Area guide: Food and drink
Our recommendations for restaurants, cafés, bars, vineyards, and breweries around Kouklia
There is no lack of good food available around Kouklia and the wider Paphos region. These, however, are a few of our favorite spots that we keep returning to.
While we have everything you need for cooking your meals at home – and the views are hard to beat from our villas – we recommend having at least one of your meals out to sample some of what Cyprus has to offer, whether it is at a traditional Cyprus taverna or a restaurant with a more international menu.
Service tends to be very friendly and if you have any dietary requirements, the kitchen is often quite flexible, especially if you are able to ask in advance. Menus are varied and vegetarians normally have no problems. Vegans can often also find several options that work, but I would recommend having a look at this excellent guide in advance: https://www.thenomadicvegan.com/vegan-cyprus-guide/
See all of our recommendations in our guide for Kouklia and the Paphos region!
Tavernas and restaurants
Kouklia: Efraim Taverna (Marias)
Our favorite taverna is run by the very friendly Maria, right on the main square in Kouklia. Their food is more on the rustic side, but very tasty. Their meze is terrific. In the spring, ask if they have wild asparagus omelette.
In the warmer months, they close off traffic on the square in the evenings, which makes it safer if you have little ones who want to run about.
In high season, they also organize a traditional show every Thursday on the square (“Cyprus Night”). Things tend to get quite busy on Cyprus Night in Kouklia village, and the taverns on the square will serve a buffet instead of à la carte.
Address: Apostolou Louka, Kouklia 8500, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 432082
Web: http://efraimtavern.com/
Kouklia: Gabriels Tavern
Right next to Marias on the main Kouklia square you will find Gabriels – it is another very good option. Slightly more varied menu than Marias and all very good quality. Very good meze. Good vegetarian options.
Address: Michalaki Christodoulou 1A, Kouklia 8500, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 432527
Web: https://gabriels-tavern.business.site/
Kouklia: Thanasis Place Tavern
A block away from the main square in Kouklia, you will find Thanasis Place – very friendly place with a somewhat different feel. They try a little bit harder to have a bit of finesse with their plating. They also tend to have better fish than the other taverns in Kouklia. In season, they will often have a traditional music and dance show on Wednesdays.
Address: Main Street, Kouklia 8500, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 432000
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Thanasis-Place-Kouklia-291057140906433/
Pissouri: The Bunch of Grapes
A (now very faded) sign on the road to Pissouri advertises the Bunch of Grapes as “(Probably) the Best Courtyard Restaurant on Cyprus”. We haven’t tried them all, but we would tend to agree! It’s a very friendly family-run restaurant in a beautiful courtyard garden – a couple of notches above all the other restaurants in Pissouri.
Address: Ioanni Erotokritou 9, Pissouri 4607, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 221275
Web: http://thebunchofgrapesinn.com/
Pissouri Bay: Agamemnon
A truly hidden gem (you will not find much, if any information online) is Agamemnon in Pissouri Bay. A very simple lunch restaurant and café with plastic tables and chairs, you can enjoy the dish of the day while listening to the waves.
Park in the public lot in Pissouri Bay and then walk for a minute to the left along the path next to the beach.
Cash only and somewhat irregular opening hours and days.
Address: Pissouri Bay, Pissouri 4607, Cyprus
Pissouri Bay: Yialos Tavern
Our favorite tavern in Pissouri Bay. Beautiful views over the sea and a more fish-based meze.
Address: Ithakis 1, Pissouri 4607, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 221747
Avdimou/Kyrenia: Melanda Beach Restaurant
Beautifully located restaurant by the seaside (and with a nice beach) – serving some of the freshest fish in the Paphos area. Despite its location at the end of a long road in terrible condition, it can get very busy – especially on Sundays. Make sure to reserve in advance so you can get a table with a nice view.
Address: Melanda Avdimou bay, Avdimou 4600, Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 565336
Mandria: To Chorkon Taverna
This family-run taverna is our favored spot when eating in Mandria – good quality local food and a very enjoyable meze.
