Night life in North Cyprus is generally restricted to a small number of Discotheques and night clubs with a good selection of Restaurants. There are good opportunities for eating out from major Hotel restaurants serving international dishes to small Bistro like restaurants, which offer typical Turkish-Cypriot specialities. Eating out is relatively cheap as compared with Southern Cyprus or Europe. Kyrenia Harbour is an ideal place to dine in a picturesque surrounding. Many Hotels and larger restaurants will stage live music and/or local shows during the summer season. The average cost for eating out in a good restaurant is £12 per person for a 3-course dinner, including the local Wine. (March 2003 prices). It may be more expensive to eat in some of the Harbour restaurants. Many hotels also run Gambling Casinos open throughout the night, and all year round.
Restaurant bills usually include service charge but it is also usual practice to give approximately 10% tip to the waiter.
The cuisine of north Cyprus owes its heritage to a mixture of Mediterranean and oriental influences. Local dishes are good and made from natural fresh produce. Restaurants generally serve The `Meze` which is is a speciality of the region and consists of a large number of cold and hot hors d`oeuvres such as different salads, meats, vegetables and seafood. It is either taken as an appetizer or as a main course. Among these you will also taste the grilled hellim, the tasty and versatile cheese of Cyprus.
Other typical dishes of the region are Shish kebab (marinated lamb skewered and grilled over charcoal), Sheftali Kebab (a home made spicy sausage made of mince meat, onions, parsley and herbs and cooked on charcoal), Firin Kebab (Chunks of meat with local herbs, wrapped and cooked in pottery), Yalanci Dolma (wine leaves stuffed with rice onions and tomatoes. Other local favourites which are cooked in every home but not easily found in restaurants are Musakka (Layers of mince, potato aubergines and courgettes, baked in oven and sometimes topped with melted cheese) Molohiya (a green leafy vegetable cooked with meat or chicken) and Kolokas, a root vegetable larger than potatoes with a unique flavour, which is either fried or cooked with meat in tomato sauce. There are also a choice of fish restaurants where you can find a variety of fresh local fish.
Typical local sweet deserts are Lokum (Turkish Delight), Baklava (made from mille feuille pastry, nuts honey and syrup) and Halva (sweet made of flour, sugar, and ground sesame seeds). One can also find many patisserie shops with a great selection of cakes, ice cream and puddings.
North Cyprus produces a variety of local brandies and the aniseed based "raki" which is famous in the region.
These are the perfect accompaniment to the local dishes. European beer is also
produced locally under licence. Gold Fassl and Altinada Pills are good local
beers. In addition to the local produce restaurants and hotels offer a wide
range of wines, beers and spirits imported from the Turkish mainland and Europe.
Soft drinks are widely produced and consumed locally. One traditional way to
finish your meal is a small cup of Turkish coffee.
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