and what official statistics and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) report on meal prices.

Every ranking statement below is tied to a named list, a date and a method, because a list reflects its own jury or its own voters and not a single measure of quality. Venue details (area and cuisine) are taken from the list entry or from the venue’s own page. The guide covers the areas under the Republic of Cyprus government, with Northern Cyprus handled in one short paragraph, and it closes with a frequently asked questions section and a list of sources.

Rankings That Cover the Best Restaurants in Cyprus

Two annual lists are used in this guide for the best restaurants in Cyprus, and they work in different ways. The WiZ 50 Best Restaurants list is produced by WiZ Guide and presented with Bank of Cyprus. According to WiZ’s own collection page, a panel of 12 judges decided the list after secret tastings, and the 2025 edition was announced at a ceremony at the Hilton in Nicosia on Tuesday, 27 January 2026. The Cyprus Eating Awards are organised by the media company Check In Cyprus and are decided by reader votes in named categories. The 2025 awards were presented on Tuesday, 3 February 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol, with 91 restaurants taking part and 92,387 votes counted, according to Check In Cyprus.

The difference in method matters when reading the tables in this guide. A jury list ranks a fixed number of places in numbered order, so rank 7 sits below rank 6 by that panel’s judgment. A vote-based list names one winner per category, so a venue in one category is not compared with a venue in another. The two lists also use year labels differently from the calendar: the list announced in January 2026 carries the label “2025”, and so do the Eating Awards presented in February 2026. When a page says “2025 list”, it refers to the review year, not to the year of the ceremony.

The sizes of the two pools differ as well. WiZ says its guide had 2,136 restaurants registered when the 2025 list was made, while the Eating Awards had 91 entrants. Both numbers describe pools that the organisers assembled, which is why neither list should be read as a census of every restaurant on the island. The January 2024 report by Cyprus Mail describes the earlier WiZ pool as 1,834 dining establishments in the online guide and lists four judging criteria: ingredient quality, kitchen technique, menu creativity, and atmosphere and service.

WiZ 50 Best Restaurants 2025: Method and Top 10

The method is described on several WiZ pages. The article on the 14 new entries states that the guide had 2,136 registered restaurants, that the judges shortlisted 120, that they then visited 80 of them anonymously and without warning, and that the 50 on the list were selected from those 80. The final ranking page states that 12 judges compiled the list after secret tastings and that Bank of Cyprus presented it with WiZ. WiZ also publishes a page naming its judges. According to the collection page, the 2025 list was the fourth that WiZ Guide and Bank of Cyprus presented together.

The funnel can be expressed in simple shares. The 120 shortlisted restaurants equal 5.6% of the 2,136 registered (120 divided by 2,136). The 80 visited equal 3.7% of the registered (80 divided by 2,136) and two thirds of the shortlist (80 divided by 120). The 50 listed equal 2.3% of the registered (50 divided by 2,136) and 62.5% of those visited (50 divided by 80). These percentages describe the funnel as WiZ reports it. They say nothing about restaurants outside the WiZ guide.

The collection page presents the 50 venues alphabetically, while the final ranking page numbers them. The numbered order is used below. The table gives the first ten places with the location and cuisine tag exactly as WiZ lists them.

Within the top ten, Limassol venues hold four places (ranks 1, 2, 4 and 7), Nicosia venues five (ranks 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10) and one venue in the Paphos district holds rank 6. The Polo, a Mediterranean restaurant at the Alasia Boutique Hotel in Limassol, is first on the 2025 list. Seasons Oriental at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol is fourth. Four of the ten (The Polo, COR Gastronomy, Seasons Oriental and Musa) are in Limassol and two of the ten (The Polo and Seasons Oriental) are inside hotels. The cuisine tag is WiZ’s own category and not a description from the venue; for example, WiZ files Seasons Oriental under “Ethnic” and The Farmyard under “Ethnic” as well.

For one Nicosia entry, the venue-level detail is available from WiZ’s English-language place page: Sentio is listed at 13 Stasandrou in Nicosia as a modern Mediterranean bistro with Middle Eastern and Asian influences, open from 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM, Monday to Sunday, as shown on that page on the day this guide was checked. Opening hours change, so they are given here only as an example of what the place pages contain.

