Meze restaurants in Europe
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A
Terzakis Ouzeri
On a small square opposite the Agios Dimitrios church, this excellent ouzeri has a good range of mezedes, mayirefta and grills. Try the sea urchin salad or, if you're really game to try a local speciality, ask if they have ameletita (unmentionables, fried sheep testicles).
reviewed
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Plaka Tavern
If you have plenty of time in the city and fancy a change, head west of the centre and dine at this superb little taverna. It's best visited during the summer months when dinner is served on the square. The mezedes are best here but be warned: there are many of them and you'll need a big appetite.
reviewed
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Glaros Restaurant
Of the few harbour-side eateries, Glaros is probably the best place to dine. Owners Voula and Giannis are very engaging and serve markakia (feta cheese fingers in vine leaves with a special sauce), among other standard oven-cooked meals, grills and fish dishes, all made from predominantly organic produce.
reviewed
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B
Pavlis
Ierapetra has an excellent tradition of rakadika, relaxed evening hang-outs where a carafe of raki or wine comes with half a dozen or more tasty tid-bits, making it a good value slow dining experience. Try Pavlis , near the port, where for around €3 per carafe you get six or seven plates of excellent mezes.
reviewed
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C
Lamalo
For many years this kosher Mediterranean restaurant was one of the area's best-kept secrets. Relocation and an image (and price) hike means it's now well known outside this quarter. The cuisine is from Israel, Lebanon and Morocco. The plate of 10 assorted meze (for two people) is excellent. Décor-wise it's warm but suffers no nonsense.
reviewed
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D
Mandra Taverna
This place sells itself as the 'genuine article' among the vast number of cheap, bad eateries and restaurants by virtue of having been there since 1979 and its name having originated from the word for barn. But it really does look like yet another mass-tourism place. The dozens of tables and chairs scream quantity over quality, but many guests swear by the fish meze.
reviewed
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Syrian Arab Friendship Club
Sister of the Lefkosia restaurant and just as good, the SAFC is a delight to all lovers of Arab cuisine that's rich with chick peas, beans, herbs, spices, grilled and marinated meats and deliciously sweet desserts. And here the meze will absolutely blow your tastebuds. A nargileh (Middle Eastern water pipe) after eating is a superb treat, and, if you're lucky, you may even get to have a belly dancer flex her abdominals at you.
reviewed
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E
1900 Paei Kairos
The only place in the tourist part worth going to. It's a pretty little Greek-style mezedopolio (a small restaurant specialising in mezedes). It serves mix-and-match mezedes such as stryftari (a pie made up of five cheeses), eggplant stuffed with cheese in filo pastry, and eggplant patties. Have a tipple of tsipouro (a clear, distilled spirit) or try a selection of the mainly Greek wines on offer.
reviewed
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F
Odos Othellou
This small Greek blue-and-white house is like an apparition on the dimly lit street. The little wooden tables outside are the perfect spot for a quiet dinner or drink, away from the traffic and the people. Like most traditional outfits, this place serves meze, but the emphasis is on the mainland Greek version, which is all about grilled meat. For a set price, you can eat, have one free drink and listen to bouzouki (inside the restaurant only).
reviewed
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G
Fetta's Corner
A little old lady cooks and dishes things out through a low window on the side of the house; the grill's smoke is so thick it makes you think she might come running out with her apron on fire. Through the clouds of smoke, efficient waiters dodge the cars, crossing the little street between the lady's window and the tables sprawled on the pavement and in the little park. The food is simple, meze and grills, but it's cheap and tasty, and the service is great.
reviewed
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Tziellari
You won't have to look hard to find this place. All you have to do is open your ears as you get to the murky night-time Plateia Achiepiskopou Kyprianou, then follow the sound of the bouzouki down a dark alley and push the heavy doors into Tziellari. There is such a distinct atmosphere in this restaurant that you might feel as if you'd walked onto a film set from the 1930s: dark wooden walls, demure lighting, and often entire families dining and Greek dancing, arms outstretched.
The meze is as typical as you get, starring the Cypriot favourites such as olives, grilled haloumi, souvlaki and seftalia (grilled Cypriot sausage). There is house wine, zivania (local firewater)…
reviewed
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H
Antonaros Tavern
For a no-frills, genuinely Cypriot, local-style evening meal. Only mezedes are served here. Choose from a wide range of dishes such as snails and mussels as well as fish. The handwritten notes on the wall are Greek philosophical sayings.
reviewed
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Zanettos Taverna
This place has a great reputation in the city, as it is allegedly one of the oldest traditional taverns. The locals flock here in their dozens, and it's definitely worth joining them. A great place for meze, it's hidden away in a slightly shady part of town, where the painted ladies sit in their doorways, waiting for business.
reviewed
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Seven St Georges' Tavern
If only everyone was as loving and meticulous about food production and preparation as George, the tavern's owner. Everything you eat and drink in this place is grown, dried or pickled organically by the owner. He has a herb garden at the back, and a meat-smoking cabin from where drool-provoking smells tickle the nostrils. Even the wine is produced here, from organic home-grown grapes.
Your meze, the house speciality, comes in the usual trickle of olives and capers, beetroot and carrot salads, cold meats, casseroles and smoked ham. Everything is season-dependent so you might get hand-picked wild asparagus, herbed wild mushrooms, aubergines in tomato, or fantastically…
reviewed