Zanettos Cypriot Tavern

Incredible establishment. Truly captures the essence of kindness and hospitality cyprus is known for.

This restaurant does not operate in the conventional way, it only serves "mezedes". Mezedes are a wide selection of foods ranging from appetizers to full scale meals and desserts that come in great numbers but reduced quantity. Think of it as a personal all you can eat buffet that is prepared according to group size and gets brought tou your table. The idea behind this concept is to give the customer the ability to taste a grand variation of the local cuisine, while charging for a decent amount per person.

Our night at this establishment began with the owner greeting us and giving us some drops of Rosacea for our hands as part of the very warm welcome he gives to all customers. Then, after personally taking us to our seats and cracking a joke or two, he went on about his business.

After half a minute, the waiter came by to receive drink orders.

Not even 5 minutes in, the first appetizers started rolling out and the owner would check by every now and then to see if we needed anything, crack a joke, and be the great host that he is.

Every single thing we ate was outstanding and very well cooked, and the ingredient quality was pretty up there.

Not a single staff interaction was unpleasant or felt like a waste of time, the staff functioned as a family and were all very pleasing to be around. Not afraid to crack a joke, have a quick chat, have fun doing their work.

The desserts were the best thing I've ever had, light, sweet, velvety, incredibly good looking and smelling. All by the perfect amount. Also made with stevia.

We tipped them afterwards, because the entire experience was incredibly positive and the owner even respected our wishes to be seated away from speakers.

The soft breeze is everlasting even on hot summer days, and the music is not at all loud, like most establishments nowadays.

They also do not charge more than your average restaurant, despite serving extremely well cooked dishes.

Truly a place well deserving of 5 starts. I will come by...

a traditional Cyprus taverna, is located at Trikoupi Street 65 in the old town centre of Nicosia. Since its early days back in 1938, with Savvas Zanettos, the founder and first owner of the tavern, our restaurant's dedication to prime quality and caring service has never changed.

We honour and cherish our Cypriot culinary tradition. At our tavern we follow health and safety standards in food preparation, using only the finest and most fresh ingredients mostly sourced from our local Nicosia farmer's market and selected suppliers. You will not find a fancy restaurant menu at Zanettos Cyprus Tavern! Actually we don't even have a menu other than our wine and drinks list. But we have a delicious selection of traditional Cypriot meze. We serve a variety of salads (village salad, green salad, garlic potato salad, beetroot salad) and cold appetizers (tahini, yogurt, green olives), hot entries like grilled to perfection Cyprus' famous halloumi cheese and served inside pita bread, smoked Cyprus sausage cured in wine, veal's liver, afelia - succulent boneless pieces of pork marinated in wine and coriander, mushrooms, pourgouri, snails, souvlaki (pork and chicken kebab), shieftalia and ravioli. Fresh fruits, deserts, coffee and tea complete the Zanettos Cyprus Tavern one-of-a-kind dine-in experience.

Zanettos is a very popular destination among many Greek and Cypriot artists who come to enjoy our special meze and relax in our friendly and homey environment. Our restaurant's walls are decorated with photos of the brightest stars in the music and film industry and remind us of unforgettable and special moments with them...

Unique meze experience

N35°10.363' E33°21.889' Zanettos tavern is a traditional Cypriot restaurant (taverna) in the old town of Greek-Cypriot Nicosia. Since 1938, the founder and first owner, Savvas Zanettos has dedicated his restaurant to top quality and caring service. Locals queue up to eat inside and outside on a covered and heated terrace.

Zanettos Taverna has no menu, except for a wine and beverage list. In November 2021, they served a delicious selection of traditional Cypriot meze, green salad, garlic potato salad, beetroot salad, cold appetizers (tahini, yogurt, green olives), hot items such as grilled Cypriot famous halloumi cheese served in pita bread, smoked Cyprus sausage smoked in wine, calf’s liver, afelia, mushrooms, pourgouri, snails, souvlaki (pork and chicken kebab), shieftalia and ravioli. The prawns were excellent. Fresh fruits and desserts completed our diner.

It is best to come hungry and pace yourself, as the dishes keep coming and are piled high on the table. We ordered white wine, but the first bottle was terrible. We asked for another wine, but the chef advised us to drink beer. The second bottle, Kitma Gerovasi (€24), was tasty.

Zanettos Taverna offers a unique meze experience....