How the WiZ List Changes Between Editions and Districts

A ranking is easier to read when the earlier editions are visible. WiZ’s page on top-ten appearances gives the winner of each edition from 2022 to 2025, and a separate WiZ article lists the 14 new entries of the 2025 edition.

Four editions produced three different first-place venues, and The Polo has held first place in the two most recent editions. The same WiZ page counts top-ten appearances across the 2022 to 2025 editions and finds seven restaurants tied on three each: The Polo (2023, 2024, 2025), Salt & Fire (2022, 2024, 2025), Seasons Oriental (2023, 2024, 2025), Mpempa (2023, 2024, 2025), The Farmyard (2023, 2024, 2025), Sentio (2023, 2024, 2025) and Oi Mageirisses (2022, 2023, 2024). No venue has four top-ten appearances in the four editions covered, which is a plain count taken from that page.

Turnover below the top ten is larger. The article on new entries names 14 venues that were not on the previous list: Acane, Barrio, Kohili, Leila, Limanaki, Musa, Nippon, Onar, Oris, Palaia Elia, Ristorante Bacco, Shibui, Famelia and Vintage. Fourteen of 50 is 28% of the list. The highest-placed of them is Musa at rank 7, the only newcomer inside the top ten; the lowest is Famelia at rank 50. A reader comparing best restaurants in Cyprus lists across years should therefore expect roughly one place in four to change hands, at least on the 2025 evidence.

Counting the final ranking by district gives the following picture. WiZ labels each venue with a town or village, and the Nicosia count below includes entries that WiZ places in villages of the Nicosia district such as Kampi and Paliometocho.

The arithmetic is 20 + 17 + 6 + 6 + 1 = 50. Nicosia district has more entries than Limassol district on this count, 20 against 17, although Limassol holds the first and second places. Hotels and resorts matter in the list: 11 of the 50 entries (22%) are listed by WiZ at a named hotel or resort, namely The Polo, Seasons Oriental, Ristorante Bacco, The Grill Room, Kohili, Nerea, BeefBar, LPM, Ristorante Locatelli, Limanaki and Nema.

The cuisine tags can also be counted. WiZ tags 19 of the 50 as Mediterranean, 8 as Cypriot, 6 as International, 6 as Ethnic, 3 as Fish & seafood, and one each as Greek, Italian, Asian, Georgian, Street food and Meze, while two entries carry no tag. The eight Cypriot-tagged venues are in the Nicosia district (four: Oi Mageirisses, Potamos tis Militsas, Gevsikleous 62 and The Royal Goat Farm), the Larnaca district (three: Koutsonikolias, To Patrikon and Famelia) and Limassol (one: Dionysus Mansion). The tags are WiZ’s classification, and a venue tagged Mediterranean may serve Cypriot dishes.

Cyprus Eating Awards: Reader-Vote Results

The Cyprus Eating Awards are the second named list used in this guide. According to the coverage by Sigmalive and Check In Cyprus, the 2025 awards were presented on 3 February 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, with Nespresso as presenting partner and Bank of Cyprus as main sponsor. The 91 participating restaurants shared 92,387 votes, an average of about 1,015 votes per restaurant (92,387 divided by 91). The category winners are below. Category names are paraphrased and the town is the one given by the organiser.

Counting the 17 category winners by town gives Limassol eight (new opening, international, Greek, Mediterranean, cocktail and wine bar, and the three hotel categories), Nicosia four (Asian, summer venue, modern Cypriot, kafeneio), Larnaca two (fish and street culture), the Famagusta district two (Protaras and Paralimni) and Paphos one (souvlaki): 8 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 17. Of the 17 winners, four also appear in the WiZ top 50: Oris (rank 32), Classic by Bistrot 55 (rank 16), COR Gastronomy (rank 2) and Seasons Oriental (rank 4). That is 4 of 17, or 23.5%, so the two lists overlap at the top but are far from identical.

Check In Cyprus also presented honorary awards that sit outside the categories. The readers’ favourite award went to 7 Linoi in Kapileio, Limassol. Acane in Limassol received the wine culture award, Nicolas Anastasiou of Nerea the young chef award, Sentio in Nicosia the award for gastronomic rise, Mensa in Panagia, Paphos the out-of-town escape award, and Pyxida in Nicosia the all-time classic award. The lifetime achievement awards, given to businesses more than 60 years old, went to Tria Fanaria Lemonaris in Nicosia (founded 1952), Taverna Pissas in Nicosia (1960) and Mageireion I Sykamnia in Limassol (1950). Those three are the only venues in this guide described by a founding year, and the years are the organiser’s.

