Is Paphos expensive to eat out?

Not compared with the UK. A cheap meal is about €15 and a mid-range dinner for two about €50, per Numbeo. Harbour-front restaurants charge more for the view.

What is meze in Cyprus?

A set menu of many small shared dishes, usually 15–20, served in waves. Most tavernas need at least two people to order it.

Do you tip in restaurants in Cyprus?

Tipping isn't compulsory, but most people round up or leave 5–10% for good service. Check whether a service charge is already on the bill.

Which area of Paphos has the best restaurants?

The old town and Geroskipou for local food, and Kato Paphos for choice and sea views. The villages behind the coast are best for long Sunday lunches.

Are there any Michelin-starred restaurants in Paphos?

No. The Michelin Guide doesn't currently select any restaurants in Cyprus, so no restaurant in Paphos has a star. Rankings on Tripadvisor and Google, plus word of mouth, are the local guides.

What food should you try in Paphos?

Start with a full meze, then look for halloumi, sheftalia, afelia and kleftiko. For something quick, a pitta souvlaki costs about €6–€8, and local bakeries sell halloumi pies for breakfast.

Which is the nicest part of Paphos for eating out?

The old town around Kennedy Square for modern meze and views, and Geroskipou for traditional tavernas. Kato Paphos harbour has the most choice, but prices are aimed at visitors.

Best Restaurants in Paphos: A Resident's Guide (2026)

Q: Where do locals eat in Paphos?

In Geroskipou, the old town and the hill villages rather than on the Kato Paphos harbour strip. Look for tavernas full of Cypriot families on Sundays.

Best Restaurants in Paphos for New Residents

The best restaurants in Paphos for residents are the meze tavernas in Geroskipou and the old town, not the harbour strip. These seven places were all open, with current hours and recent reviews, when we checked in September 2026, from a set meze at 7 St Georges to sunset dinners at Muse.

JJason 10 min read Last verified 27 September 2026

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The short version

Eat meze. A set meze of 15–20 small dishes is the Cypriot way to eat out and the best value on most menus.

Prices: a cheap restaurant meal in Paphos costs about €15 and a mid-range dinner for two about €50 (Numbeo, September 2026).

Prices are rising: restaurant and accommodation prices in Cyprus were 13.3% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier.

Book ahead for the popular tavernas, especially at weekends and in summer. Several open only in the evening and close one or two days a week.

Tipping: round up or leave 5–10% for good service.

Everyone eats at the harbour in their first week. It's where the tourists are and the menus come with pictures. After a month you'll find that the food locals rate is in Geroskipou, the old town and the villages behind the coast.

I'm Jason, and I moved my family from the UK to Paphos in 2025. This list isn't a Tripadvisor top ten. It's a starter list for residents: places for a family Sunday, a proper meze, a birthday dinner and a cheap weeknight. We checked every restaurant below was open, with current opening hours and recent reviews, in September 2026. Restaurants change, so check their page before you go.

Grilled octopus and white wine on a harbour-side table in Kato Paphos at sunset — Everyone eats at the harbour in their first week.

Seven restaurants in Paphos worth knowing

Price guides are per person, from each venue's listing on Restaurant Guru or recent reviews, checked September 2026.

Restaurant	Area	Style	Price guide	Best for
7 St Georges Tavern	Geroskipou	Set Cypriot meze, no menu	About €9–€22	Your first proper meze
Ta Pinakia	Kennedy Square, town centre	Modern meze: meat, fish or vegan	About €25–€45	Date night, live music
Agora Tavern	Old town	Traditional meze with sea views	Mid-range	Sunset meze
Laona	Old town	Family-run home cooking	About €15–€20	Weekday lunch
Muse	Old town clifftop	Mediterranean, all day	About €15–€45	Views and celebrations
Hondros	Kato Paphos	Traditional tavern, grills	About €15–€35	Visitors who want Kato Paphos
Oniro by the Sea	Peyia coast	Mediterranean and cocktails	Mid to high	Long lunches by the sea

Checked September 2026 via each restaurant's own website or listing and recent reviews. Paphos Advisor has no commercial relationship with any restaurant on this page.

