Nicosia eats in two halves: Greek Cypriot tavernas pouring zivania and stacking 20-dish meze on the south side, Turkish Cypriot kebab houses and pastry shops on the north. Between them sit Ottoman markets, halloumi makers and coffee roasters.
The 1932 covered market beside Selimiye Mosque sells hellim (halloumi), sun-dried tomatoes, carob syrup, dried figs and pastırma. Open Mon–Sat roughly 07:00–15:00, quietest before 10:00. Stallholders slice cheese for tasting; cash in Turkish lira only.
Running since 1938 in the old Ottoman quarter, Zanettos grills sheftalia (caul-fat sausage of pork, onion and parsley) over charcoal and serves them with pickled kappari. Meze arrives unasked in 15–20 small dishes until you surrender.
Faneromeni Square's old kafeneia serve kypriakos kafes brewed in a briki over hot sand — order sketos, metrios or glykys — with loukoumi and a glass of cold water. Backgammon boards are free to borrow and afternoons stretch long.
Nicosia's old-town bakeries turn out village bread baked in wood ovens, koulouri sesame rings, tahinopita and Lent-season eliopites studded with olives and mint. Most sell out by early evening; the smell reaches the pedestrian street.
Turkish Cypriot pastry counters near Arasta Street fry lokma to order and stack künefe, baklava with local pistachio, and şekerpare. Künefe comes on a hot copper plate with kaymak; the cheese pulls when it leaves the pan.
Slow-baked kleftiko — lamb shoulder wrapped and sealed in a domed clay oven for five hours with bay leaf and lemon — is Cyprus's flagship dish. Served falling off the bone with roast potatoes and a bowl of village salad topped with anari.
Cypriot lists centre on indigenous grapes: Xynisteri whites, Maratheftiko and Yiannoudi reds, and Commandaria, the sweet sun-dried dessert wine documented since the Crusader era. Tasting flights of four run in the old town's wine bars.
Fish meze is a separate ritual from meat: grilled octopus in red wine, marida whitebait, sea bass, and taramosalata arriving in waves across two hours. Mattheos, near the Ayios Kassianos church, cooks village-style over charcoal.
Every Saturday roughly 06:00–14:00 the Venetian Constanza Bastion fills with growers selling Cyprus potatoes from red Kokkinochoria soil, carob products, wild greens (agrelia), local honey, olives and homemade anari cheese.
Cypriot souvlaki differs from the Greek version: pork or chicken cubes stuffed into a thick pocket pita with tomato, cucumber, parsley, onion and sometimes halloumi — no tzatziki. Grill counters run from lunchtime past midnight.
North-side kebab houses grill hellim until it squeaks and blisters, serving it with fresh mint, tomato and pide. Şeftali kebab and köfte come with bulgur pilaf, ayran and a pile of raw onion dusted in sumac.
Zivania, the 40–50% grape-pomace spirit distilled in Cyprus since the 14th century, is served ice-cold in shot glasses with dried figs, nuts and cured lountza. The restored Chrysaliniotissa lanes hold small bars in old stone houses.