The next edition is already open for voting. According to the Cyprus Eating Awards 2026 page, the 2026 edition has 90 candidate restaurants across 15 categories, including a seaside restaurant category and separate international contemporary and international fusion categories, and voting closes on 13 November 2026. Votes can be cast online, by SMS or by phone, and the page lists SMS at €1.02 including VAT and calls at €1.02 from a landline or €1.10 from a mobile. Because the winners are decided by participation, the 2026 results will say as much about which venues mobilised voters as about the food, and they are not available at the date of this guide.

Best Restaurants in Cyprus Lists: Limassol District

Limassol district has 17 of the 50 WiZ entries, including ranks 1, 2, 4 and 7. The CTO’s overview of Cyprus describes Limassol as a coastal city known for its promenade, wine villages, gastronomy and cosmopolitan feel. In the WiZ list the entries fall into three groups: restaurants inside hotels (The Polo, Seasons Oriental, The Grill Room, Nerea, BeefBar, LPM, Ristorante Locatelli and Limanaki), restaurants listed in Old Limassol (Classic by Bistrot 55, Alley and Shibui) or on the seafront (Musa and Oris at Trilogy Limassol Seafront), and venues outside the centre, such as Nerea and Ristorante Locatelli at the Amara Hotel in Agios Tychonas and Acane in Parekklisia.

Two features of the Limassol entries stand out in the data. First, 8 of the 17 WiZ entries and 3 of the 8 Eating Awards category winners from Limassol are hotel restaurants, so the hotel is often the address that a diner searches for. Second, the two lists agree on COR Gastronomy, Classic by Bistrot 55, Oris and Seasons Oriental, while the other Limassol winners differ between the lists. Those four are the Limassol venues that appear on both lists.

The Limassol district is also where the Commandaria wine area lies. The Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO lists 14 villages in the Commandaria area, among them Doros, Zoopigi, Louvaras and Monagri, and the CTO lists a separate route for the wine villages of Limassol. Our village profile of Vasa Kilaniou, a wine village near Limassol gives context for a visit; see also our Limassol city page. Food and wine are described further in the food culture section below.

Best Restaurants in Cyprus Lists: Nicosia District

Nicosia district has the largest count in the 2025 WiZ ranking, 20 entries, and five of the top ten. The CTO’s overview describes Nicosia as the capital and as the last divided capital in Europe. The WiZ entries range from restaurants in the city to villages and suburbs: Salt & Fire (listed in Agios Ioannis Malountas, rank 3), Palaia Elia, Gevsikleous 62 and Treis & o Koukos in Strovolos, Oi Mageirisses in Lakatamia, Rous in Agioi Omologites, The Royal Goat Farm in Paliometocho and Potamos tis Militsas in Kampi.

Sentio and Pyxida show how the two lists can overlap. Sentio is rank 8 in WiZ and received the Eating Awards honorary award for gastronomic rise, and Pyxida is rank 9 and received the all-time classic honour. Nicosia’s Eating Awards winners are mostly in other categories from the WiZ entries: Asian cuisine, a rooftop summer venue, a modern Cypriot restaurant and a kafeneio.

Eight WiZ entries in the Nicosia district are listed in suburbs or villages and not simply as “Nicosia”: Palaia Elia, Gevsikleous 62 and Treis & o Koukos in Strovolos, Oi Mageirisses in Lakatamia, Potamos tis Militsas in Kampi, The Royal Goat Farm in Paliometocho, Rous in Agioi Omologites and Salt & Fire in Agios Ioannis Malountas. Several of them are tagged Cypriot, which links this district to the village venues in the Troodos section below. See also our Nicosia city page and our guide to five unusual museums of Cyprus for places to visit around a meal.

Best Restaurants in Cyprus Lists: Paphos and Larnaca Districts

Paphos and Larnaca districts have six WiZ entries each. For Paphos, the CTO overview mentions the UNESCO-listed archaeological sites, natural landscapes and mythology; for Larnaca it describes a relaxed seaside city. The WiZ entries for Paphos are The Farmyard in Kathikas (rank 6), Ristorante Bacco at the Elysium Hotel (rank 14), Kohili at the Cap St Georges Hotel in Agios Georgios Peyias (rank 17), Nema at the Anemi Hotel in Kato Paphos (rank 36), Onar (rank 41) and Koutouro (rank 47). The Farmyard is the only non-Limassol, non-Nicosia venue in the top ten, and it appears in the top ten in all three of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions, according to the WiZ top-ten page.

