# What to Eat in North Cyprus: 12 Dishes That Define It > Hellim, şeftali kebabı, molehiya, kolokas, pirohu and more — the 12 dishes of Cypriot Turkish cooking, what each one is and how to order it. - Canonical: https://www.kiprarent.com/en/guide/what-to-eat-north-cyprus/ - Updated: 2026-06-13 - Language: English - Publisher: Kipra Rent A Car — https://www.kiprarent.com/ --- If you know Turkish or Greek mainland cooking, North Cyprus will still surprise you: a handful of its everyday dishes exist nowhere else. Here are the **12 dishes that define Cypriot Turkish cooking**, as of 2026 — what each one is, why it is distinct, and where it turns up on a menu. Five of these (**molehiya, kolokas, pirohu, magarına bulli, hellimli**) are genuine island originals, absent from both mainland cuisines per the island's tourism portal. For what a plate of any of this costs, the [North Cyprus restaurant price bands](/en/guide/restaurant-prices-north-cyprus/) dataset runs the meal math; this page is the menu, not the bill. | Dish | What it is | Mainland equivalent | | --- | --- | --- | | Hellim | Grilling halloumi cheese | Sold everywhere, made differently | | Şeftali kebabı | Caul-wrapped minced sausage | None | | Molehiya | Jute-leaf stew | None | | Kolokas | Taro-root stew | None | | Pirohu | Cheese-mint dumplings | None | | Magarına bulli | Pasta + boiled chicken + hellim | None | ## What are the must-try dishes in North Cyprus? The dishes below run from the cheese the island is famous for to a walnut spoon-preserve eaten by the teaspoon. Take them as a checklist — order a few across a meyhane night and a couple of daytime meals and you will have covered the cuisine. ### 1. Hellim Hellim is the island's grilling cheese — what the wider world buys as halloumi, except this is its home, and the **"Χαλλούμι/Halloumi/Hellim" name carries a registered EU protected designation since 12 April 2021** (Reg 2021/591). Eaten grilled, fried, raw with watermelon, or folded into breakfast, it squeaks against the teeth when fresh. The full fresh-versus-dry, buy-and-carry story is in the [hellim and halloumi guide](/en/guide/hellim-halloumi-north-cyprus/). ### 2. Şeftali kebabı Şeftali kebabı is a skinless minced-meat sausage — lamb, onion and parsley wrapped in caul fat (gömlek yağı) and char-grilled, with no peach in it despite the name. **Two theories explain that name and neither is settled**: one says the cooked meat takes on a peach-pink hue (şeftali = peach); the other tells of a butcher named Şef Ali whose "Şef Ali kebabı" wore down to şeftali. It is a fixture of any meyhane or grill order — see the [meyhane night guide](/en/guide/meyhane-night-north-cyprus/). ### 3. Molehiya Molehiya is a stew built on jute mallow leaves, picked and dried in spring, then simmered in a tomato base with lamb or chicken. Shared across both communities on the island, it has **no mainland Turkish or Greek counterpart** — one of the cleanest markers that you are eating genuinely Cypriot food. ### 4. Kolokas Kolokas is taro root (a starchy tuber, like a dense potato), braised with meat and tomato into a hearty stew. It is a winter-leaning home dish more than a restaurant headliner, so it is worth asking after at family-run kitchens rather than tourist-strip grills. ### 5. Pirohu Pirohu are boiled dough dumplings filled with nor (a soft curd cheese) and mint, served under a shower of grated hellim. Vegetarian by default and unmistakably Cypriot, they are the dish to order when someone at the table does not eat meat. ### 6. Magarına bulli Magarına bulli is pasta with boiled chicken, finished with dry grated hellim and mint — counted among the island's national dishes. Plain to look at, it is comfort food, and a good early order for anyone easing into local flavours. ### 7. Hellimli Hellimli is a leavened bread or pastry baked with hellim worked through the dough, sometimes with mint or sultanas. It is a bakery and breakfast item, sold by weight at market stalls — grab a piece warm. ### 8. Çakıstes Çakıstes are cracked green olives: bruised open, soaked to draw out the bitterness, then dressed with coriander seed, garlic, lemon and olive oil. A standard meze opener, and one of the plant-origin items you can actually take home (more on that in