The best restaurants in Paphos for a proper meze

7 St Georges Tavern, Geroskipou

If you only try one taverna in your first month, make it this one. There's no menu. The family brings out dish after dish, around 20 over a couple of hours: dips, salads, halloumi, slow-cooked meats and whatever is in season. Reviews in 2026 still put the set meze at about €22 a head.

It opens in the evenings, Tuesday to Sunday, is closed on Mondays and, according to its listing, is cash only. Book ahead, arrive hungry and don't order extra.

Ta Pinakia, Kennedy Square

Pinakia means "small plates", and this is meze with a modern kitchen behind it. You choose meat, fish or vegan meze. It's one of the highest-rated restaurants in town on Tripadvisor and Google, with live music on Wednesdays and Sundays. It opens at 6pm and was closed on Mondays and Fridays when we checked. Reservations recommended.

Overhead view of meze dishes with dips, salad, halloumi and pitta on a taverna table — Meze arrives in waves, starting with dips and salads.

Agora Tavern, old town

Agora moved a few years ago into a pink building with green shutters near the old town edge, with a terrace looking out to sea. Cyprus Mail's reviewer praised its meat and vegetarian meze. Book for the evening, especially at weekends.

Tip

How meze works

Meze is a set menu of small plates that arrive in waves: dips and salads first, then halloumi, sausages and grilled meats, then slow-cooked dishes. Most places need a minimum of two people. Pace yourself, because the best dishes come late. Fish meze costs more than meat meze.

What you'll be served at a meze: a quick decoder

The dishes that turn up at most Paphos tavernas, roughly in the order they arrive.

Dish	What it is	When it arrives
Tahini, talattouri, taramosalata	Sesame dip; yoghurt, cucumber and mint; fish-roe dip	First wave, with bread
Village salad and olives	Tomato, cucumber, cabbage, herbs and olive oil	First wave
Halloumi	Cyprus's own cheese, grilled or fried	Second wave
Loukaniko	Smoked pork sausage, often with coriander	Second wave
Sheftalia	Minced pork and herbs wrapped in caul fat, charcoal-grilled	Grill wave
Souvlaki	Pork or chicken on skewers	Grill wave
Afelia	Pork slow-cooked in red wine and coriander seed	Last wave
Kleftiko or stifado	Lamb slow-baked in a sealed oven; beef and onion stew	Last wave

Fish meze swaps the meat for calamari, octopus, prawns and whole grilled fish, and costs more. Fruit or a sweet usually ends the meal.

Everyday favourites in the old town

Laona

A small family-run restaurant in the old town serving the kind of home cooking Cypriot grandmothers make: stews, oven dishes and daily specials. Food bloggers reported it has been run by the same family since 1986. It's mostly a lunch place, with evening service on some days and closed on Sundays, and meals cost about €15–€20 a head.

Table for two on a terrace overlooking Paphos and the sea at sunset — Sunset views from the old town ridge.

Muse

Muse sits on the edge of the old town ridge with one of the best views over Paphos to the sea. It's open all day, 9am to 11pm, so it works for a breakfast meeting, a sundowner or a birthday dinner. Prices run about €15–€45 a head. Book a terrace table for sunset.

Still planning your move?

Find the Paphos area that fits your life

Walk to dinner in the old town, or live in a village with its own taverna? Tell us how you want to live and we'll suggest areas to look at.

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By the sea: Kato Paphos and the coast

Hondros, Kato Paphos

Hondros bills itself as the oldest traditional tavern in Kato Paphos, with a rustic dining room, blue-and-white tablecloths and an open grill. It's open daily from noon to 10:30pm, at about €15–€35 a head. It's the place to take visiting family who want to stay near the harbour without eating tourist food.

Oniro by the Sea, Peyia

Oniro sits on the coast near Peyia, north of Coral Bay, with views towards the Edro III shipwreck. The menu is Mediterranean with a serious cocktail list. It opens from lunchtime Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Go for a long weekend lunch and the drive back along the coast.

Pork souvlaki skewers grilling over charcoal at a taverna near Paphos — Pork souvlaki over charcoal.

Where do locals eat in Paphos?