The Larnaca entries in WiZ are mostly outside the city centre and mostly Cypriot or Mediterranean: Koutsonikolias in Kalo Chorio, Wok & Oven in Aradippou, Theta Mediterranean in Perivolia and To Patrikon in Tersefanou, with Nippon and Famelia listed in Larnaca itself. The two Larnaca winners in the Eating Awards come from different categories, fish and street culture. Larnaca district therefore appears on both lists, but no Larnaca venue appears on both, which is a plain comparison of the two tables above.

For visitors who want context beyond the plate, see our Paphos city page and the guide to traditional Cypriot villages. Kathikas, where The Farmyard stands, is a village in the Paphos district; Panagia, where Mensa stands, is also in the Paphos district, according to the Eating Awards coverage. See also our Southern Cyprus country page.

Beyond the Four Cities: Ayia Napa, Protaras and the Troodos Villages

Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paralimni

The CTO overview places Ayia Napa and Protaras, the beach resorts, in the Famagusta district. One WiZ entry comes from the district: Vassos Psarolimano in Ayia Napa, rank 24, tagged Fish & seafood. The Eating Awards add two winners from the same area: Knight’s Gastropub in Protaras (grill bar or pub category) and Kamasias in Paralimni (taverna category). The Famagusta district is thus represented on both lists, although only one of the three venues is in the WiZ top 50. Beaches around Protaras and Ayia Napa are covered in our guide to the top 10 beaches in Cyprus.

Troodos villages

The Troodos range has few entries on the numbered best restaurants in Cyprus lists, so this section uses a dated editorial source and the venues’ own sites. The National Geographic Troodos guide of 6 October 2026 names Lenia’s Tavern in Vouni (meze including koupepia and keftedes), Symposio Tavern in Pelendri (salads using vegetables from its own garden), Byzantino in Kalopanayiotis (Cypriot dishes with seasonal produce, at the Casale Panayiotis hotel), Linos Inn in Kakopetria (meze with grilled halloumi), Ilios in Platres (Mediterranean-focused, at Pendeli Resort) and Psilo Dendro near Platres. It also names Plateia, a coffeeshop in Vouni established in 1908, Ourania Delights in Phini (loukoumia) and a soutzoukos shop in Arsos.

Two of these venues have their own sites. Linos Inn’s site gives the address as 34 Palea Kakopetria Street in Kakopetria, in the Solea Valley, and describes the inn as a complex of restored old houses converted under the CTO’s agrotourism regulations; its pages list a tavern and Cyprus wines. The Psilo Dendro site describes a working trout farm and mountain restaurant at Platres with fish raised in cold spring water, trout cooked over open flame, and a menu that also includes a pork chop, fried calamari, king prawns and chicken souvla; its opening hours are shown as 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Hours can differ by venue and season, so the venue’s own page is the reference before a drive.

For wider reading on the villages, our guides to Arsos and 34 traditional Cypriot villages describe the places, and what to see in Cyprus lists sights that fit around a meal. The CTO’s overview describes Troodos as a mountain range with traditional villages and Byzantine churches listed as World Heritage Sites.

Northern Cyprus

The rankings and award lists used in this guide cover venues in the areas under the Republic of Cyprus government, and this guide does not rank venues in the north of the island. Northern Cyprus has its own tourism bodies, licensing and price levels, and our pages on the Northern Cyprus country page and the town-by-town overview of Northern Cyprus describe its towns and conditions, while the Northern Cyprus rules guide covers the legal framework that applies there.

Cypriot Food Culture: Meze, Halloumi, Commandaria and Wine Routes

The CTO’s gastronomy pages describe Cypriot food as a blend of Greek and Middle Eastern influences with traces of ancient civilisations, and they describe sharing food as central to social life, from family gatherings to religious festivals. Meze is presented as a variety of small dishes that combine into a feast and as a good introduction to local food. The CTO lists dips, meats that are braised, stewed or clay-cooked, fresh local fish, pulses and legumes in sauces, specialty cheeses and delicatessen cuts as typical components. The same pages mention carob and grape desserts, soutzoukos (a chewy grape-juice sweet), loukoumades, Cyprus coffee, halloumi, and the brandy sour as the national cocktail.

