Meze

Many wedding reception venues in Paphos offer a Meze as your meal.  So what exactly is a Meze?

Meze is an abbreviation for Mezedes which means 'little delicacies'.  It's a meal made up of a large selection of individual dishes.

You can choose between a vegetable, meat or fish meze.

Meze is fun!

Mezes are also fun and entertainment. A lot of food is served and it is not expected that everything will be eaten. A meze is a social event where people eat in groups, serve each other and enjoy the entertainment.

Typically a Cyprus Meze will consist of up to 30 different plates of dips, vegetables and a wide range of fish or meat.

A meze is served in groups of four or five plates at a time.  Different tavernas and restaurants offer different dishes - but typically a meze will include:

• Olives, taramosalata, hummus and yoghurt followed by vegetables
• Afterwards small meat or fish dishes are served before whole fish or grills arrive at the table
• The dishes served depend on the speciality of the restuarant or taverna as well as the season

Dishes you might find in a Cyprus Meze

• Feta - cheese made from goat's or sheep's milk
• Afelia - pork cooked in wine
• Haloumi - a Cypriot speciallity made from goat's milk
• Houmus - a dip with chickpeas and garlic
• Dolmades - grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat
• Melintzanosalata - a dip with aubergine and garlic
• Kalamari - deep fried Kalamari
• Tahini - a dip of sesame seeds
• Keftedes - Greek meatballs with oregano
• Taramosalata - a dip with fish roe
• Kleftiko - lamb slow cooked in the oven
• Tsatsiki - a yogurt dip with garlic
• Lountza - Cypriot smoked ham
• Moussaka - meat gratin with aubergine, potatoes, bechamel and cheese.
• Souvlaki - barbequed pork
• Sheftalia - meatballs
• Stifado - beef cooked in wine
• Tavvas - lamb with onion and spices
• Yemista - vegetables filled with rice and meat