Address: Συγκρασις 4, Mandria 8504 Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 683063
Web: https://www.facebook.com/%CE%A4%CE%BF-%CE%A7%CF%89%CF%81%CE%BA%CF%8C%CE%BD-To-Chorkon-888027927953420/
Mandria: Mandria Fish & Chips
If you are looking for fish & chips, this is the place! Their food tends to even win over some who are normally not big fans of battered, fried fish.
Address: Main Square, Mandria 8504 Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 422085
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Mandria.fish.and.chips
Timi: Filiotis Fish Tavern
Also known as Filiotis by the Sea. Wonderful location, right on the beach close to the Paphos airport. Only open in the daytime. Service is not always the most pleasant, but they serve some of the better fish in the area.
Address: Apostolou Louka, Kouklia 8500 Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 991555
Anarita: Olivio Mediterranean Restaurant
If you are looking for something a bit fancier for a birthday or special event, with a somewhat more international menu, Olivio in Anarita is a good option!
Address: 1, Agias Marinas street, Anarita 8502, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 423385
Anarita: The Cork N Bottle
For a more proper British pub experience, go to the Cork n Bottle in Anarita – they frequently host live music and quiz nights. Serving a full English Breakfast. As one of our guests put it: “Beware – it’s very British!”
Address: Makriou 111 Avenue, Anarita 8502, Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 949400
Web: https://www.facebook.com/corknbottleanarita/
Paphos: Seven St. Georges Tavern (Εφτά Άϊ Γιώρκηδες ταβέρνα)
There are so many good restaurants close by, so we don’t often drive into Paphos to dine, but we make an exception for Seven St. Georges Tavern. It’s a meze-only restaurant (so no menu) where they will keep bringing you various local dishes throughout your meal. Reservations recommended. They can also accommodate vegetarians and vegans.
Address: Anthipolochagou Georgiou Savva 37, Yeroskipou 8201, Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 655824
Web: https://7stgeorges.com/
Cafés and bars
Kouklia: Meeting Place
Café in Kouklia with very nice outdoor seating, run by the people over at Thanasis Place. Good cakes and breakfast or for sitting down with a coffee.
Address: Main Street, Kouklia 8500, Cyprus
Phone: +357 96 175393
Aphrodite Hills: Costa Coffee
If you want a Costa Coffee, the one in Aphrodite Hills is close by and in a very nice setting. But if getting coffee to go, we would in general recommend getting it from the Pantopoleio Supermarket next door.
Address: Aphrodite Ave 2, Kouklia 8509, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 956711
Pissouri Bay: Captains Bay
The food is not that good, but it’s a great spot if you want to get a drink and watch the sunset or the sea.
Address: Pissouri Beach, Pissouri 4607, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 221158
Web: https://www.facebook.com/captainsbay
Mandria: Mandria Beach Bar
Nice bar on the beach operating out of a converted shipping container. Good for a sun-downer, but not much in the way of non-alcoholic drinks. No food available. They do tend to play music, so not a good choice if you want a quiet time.
Address: Tassos Papadopoulos, Mandria, Cyprus
Timi: Bonamare Beach Bar
Good beachside bar and café – especially if you are looking for some shade as they have large canopies set up over the tables. Good selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They also serve food, which is a bit above your normal beach bar fare.
They regularly organize music events in the summer.
They also rent out sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach.
Address: Paralia, Timi 8507, Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 800298
Web: https://www.facebook.com/iLikeBonaMare/
Vineyards
Cyprus has been making wine for millennia (the oldest wine found is from 3500 BC, so 5500 years old!). There are excellent wines to be had depending on your tastes, from simple table wines to more sophisticated wines, as well as the island’s famous Commandaria sweet wine. There are plenty of vineyards to discover up in the mountains, especially in the Paphos and Lemesos regions, and as many of them have tasting rooms, we recommend visiting at least a couple.
We always enjoy exploring local grape varieties and with such a long history of wine making, and a quite unique climate, there are many indigenous grape varieties grown alongside international varieties. The ones you are most likely to come across are:
- Xynisteri: The most grown white grape variety on the island, producing very light-colored wine, with low alcohol levels and low acidity.