the hellim guide's carry-home note). ### 9. Samsı Samsı is a syrup-soaked pastry dessert; the filling varies between sources — some make it with walnuts, others with semolina — so expect either. Order it at the end of a meal alongside Turkish coffee. ### 10. Ceviz macunu Ceviz macunu is a spoon-preserve made from whole green walnuts, dark and intensely sweet, eaten by the teaspoon with coffee or water. Tied historically to the Lefke region and sold in **375 g and 750 g** jars, it is one of the best edible souvenirs because, being plant-origin, it travels home legally. ### 11. Gabbar Gabbar is pickled caper buds and shoots, picked in April and May and served as a sharp, briny meze. Small, salty and very local — try it from a meze spread before deciding whether to buy a jar. ### 12. Harup pekmezi Harup pekmezi is carob molasses — a thick, dark syrup from the carob pod, drizzled on bread or stirred into milk, with a local belief that "a spoon a day" does you good. Plant-origin and shelf-stable, it is the other safe suitcase item alongside walnut preserve. ## Where do these dishes sit on the budget? Most of these dishes land in the cheap-to-mid band: a casual cooked meal samples around **€5.60–9.40** and a sit-down dinner toward **€20 per person**, as of 2026, per our [restaurant price dataset](/en/guide/restaurant-prices-north-cyprus/). The meze-heavy ones (çakıstes, gabbar, pirohu, hellim, şeftali) arrive together on a meyhane fixed menu running **1,400–1,900 TL per person** on a mid-2025 compilation. Eating across town rather than only the hotel strip is where the value lives, and a car makes the neighbourhood kitchens reachable. ## How do I find the best of it? Spread your orders across venue types: walled-city grills for şeftali and kebabs, harbour restaurants for fish and home cooking, meyhanes for the full meze parade, bakeries and markets for hellimli and preserves. North Cyprus drew **2,589,729 visitors in 2025, up 17.2% year on year** according to the TRNC Tourism Planning Department, so the good places do fill — book weekends ahead. Our [Famagusta eating list](/en/guide/where-to-eat-famagusta/) names the venues by segment. Some dish names on the menu are Cypriot-dialect — the [Turkish phrases and menu glossary](/en/guide/turkish-phrases-north-cyprus/) decodes them before you order. Kipra Rent A Car — a Famagusta-based local rental company with VAT and insurance included in every displayed price, and free hotel delivery across Famagusta and Long Beach — is how guests reach the kitchens off the strip. --- Twelve dishes, one island that makes them its own — go taste them on your own schedule: [book a car](https://app.kiprarent.com/en/book/cars) · WhatsApp [+90 546 996 1004](https://wa.me/905469961004) — English spoken. ## Frequently Asked Questions **What is the most Cypriot dish to try in North Cyprus?** Hellim (halloumi) is the island's signature, but the dishes you genuinely cannot get on the Turkish or Greek mainland are molehiya, kolokas, pirohu, magarına bulli and hellimli — these are the true Cypriot markers, as of 2026. **Is there şeftali in şeftali kebabı?** No — şeftali kebabı contains no peach. It is a skinless minced-meat sausage wrapped in caul fat and grilled. Two theories explain the name and neither is settled; see the dish entry below. **What can vegetarians eat in North Cyprus?** Plenty: grilled hellim, pirohu (cheese-and-mint dumplings), hellimli bread, çakıstes (cracked green olives), molehiya can be made meat-free, and the meze table is heavily vegetable-based. **Where do I find these dishes on a menu?** Walled-city kebab houses, harbour restaurants and meyhane meze tables carry most of them. Our Famagusta eating list points you at specific venues by segment. ## Sources - Visit North Cyprus — official tourism portal, local cuisine: https://www.visitncy.com/things-to-do/gastronomy/ - Wikipedia — Sheftalia (şeftali kebabı): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheftalia - Wikipedia — Molokhia (molehiya): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molokhia --- Kipra Rent A Car — Famagusta, North Cyprus. No-deposit, no-credit-card car rental; VAT + insurance included. Rezervasyon / Booking: https://app.kiprarent.com/book/cars · WhatsApp: +90 546 996 1004