The food culture behind the best restaurants in Cyprus lists includes several elements that have recognition from international or EU bodies, and the table separates what each body says.

The UNESCO page on the Mediterranean diet describes it as knowledge, rituals and traditions linked to growing, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, preserving, processing and cooking food, with shared meals at its centre. It was inscribed in 2013, and the multinational nomination includes Cyprus. The UNESCO entry for Commandaria describes a sweet red wine made in villages on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains by late harvesting, sun-drying the grapes and ageing in oak barrels, served mainly as a dessert wine at weddings, funerals and religious ceremonies. The Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO names the grape varieties as Xynisteri and the local Mavro and lists the 14 villages of the production area.

For halloumi, the European Commission registered the name as a Protected Designation of Origin on 12 April 2021, according to Cyprus Mail, and the regulation is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/591, published in the Official Journal on 13 April 2021 (EUR-Lex). The geographical area corresponds to the whole island, and the protected name takes effect for marketing from 1 October 2021, as the Cypriot agriculture minister stated at the time. The Cyprus Mail report of 21 February 2024 records that the EU General Court dismissed the action against the registration, so the PDO stands. The registration protects the name within the EU: only cheese made in Cyprus under the product specification may carry the name.

The CTO’s wine routes page lists the seven routes in the table and says they are based on geographic location and each region’s indigenous grape varieties. Wine also appears in the restaurant awards: the Eating Awards wine culture award went to Acane in Limassol. Our profile of Vasa Kilaniou is an example of a wine village within reach of Limassol.

Licensing and Food Hygiene Rules for Restaurants

Restaurants in the Republic of Cyprus operate under a licensing system that is described on the government’s Business in Cyprus portal. According to the catering and entertainment establishment page (shown as last updated on 18 September 2026), a licence to operate a restaurant, cafe or similar establishment is issued by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism under the Catering and Entertainment Establishments Laws and Regulations. The page lists the establishment categories as restaurants, taverns, cafeterias or pizza houses, pubs or bars, music and dance venues, discotheques, snack bars and cabarets, and it says one establishment can hold more than one category.

Each category has three classes, A, B and C. The page states that the category is set when the application is approved and that the final class is set within three months of starting operation, after an inspection. The class is a regulatory classification of the establishment, and this guide does not treat it as a rating of the cooking.

Food hygiene inspections are a separate layer. A page published by the Strovolos Municipality states that municipalities conduct official hygiene inspections of restaurants through authorised inspectors, citing the Foods (Control and Sale) Law No. 54(I)/1996 as amended, and that inspectors assess food handlers’ personal hygiene, training and knowledge during on-site visits. That is the legal basis one municipality cites for its own inspections. For the diner, the practical points from official sources are that a restaurant needs a tourism-ministry licence, that its staff need health certificates, and that hygiene checks are carried out by municipal or health authorities under the foods law.

What a Meal Costs: Official Price Data

Menu prices vary by venue, and the venue’s own page or menu is the only reliable source for a specific dish. For readers who compare the best restaurants in Cyprus with a budget, this guide therefore uses three dated sets of aggregate data: the CTO’s average price list, Eurostat’s price level index for restaurants and hotels, and Eurostat’s harmonised consumer price index for catering services.

CTO average prices, March 2025

The CTO money and currency page lists average prices labeled March 2025. They are the most recent dated meal prices on the official tourism portal at the time of writing, and they are 19 months old on 29 October 2026, so they should be read as a reference point and not as current menu prices.

A worked example shows how the list adds up for one person in one day, using only the CTO ranges. At the low end: breakfast €5.50 + fixed-menu lunch €12.00 + tavern meze dinner €28.00 = €45.50, and adding one cappuccino at €4.00 gives €49.50. At the high end: €8.50 + €14.00 + €28.00 = €50.50, and one cappuccino at €4.50 gives €55.00. For two people the same day totals €99.00 to €110.00 (2 x €49.50 and 2 x €55.00), and over seven days for one person it totals €346.50 to €385.00 (7 x €49.50 and 7 x €55.00). The arithmetic is an illustration of the CTO list and not a budget for any specific restaurant, and none of the venues named in this guide is priced here because their own pages and menus are the only valid source for their prices.

