on the plate
Meze explained: what a Cypriot buffet means
What the word means, how a meze table usually works in Cyprus, and what a buffet changes.
Reserve the Ocean Vision night cruise ↗Meze in four lines
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | A selection of small dishes, served as appetizers or as a meal in itself |
| Where does the word come from? | Turkish meze, from Persian maze, meaning taste or relish |
| How does it arrive at a table? | Groups of dishes, four or five at a time, in a set pattern |
| How is it served on the Ocean Vision? | As a buffet prepared on board |
What the word means
Meze is used across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It was borrowed from Turkish, which took it from the Persian word for taste or relish.
Small dishes, shared
A meze is a selection of small dishes. It can open a multi-course meal or be the whole meal, and in Cyprus it is often a meal in its own right.
The usual pattern
In the eastern Mediterranean, a meze table typically starts with olives, tahini, salad and yogurt, moves on to vegetable and egg dishes, then small meat or fish plates, and ends with heartier dishes.
Dishes you may recognise
Common meze include cubes of cheese, olives, grilled meats, stuffed vine leaves, dolma, salads and dips like hummus. Cheeses such as halloumi and seafood like calamari turn up too.
Buffet or table
On land, dishes arrive in rounds. On the Ocean Vision the meze is a buffet prepared on board, so you set your own pace.
What to expect on the night
The boat's chef decides what goes on the buffet, so treat the list above as the general picture of meze rather than the evening's menu. Sharing, not finishing, is the point.