Which Cyprus restaurant will take the crown in 2025?

Cyprus’ food lovers are already buzzing: the Wiz 50 Best Restaurants list is coming back early next year, and everyone wants to know who will steal the top spot for 2025.

After crowning LPM in 2022, L’Atelier Robuchon in 2023, and The Polo in 2024, the big question now is which restaurant on the island, from a tiny taverna to a polished fine-dining room, will take the title this time.

Wiz has been running this list for four years now, celebrating local gastronomy with a big glitzy event every January. This year is no different. A 12-member jury is already in the final stretch of tasting and scoring restaurants across the island.

How the list is made, and yes, the judges eat in secret

The process starts every summer. From more than 2,000 restaurants in the Wiz Guide, the team narrows it down to around 120. After talking things through with their tasters, that shortlist becomes 80 restaurants.

Then comes the fun part:

The judges visit each restaurant anonymously and without warning, ordering a range of dishes and scoring everything based on fixed criteria. No special treatment, no heads-up, just honest plates and honest ratings.

The final Top 50 comes out of this process, and for the Top 10, judges often do second or even third visits to make sure the ranking is solid.

What they’re looking for

• Wiz uses evaluation standards similar to major food institutions abroad. Among the main criteria:
• How good the food tastes
• The chef’s professionalism and creativity
• Quality of ingredients
• Value for money
• The look and feel of the space, plus service

But they also check for things that matter more and more these days:

• Sustainable, eco-friendly practices
• Support for vegetarian diners
• Ability to handle intolerances and special diets
• Use of local products, Cypriot raw materials
• Wine lists that emphasise Cypriot vineyards
• Staff who know their menu and cellar
• Effort in food-and-wine pairing

There’s also a growing focus on Cypriot creative cuisine, the rise of young restaurateurs with fresh ideas, and the “hidden gems,” the small restaurants that surprise everyone and end up on the list.

The home stretch

Judges are now double-checking some restaurants with another round of visits, ironing out any disagreements, whether for spots near the top or down the list.

We’ll finally learn the ranking on January 27, 2026, during the awards ceremony at the Hilton Cyprus. The full list will first appear in a special print edition with Kathimerini on Sunday, December 28, 2025.

Until then, all anyone can do is speculate… and maybe book a few dinners, just in case their favorite makes the cut.