VAT on restaurant services

According to the PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries page for Cyprus, last reviewed on 4 August 2026, the reduced VAT rate of 9% applies to restaurant and catering services, and the standard rate is 19%. The CTO money page likewise states that food and restaurant services carry the reduced rate of 9%. If a €28.00 bill were taxed in full at 9%, the VAT inside it would be €28.00 x 9 / 109 = €2.31, leaving €25.69 before tax. That calculation is a conditional illustration, because a bill can contain items taxed at different rates.

Eurostat price levels and catering inflation

Eurostat’s price level index dataset (prc_ppp_ind) includes the category “Restaurants and hotels”, measured with the EU27 average set to 100. The dataset was last updated on 10 July 2025 and its latest year is 2024. For Cyprus, the index was 89.0 in 2024, 88.6 in 2023 and 88.4 in 2022. The table compares 2024 across selected countries.

Read together, the index puts Cyprus 11.0 points below the EU27 average of 100 in 2024, which is 11% lower. The category combines restaurants and hotels, so it is not a measure of restaurant meals alone. The Cyprus value was 95.6 in 2019 and 88.6 in 2021, so the index fell between those years and has been close to 88–89 since 2021.

Prices inside Cyprus have still risen in euro terms. Eurostat’s harmonised index of consumer prices for catering services (dataset prc_hicp_aind, coicop CP111) gives annual average rates of change for Cyprus of 7.5% in 2022, 5.8% in 2023, 5.3% in 2024 and 4.8% in 2025. For comparison, the EU27 rates are 7.0%, 8.1%, 5.1% and 4.1%, and for Greece 4.5%, 6.9%, 6.0% and 6.5%. The index levels (2015 = 100) show the cumulative effect.

The two series answer different questions. The price level index compares the cost of restaurants and hotels between countries in one year, while the harmonised index tracks change in each country over time. A country can be cheaper than the EU average and still see prices rise at a similar pace, which is what the Cyprus figures show: a level 11% below the EU27 average in 2024 and a 2021 to 2025 catering increase of 25.6% against 26.4% for the EU27.

Visiting the Best Restaurants in Cyprus: Tipping, Payment, Hours and Seasons

Service charge and tipping

The CTO money page states that tipping is at the discretion of the customer and is appreciated by hotel and restaurant staff. The Cyprus Mail reported on 11 February 2024 that a 1968 law provides for service charges to be added to bar and restaurant bills, which leaves tipping to the customer, and a Labour Ministry representative told the newspaper that changing the law could be considered, without a timeline (Cyprus Mail report). The bill or menu is the place to see whether a service charge is itemised at a particular venue.

Payment

According to the CTO, major credit cards are widely accepted in towns and tourist areas, Visa and Mastercard are the most commonly accepted, and contactless payment is available at nearly all terminals. The CTO page adds that overseas card use often incurs a fee, commonly around 3%, which depends on the card issuer and not on the restaurant. The official currency is the euro.

Booking, hours and seasons

The venue pages used in this guide show that hours differ widely. Sentio in Nicosia shows evening hours from 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM on WiZ’s place page, while Psilo Dendro in Platres shows daytime hours of 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on its own site. For reservations, the venue’s own page is the reference. Demand is also seasonal. Cyprus Mail reported on 19 October 2026, citing the Cyprus Statistical Service (CYSTAT), that September 2026 tourist arrivals were 580,889, up 1.8% from 570,635 in September 2025, and that January to September 2026 arrivals were 3,401,538, down 5.6% from 3,604,790 a year earlier (Cyprus Mail, 19 October 2026).

A simple calculation shows how concentrated one month can be. January to September 2026 averages about 377,949 arrivals per month (3,401,538 divided by 9), and September’s 580,889 is about 1.54 times that average and 17.1% of the nine-month total (580,889 divided by 3,401,538). Those numbers describe arrivals and not restaurant covers, but they are the official count of visitors who share the dining capacity of the same districts. Our Cyprus tourism trends page and Cyprus holidays page give wider context on arrivals and seasons.

Residents planning a longer stay can compare these meal costs with other living costs in our Cyprus rental prices by city guide, which sets out rents by city and complements the meal-price data above.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best restaurants in Cyprus according to published rankings?

