Food And Drink in Paphos

Paphos is the only place on Cyprus where truffle joins the wine and cheese. It began to be found in the local oak woods relatively recently; the season falls in autumn and early winter, and the hunt goes as it should — with a dog working by scent and a knife to lift the fungus out without harming the mycelium. After a find the table is usually laid right there, at the edge of the wood.

The wine line leads upward, into the foothills. The vineyards around Paphos lie above the coast, and tastings pour what is barely met beyond the island: the local xynisteri and mavro grapes, which make both dry wine and the dessert commandaria. Gourmet programmes add olive oil, honey from the mountain villages and halloumi off the pan. The full-day version carries on to Omodos and the Kykkos monastery.

Practical notes. The truffle season is short, the ground turns to mud in winter, and an outing is cancelled in rain. Tastings almost always mean driving out of town, so the option with a driver is easier than a rental. In village tavernas the portions are built for a group: a meze of twenty dishes is not for one person. Grapes are picked in September, and that is when work at the wineries can be seen in the flesh.