Away from the harbour strip. The Kato Paphos seafront is fine for the view, but menus there are built for one-time visitors. Residents tend to eat in three places:

Geroskipou and the town's edges, for family tavernas and meze.
The old town around Kennedy Square and the market, for lunch and modern Cypriot cooking.
The villages behind the coast, from Tala and Kathikas to the Paphos hill villages, where Sunday lunch is the event of the week.

A good sign is a room full of Cypriot families on a Sunday afternoon. A bad sign is a waiter outside with a menu.

Cheap eats

For a quick lunch, the souvlaki and gyros shops around the old town and the kebab and pizza places on the coast road towards Kissonerga are where residents go. Travel cost guides put a pitta souvlaki or gyros at about €6–€8. Bakeries sell halloumi pies and koulouri sesame bread for a couple of euros, which is how many Cypriots eat breakfast.

What eating out in Paphos costs

A meal at an inexpensive restaurant costs about €15 in Paphos, and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant about €50, according to Numbeo users in September 2026. A domestic draught beer is about €3.75 and a cappuccino about €3.20.

Carafe of local red wine and two glasses on a taverna table in the evening — Local wine by the carafe keeps the bill down.

Prices are climbing fast. Cyprus's statistical service found restaurant and accommodation prices 13.3% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, the biggest rise of any category. Expect menus you remember from last year to cost more.

Some ways to keep it sensible:

Order meze instead of mains; you get more food for the money.
Drink local wine and beer. Cypriot wines are good value and a mid-range bottle in a shop is about €6.
Eat out at lunch. Daily specials are cheaper than dinner menus.
Tip 5–10% for good service, or round up. Service is sometimes on the bill already, so check.

For the full picture of household costs, see our Paphos cost of living update and the budget movers guide. If you're new in town, our guide to making friends in Paphos and the rest of our relocation resources will help you settle in.

From experience

From Jason

A good rule for new arrivals: ask your neighbours, your landlord or the person at the bakery where they go for Sunday lunch. You'll get a better answer than any list online, including this one.

— Jason

Eating out in Paphos: quick answers

For residents, start with 7 St Georges Tavern in Geroskipou for meze, Ta Pinakia and Agora Tavern for modern and traditional meze, Laona for lunch and Muse for views. All were open when we checked in September 2026.

Living here, not visiting?

Choose an area where your local taverna is a walk away

Old town flat, Geroskipou family home or a hill village with its own Sunday lunch spot. Tell us how you want to live and we'll shortlist areas that fit. Want someone local to do the legwork? See our [property search support](/services/property/search).

Get my relocation plan Work out my budget

The Paphos Brief: once a week, no hard sell

New openings, seasonal events and real costs for people moving from the UK to Paphos.

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If this post didn’t answer your question, ask it here. I read every one myself and reply by email, usually within a working day.

Sources checked for this page

1.7 St Georges Tavern: official websiteExperience
2.Restaurant Guru: 7 St Georges Tavern (hours, prices; checked Sept 2026)Experience
3.Restaurant Guru: Ta Pinakia (hours, prices; checked Sept 2026)Experience
4.Cyprus Mail: Restaurant review, Agora Taverna, Paphos (May 2023)Professional
5.Restaurant Guru: Laona Restaurant (hours, prices; checked Sept 2026)Experience
6.Restaurant Guru: Muse (hours, prices; checked Sept 2026)Experience
7.Restaurant Guru: Hondros (hours, prices; checked Sept 2026)Experience
8.Oniro by the Sea: official websiteExperience
9.Numbeo: Cost of living in Paphos (updated 24 Sep 2026)Professional
10.Cyprus Mail: Cyprus consumer prices jump 5.2% (HICP, August 2026)Professional
11.MICHELIN Guide: Cyprus (no selected restaurants, checked 27 Sep 2026)Professional
12.CyprusVisa.co.uk: Cyprus travel cost breakdown (gyros/souvlaki prices)Experience

Written by

Jason

Founder, Paphos Advisor

British founder who moved his family from the UK to Paphos in 2025. I write down what I learned doing it properly — the tax, the residency and the living-here detail — and introduce people to the specialists I’d use myself.

How I research and fact-check

Best Restaurants in Paphos for New Residents

Seven restaurants in Paphos worth knowing