Restaurants in Northern Cyprus

The amount of restaurants and cafes an individual has to choose from in Northern Cyprus is overwhelming! There are enough choices for you to pick a different restaurant every night of the week for a whole year and even then I don’t think you’d have visited more than half!

The choices available are broad, you can choose from a traditional Cypriot restaurant serving local specialities to an Indian restaurant, a fast food cafe to splendid international cuisine with silver service. Whatever your palate and budget you’re guaranteed choice and excellence.

This article is simply an examination of the types of restaurants in Northern Cyprus rather than a restaurant review...it should give you some food for thought!

Family Restaurants

Children are made to feel so very welcome everywhere you go in Cyprus but certain restaurants cater specifically for the family offering wider menu choice, clean and cheerful surroundings and no pretensions or airs and graces that will make the parent with the crying child feel uncomfortable!

Ezic Chicken is one such family friendly place. Situated on the main through road in Kyrenia it offers a wide and varied menu featuring the best in traditional Cypriot and Turkish fare with Italian pizza and pasta favourites, salads and of course a complete children’s menu as well.

The restaurant is first class, brilliantly managed, the staff are highly efficient and courteous. Families with children, quiet couples, lone diners and large groups all sit comfortably and enjoy the freshly prepared and cooked meals.

Just across the road from Ezic is another family favourite, Passport. Serving a similar menu to Ezic the pace of life in Passport is little slower and sometimes quieter...but the standards and welcome are the same.

Both offer a home delivery and takeaway service as well.

Fast Food

Northern Cyprus is probably the last place on earth untouched by the fast food giants like Macdonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut which means others have been free to develop their own fast food outlets offering a far wider less restricted choice.

For pizza try London Pizza in Kyrenia or the Cider Man in Karaoglanoglu, for burgers there are Burger City restaurants in a number of locations in Northern Cyprus, particularly in Karaoglanoglu, Nicosia and Famagusta. They offer a Burger King or Macdonald’s style menu but the food is usually freshly cooked as you wait and somehow tastes much nicer!

Traditional Turkish Cypriot

For meze’s, fish and kebabs the choices are endless, the quality is usually excellent and the volume of food you will be presented with almost overwhelming! Erol’s in Ozankoy serve the most excellent hot and cold meze and if you follow that with a mixed kebab you will be able to sample the very best in Turkish Cypriot cuisine. A mouth-watering array of small meze dishes will allow you to pick and choose and get to know the local fare, the mixed kebab will allow you to sample a wide array of the traditional meat dishes.

Beyti’s in Kyrenia is another restaurant in Northern Cyprus serving a good range of traditional food, from kebabs and mezes to salads and some international dishes as well. The service and ambience are fantastic, the quality of the food exquisite and yet the price is highly reasonable - if not cheap.

Indian

For those of you who love Indian cuisine there’s Jashan’s in Karaoglanoglu, The Courtyard in Karakum and East Meets West in Kyrenia to name but three. The food available from each is top quality, the menus are varied enough without offering a bewildering selection and a favourite would be very hard to choose! All offer a takeaway service with Jashan’s also offering delivery.

East Meets West is tucked away down the pretty old back streets of Kyrenia and also offers a small international menu, the setting is charming and this is my favourite! The Courtyard is an expat favourite in Karakum with the main restaurant area outside in the courtyard from which the restaurant obviously derives its name! They too offer an international menu for those looking for a wider choice. Jashan’s is a little more pricey but their purpose built restaurant is first class and their takeaway service is pretty damn good too!

Italian

The best Italian selection is probably available from Luciano’s in Kyrenia with other favourites including The Brasserie in Kyrenia. Both are set in beautiful surroundings in the old town area with Luciano’s offering intimate dining in a tiny pretty courtyard tucked away near the Icon Museum. The Brasserie restaurant is near the main mosque and is set in the most beautiful and well restored colonial mansion...well worth a visit for the surroundings if not the food!

Sophisticated and Unusual!

Stonegrill is on the road between Kyrenia and Alsancak and offers an interesting and healthy dining experience. Beware though, the portions are huge and the healthy way much of the meat is cooked will be wiped out by the amount you will eat! Steaks and meats are served sizzling on your very own hot stone so that the meat continues to cook away while you carve off small portions to eat at a time. They also serve meze, soup and desert as an all inclusive dining experience. Prices are not cheap but they are well worth it.

The Ambience is set on the edge of Mediterranean in Karaoglanoglu, it is beautifully designed and furnished, offers a fantastic menu and the setting simply makes the dining experience perfect. Dine in style at The Ambience.

Efendi’s in Kyrenia is a firm favourite with expats and locals alike. Hidden away it can be hard to find but follow the little signs up the back streets opposite the Colony hotel and your search will be well rewarded! Recently renovated it has been refurbished in first class style and the menu and food quality reflects the stunningly stylish interior. In the summer you can sit out underneath the pretty trees in the courtyard and enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

Rafters in Ozankoy is another firm favourite with expatriates particularly on a Sunday when they serve a mean Sunday roast! The menu is broad and interesting offering a selection for all tastes, the interior and exterior dining spaces are comfortable and friendly and the staff are very welcoming.

This selection of restaurants is tiny, you’ll soon realise this when you come to North Cyprus and see the wealth of choice. Go out there and sample as many as you can! Only then will you be able to establish your firm favourites.