There is no single answer, because lists use different methods. In the WiZ 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list, announced on 27 January 2026, the top five were The Polo (Limassol), COR Gastronomy (Limassol), Salt & Fire (Nicosia), Seasons Oriental (Limassol) and Mpempa (Nicosia). The Cyprus Eating Awards 2025, presented on 3 February 2026, name category winners decided by reader votes, so the two lists answer different questions.

Who produces the WiZ 50 Best Restaurants list and how are restaurants chosen?

WiZ Guide produces it and Bank of Cyprus presents it with WiZ. For the 2025 edition, 12 judges held secret tastings. WiZ says its guide had 2,136 registered restaurants, the judges shortlisted 120, visited 80 and selected 50. The ceremony was at the Hilton in Nicosia on 27 January 2026.

Which district has the most entries in the WiZ top 50?

Nicosia district has 20 of the 50 entries, Limassol district 17, Paphos district 6, Larnaca district 6 and the Famagusta district 1. Limassol holds first and second place. Counting is based on the locations as WiZ lists them, so anyone searching for the best restaurants in Cyprus by area should note that the grouping in this guide is the guide’s own.

Is there a ranking decided by readers instead of judges?

Yes. The Cyprus Eating Awards, organised by Check In Cyprus, are decided by reader votes. The 2025 awards counted 92,387 votes across 91 restaurants. The 2026 edition has 90 candidates in 15 categories and voting closes on 13 November 2026, so its results were not available on 29 October 2026.

What does the CTO say a meze consists of?

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation describes meze as a variety of small dishes that combine to create a feast, with typical components including dips, braised, stewed or clay-cooked meats, fresh local fish, pulses and legumes in sauces, specialty cheeses and delicatessen cuts.

Is halloumi a protected name?

Yes. The European Commission registered Halloumi/Hellim as a Protected Designation of Origin on 12 April 2021 under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/591, covering production on the island of Cyprus under the product specification. The EU General Court dismissed an action against the registration on 21 February 2024, according to Cyprus Mail.

How much does a tavern meze cost in Cyprus?

The CTO’s average price list, labeled March 2025, gives €28.00 for dinner at a local tavern including a beer or a cold drink. That is an average from an official tourism page that is 19 months old on 29 October 2026, so a venue’s own menu is the valid source for a current price.

Are restaurants in Cyprus cheaper than elsewhere in the EU?

According to Eurostat, the price level index for restaurants and hotels in Cyprus was 89.0 in 2024 against an EU27 average of 100, which is 11% lower. It was 112.1 in Germany, 110.0 in France and 106.9 in Italy. The category covers restaurants and hotels together, so a visitor pricing the best restaurants in Cyprus lists should treat it as a national average and not as a menu price.

Is tipping required in Cyprus restaurants?

The CTO states that tipping is at the customer’s discretion. The Cyprus Mail reported in February 2024 that a 1968 law provides for service charges on bar and restaurant bills. Whether a charge is itemised depends on the venue, and the bill shows it.

Who licenses restaurants in Cyprus?

According to the Business in Cyprus portal, page last updated on 18 September 2026, a licence from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism is needed to operate a restaurant, and the establishment needs a health certificate from the Ministry of Health’s Medical Services and Public Health Services. The portal lists separate licences for food handlers and for alcohol sales.

Last checked: 29 October 2026. Sources: WiZ Guide final ranking 2025; WiZ collection page; WiZ new entries; WiZ top-ten appearances; WiZ judges; WiZ place page, Sentio; Cyprus Mail, 31 January 2024; Sigmalive, Cyprus Eating Awards; Check In Cyprus winners; Cyprus Eating Awards 2026; Visit Cyprus gastronomy; Visit Cyprus money and currency; Visit Cyprus wine routes; Visit Cyprus about Cyprus; UNESCO Mediterranean diet; UNESCO Commandaria; Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO; EUR-Lex Regulation 2021/591; Cyprus Mail, halloumi PDO; Cyprus Mail, General Court ruling; Eurostat prc_ppp_ind; Eurostat prc_hicp_aind; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Cyprus; Business in Cyprus portal; Strovolos Municipality; Cyprus Mail, 11 February 2024; National Geographic Troodos guide; Psilo Dendro; Linos Inn; Cyprus Mail, 19 October 2026.