Tony's Taverna — Restaurant in Ayia Napa

So we've ordered vegetarian meze, me and my wife. (I'd like to mention the fact we go by that almost every time we walk into a restaurant we've never been before and we had some really great experiences by doing so). Now, @Tony's Tavern looks very nice, lovely place with a strong traditional greek vibe, most tables being placed outside with their blue & white covers, lemon trees and flowers all around and great ambiental music. The staff did a good job, being friendly and professional for the most part. However, the food was a huge let down. Comparing their vegetarian meze with other restaurants options made a good case for never going back to this place. First of, you get the starters like tahini, hummus, beans paste, but we were not offered any sort of bread to spread them on. Called for bread which came in without any sort of excuse. After we finished the salad (tons of salad & some cucumber and tomatoes pieces & precisely 2 rather small cubes of feta), we had cheese (haloumi), more cheese (saganaki), vegetables with CHEESE and then came some extra cheese (more haloumi). Last dish was pasta with.. cheese, of course. In all honesty, the food wasn't bad, but it was definitely the worst vegetarian meze we had on the island of Cyprus. And this is the statement of a man who walked in hungry in Tony's Tavern. To be noted I've rated this place solely based on my one visit there, but then again, that's fairly relevant, all...

Tony's Taverna is a cute Cypriot restaurant located in central Ayia Napa. It is beautifully decorated and from the moment you walk in you are greeted with "Santorini vibes" – whites, blues, pink flowers etc, the restaurant is stunning and highly romantic. We had the pleasure of meeting Tony himself who kindly showed us to our table.

The restaurant was full and the service reflected this as we had to ask waiters various times for service, however when we did, our orders came pretty quickly.

As beautiful as this restaurant is, I have to be honest, the food wasn't up to the same standard as we had enjoyed at some of the other restaurants in Ayia Napa (Quadro, Sale e Pepe etc) and tasted very salty which was over bearing from the actual flavour of the food. We ordered the mushrooms & meatballs to start which both tasted OK and edible but both could be improved. The main courses here were traditionally Cypriot and mainly contacted meat, potato and vegetables. The portion size was good and the lamb was cooked to perfection however the sides of the main course could be improved and were a bit "dated" and sloppy.

Although the food wasn't amazing, we rated this restaurant in our top 5 as it had a great feel and we really enjoyed our visit for the atmosphere, decor and ambience.

For more recommendations check out our Instagram or Youtube pages...

We've been eating at Tony's a couple of days back, and it was a very nice and pleasant experience. We had grilled octopus, which was very soft like a doughnut texture (if I may say), and swordfish, which was very tender and had a pleasant ocean's odour. The staff is friendly and communicative, and even Tony is greeting you, and he's thankful for stopping by. It's a must try location, considering it's one of the oldest tavernas in Ayia Napa, maybe the oldest (cca 1980).

EDIT May 2025: So, we're back at Tony's and again a great experience as the one from last summer (May 2024). This time, my wife and I we both took Moussaka, one veggie and one with meat. Amazing taste for both of them, correctly made with rich taste of Mediterranean spices (sorry, I don't know their English names), as they should. Honest to be the veggie one was more tasteful than the one with meat, and I'm not a vegetarian. So, full points for this. The red house wine 🍷 is very good, you must try it. The waiters are very profi, serve and assist you well. Of course, Tony is also there to greet and seat you. Usually, it is party crowded. I would say around 8PM is full, but if you are patient you'll be seated fast, and if they don't have a table, they will make one. So, great evening for us. I will re-edit the next days with another meal - because we'll want to have a 3/5 meals...