The best restaurants Southern Nicosia

A little off-center, the "Old Power Station" restaurant (Παλιά Ηλεκτρική/Palia Ilektriki) is part of the Nicosia Municipal Arts Center (MiMAC). It boasts a courtyard that's very pleasant in summer, and a room with a contemporary design. Mediterranean-inspired seasonal cuisine is served here, as well as traditional Cypriot meat dishes with a twist. Sunday morning brunch, interesting selection of Greek and Cypriot wines, cocktails with or without alcohol. Closed February-March.

It's a strange proposition to come to Nicosia-Nord for "paella", shrimp and squid "à la portugaise" or spaghetti "à la napolitaine". But this restaurant has a unique location: its terrace overlooks the chevet of the Selimiye mosque, allowing diners to admire the splendid Gothic buttresses of the ancient cathedral and the domes of the Mahmoud-II library. Tourist clientele, romantic evening atmosphere, small wine list and efficient service. Sometimes closed out of season.

This "authentic Armenian restaurant" (Άβο Αυθεντική Αρμένικη Κουζίνα/Avo Afthentiki Armeniki Kouzina, Avo's Armenian Food) is in fact a fast-food joint: here we serve lahmajoun, the oriental "pizza" rolled with lamb meat that's swallowed in three bites. For a complete meal, try the souvlaki with lightly spiced meat served in a thin pita with parsley and tomatoes. Souvlaki is available for one or two people. It's fresh, and really inexpensive!

Open since 1938, this very good "Cypriot taverna" (Ζανέττος Κυπριακή Ταβέρνα/Zanettos Kypriaki Taverna) is set in the Ömeriye district, a stone's throw from the mosque and hammam. Under the arches and in a décor with vintage photos, a unique menu of mezzés is served here. It's pantagruelic and the wine is included: snails, vine leaves, tahini, salads, pancetta, calf's liver, pork in wine, Cypriot bulgur, lingot beans... Twenty-three dishes in all! And very few customers manage to eat it all.

In Greek mythology, the "Champs Elysées" is first and foremost paradise. Vegans will find theirs here in this "plant-based bar-cuisine". Burgers with veggie pâté (mushrooms, tahini, lentils, etc.), buns with jaque apple and BBQ sauce, quinoa-strawberry or "Greek" salads with a soy paste to replace feta, pies with "fake cheeses", no-sugar-added cakes, pancakes, and more. Nice decor, small terrace and friendly staff.

We're not going to tell you it's the best place to eat, but this café-restaurant is one of the first in Nicosia to offer Filipino dishes. It's about time, since the neighborhood has been home to a large community from the Southeast Asian archipelago since the 1990s. The result is quite improbable, as this traditional Greek-style café serves Turkish-style coffee as well as Filipino staples such as adobo (pork with barbecue sauce), tuyo (fried fish) and ginataang manok (chicken curry).

Chicha, thé tea, and mezzé in this authentic Lebanese restaurant. After shisha, you can take a tabbouleh or a delicious fatoush salad with toasté bread or a taouk shish. Shawarma at 9,50 €. Shisha (apple and grape molasses) at 8 € and 12 € to the fresh apple. It is better not to be hurried because the service is a little long. Some evenings, belly dance show. For info, the hotel rents a few rooms and has a small annexe 100% shisha at the corner of Solonous and Sokratous streets.

La "Boussole" (Πυξίδα) is undoubtedly Nicosia's best psarotaverna (fish taverna). In an elegant but somewhat stuffy setting, seafood, grilled fish, octopus in vinegar, tuna tataki, oysters from Normandy and Charente, shrimps with feta or mustard, fish croquettes, stewed dishes such as cuttlefish cooked in its own ink, pasta with lobster or clams, etc., are served here. And good oregano fries too! Reservations recommended. Other address in Limassol.

The latest young and trendy address that people are talking about and that is part of the new culinary landscape of the capital. Maybe a little too much. The price of success: it was crowded and we couldn't get our hands on a menu when we passed by. But we get there. You can have a drink with a snack or eat. On the menu (for example): salad of peking duck with tamarind and roasted sweet potatoes, fried chicken bites with Korean gochujang sauce and sesame seeds, summer egg rolls with gambas and fresh mint, vermicelli and peanut sauce...

An excellent address that hasn't changed since 1983. On a waxed tablecloth and in vintage crockery, you can eat authentic magiria, Cypriot home cooking. The choice is yours: indoors or on the small terrace in the shadow of the Arablar mosque, listening to the caged birds or the rumours from the school next door. Depending on the day, Mattheos Georgiou and his daughter Athina offer incredibly tender kouneli (rabbit), stifado or kleftiko (baked lamb)... You can feel that the dishes have been simmering for many hours.

This is Nicosia-Nord's busiest café-restaurant. And with good reason: it's located in the courtyard of the delightful "grand caravanserai", the Büyük Han. The cuisine served here is fairly honest Middle Eastern: mezze, Turkish or Cypriot ravioli, bulgur "sausages", badadez köftesi (phyllo rolls with meat or potatoes), chicken kebabs, bureks and more. Drinks: ayran (fermented milk), Turkish beers, lemonade, tea, coffee... Very pleasant in the morning, before the mass arrival of tourists.

We recommend this bookshop for its restaurant, which serves a choice of three to four daily Cypriot or international dishes, each accompanied by three mezzés, bread and a dessert. The place is pleasant, with a small, nicely decorated dining room upstairs, a large shady courtyard between ruined buildings and, of course, plenty of shelves of books, mainly in Turkish. It's also a great place to have a drink: cocktails with or without alcohol, wines, beers, coffees, teas... Good wifi and a cozy atmosphere.

This "boutique bistro" with its pretty tiled floor will surprise you with its mussels and French fries with coconut milk, artichoke hearts with pistachios, Parmesan and watermelon salad, Brazilian-style beef steak, Moroccan-style chicken, almond-walnut-pistachio-mushroom risotto, vegetarian burger with roasted beet and chickpeas, desserts and homemade ice cream... It's good, beautifully presented and the decor changes every month with new paintings on the white walls. A small terrace and evening reservations are recommended.

This café-restaurant in the Selimiye district is a nice brunch spot in the quiet street off the mosque's library (kütüphane) , between the Saçaklı house and the buffer zone wall. It serves poached eggs with bacon or avocado toast, bao buns, pasta, meatballs, salads, daily specials, alcohol and very good homemade cold drinks (lemonade, fruit iced tea...). In August, the store is closed during the day and on Sundays.

Honest local cuisine at very reasonable prices. We like the area, although touristy, and the beautiful courtyard. But if we recommend this address, it's also because it's a warm, family-run business. Despite the crowds, especially at lunchtime, this modest restaurant remains half-hidden on the side of the Selimiye mosque. The dishes are hearty. Try dishes such as karnıyarık (stuffed eggplant) and don't forget to order the homemade hummus, tasty with its lemony notes.