- Mavro: The most common red grape variety, producing balanced, slightly acidic red wines with a lot of tannins, distinctive flavor and color. Not suitable for aging.
- Maratheftiko (Vamvakada): A less common variety, as it is quite difficult to grow, producing a very concentrated red wine, deeply colored and full-bodied with a distinct, slightly fruity aroma of cherry and blackberry.
- Other native varieties that you may come across include Lefkada, Promara, Spourtiko, and Giannoudi.
There are a lot of wineries – we have included our favorite ones, but there are many others that are also worth a visit!
Wine tours
If you don’t have a designated driver, a wine tour can be a very enjoyable (and safe) option to discover the vineyards around Paphos. We recommend Paphos Wine Tours – they can even pick you up at the villa for a surcharge.
Paphos Wine Tours
https://www.paphoswinetours.com
+357 9915 8312
Tsangarides Winery
Our favorite vineyard in the Paphos region. Order in a cheese platter and test their wines and ask if they can take you on a tour of the facilities.
They produce some of the very few organic wines on Cyprus, and they make an excellent organic Maratheftiko (as well as organic Mataro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and a rosé Shiraz-Maratheftiko). Our go-to for an everyday (non-organic) wine is otherwise their Agios Efraim.
Address: Lemona, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 722777
Web: http://tsangarideswinery.com/
Vouni Panayia Winery
Has some very decent wines. Unlike many wineries, their tasting is free, but as a result it can feel a bit hurried. For a more relaxed experience, it is recommended to combine the tasting with a meze (a bottle of wine included) – make sure to call ahead to order this.
Address: 60, Archbishop Makarios III Avenue, Pano Panagia 8640, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 722770
Web: https://www.vounipanayiawinery.com/
Vasilikon Winery
Vasilikon has very decent wines, but the reason we go here is because they have a nice restaurant attached to the winery, with good salads in particular.
Address: Kathikas 8573, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 633999
Web: https://www.vasilikon.com/
Tsiakkas Winery
Located higher up in the mountains with vineyards at 1000-1400 meters, Tsiakkas makes both some sure cards and keep experimenting with new varieties. If you are looking to sample something stronger, they also make an interesting aged Zivania.
Address: Pelendri 4878, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 991080
Web: https://tsiakkaswinery.com/
Zambartas Wineries
A Lemesos winery with some interesting wines – in particular their Margelina single vineyard wine from ungrafted century-old vines.
Address: Grigores Afxentiou 39, Agios Amvrosios 4710, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 942424
Web: https://zambartaswineries.com/
Vlassides Winery
One of the larger wineries on the island, they have both their more established wines and some experimental lines that you can taste.
Address: Koilani, Limassol 4776, Cyprus
Phone: +357 97 789560
Web: https://vlassideswinery.com/
Breweries
Aphrodite’s Rock Microbrewery
NOTE: Aphrodite’s Rock Microbrewery is currently closed as the previous owners are in the process of trying to find a buyer for the business.
Family-owned brewery up in the mountains above Paphos that is definitely worth a visit to sample a flight of their different brews. They also have a good restaurant attached that serves pizza, hamburgers, mussels and other good pub fare (note that the portions are quite huge).
Address: Tsada 8540, Cyprus
Phone: +357 26 101901
Web: https://aphroditesrock.com.cy/
Mastros Microbrewery
Another small brewery up in the mountains, in Amargeti. They only make two brews – a bitter and an IPA – but both are excellent. And they make up for their lack of variety on the brewery front by also making their own wines and olive oils! They also run a restaurant with gorgeous views out over the hills where you can sample all of their products.
Address: Agios Agathonikos, Amargeti 8642, Cyprus
Phone: +357 99 829398
Web: https://mastros.cy/
Lofou Microbrewery
Lofou is a slightly longer drive, located in the hills above Lemesos – but this microbrewery is worth a stop – lovely people who are making excellent craft beers. On our last visit they had a pils, a porter, and a session IPA that were all very well executed.
Address: Evsevias kai Kaliopis, Lofou 4716, Cyprus
Phone: +357 25 434100