Turkish Cypriot Dishes in English: A Menu Translation Guide
Updated: 6 min readTürkçe oku
Translate "şeftali kebabı" word for word and you get "peach kebab", a dish with no peach in it. Many Turkish Cypriot dishes lose their meaning when their names are translated literally, and a guest who can't picture the plate often orders something familiar instead.
This guide is for restaurant owners and anyone writing an English menu in North Cyprus. It covers one simple rule, a glossary of more than 30 dishes and drinks, and the mistakes that confuse guests most often.
The rule: keep the local name, add a short description
Use the dish's local name as the main name and add a one-line English description underneath. This works for three reasons:
- Guests can say the name to your staff and order it again next time.
- The local name tells them they're eating something from this island, not a generic "lamb stew".
- The description removes the risk: they know what will arrive.
If guests already know a dish by another name, add it in brackets: "Şeftali kebab (sheftalia)". Where an English name is well established, as with halloumi, you can use it as the main name.
Molehiya (molokhia) — Dried jute mallow leaves stewed with lamb or chicken, served with pilaf.
Glossary of Turkish Cypriot dishes
The descriptions below follow common recipes. Recipes vary from village to village, so adjust the ingredients to match your own kitchen.
Mezes, pastries and olives
| Local name | On the English menu | Short description |
|---|---|---|
| Hellim | Halloumi | Cypriot halloumi cheese, served grilled or fresh |
| Hellimli | Hellimli (halloumi bread) | Savoury bread with halloumi and onion, topped with sesame and nigella seeds |
| Zeytinli | Zeytinli (olive bread) | Savoury bread baked with olives |
| Pilavuna | Pilavuna (flaouna) | Yeast pastry filled with halloumi, nor cheese and dried mint, often with raisins |
| Çakıstez | Çakıstez (cracked olives) | Cracked green olives with garlic, lemon and coriander seeds |
| Cacık | Cacık | Yogurt with cucumber, garlic and dried mint |
| Humus | Hummus | Chickpea and tahini dip with lemon and olive oil |
| Tahin | Tahini dip | Sesame paste whipped with lemon and garlic |
| Bulgur köftesi | Bulgur köftesi (Cypriot kibbeh) | Fried bulgur shells filled with spiced minced meat |
| Pirohu | Pirohu (Cypriot dumplings) | Pasta parcels filled with nor cheese (or potato), topped with grated halloumi and dried mint |
Mains and grills
| Local name | On the English menu | Short description |
|---|---|---|
| Şeftali kebabı | Şeftali kebab (sheftalia) | Minced lamb (or lamb and beef) with onion and parsley, wrapped in caul fat and charcoal-grilled |
| Kıbrıs köftesi | Cypriot meatballs | Fried meatballs of minced meat and grated potato |
| Şiş kebap | Shish kebab | Skewered chunks of lamb or chicken, charcoal-grilled |
| Karışık ızgara | Mixed grill | For example şeftali kebab, köfte and lamb shish, with pitta and salad |
| Fırın kebabı | Fırın kebabı (oven-baked lamb) | Lamb baked in the oven with potatoes and onion |
| Fırın tava | Fırın tava (baked lamb and vegetables) | Lamb baked in a tray with potatoes, onion and tomato |
| Kolokas | Kolokas (taro root stew) | Taro root cooked with chicken or lamb, celery and tomato |
| Molehiya | Molehiya (molokhia) | Dried jute mallow leaves stewed with lamb or chicken, served with pilaf |
| Magarına bulli | Magarına bulli | Pasta cooked in chicken broth, topped with chicken, grated halloumi and dried mint |
| Fırın makarnası | Cypriot baked macaroni | Pasta baked with minced meat under a creamy white sauce |
| Bulgur pilavı | Bulgur pilaf | Cracked wheat pilaf |
| Tarhana çorbası | Tarhana soup | Soup of tarhana: cracked wheat and sour milk, dried and crumbled |
Desserts, preserves and drinks
| Local name | On the English menu | Short description |
|---|---|---|
| Ekmek kadayıfı | Ekmek kadayıfı | Syrup-soaked bread dessert, served with kaymak (clotted cream) |
| Ceviz macunu | Green walnut preserve | Whole young walnuts in syrup, served with Turkish coffee or cold water |
| Turunç / bergamut macunu | Bitter orange / bergamot preserve | Fruit preserved in syrup, served by the spoon |
| Muhallebi | Mahallebi | Chilled cornflour pudding with rose syrup |
| Gullurikya | Gullurikya | Small pieces of dough cooked in carob syrup |
| Paluze | Paluze (grape pudding) | Set grape-juice pudding topped with almonds |
| Zivaniya | Zivania | Cypriot grape spirit, served chilled in a small glass |
| Gül şurubu | Rose cordial | Chilled drink made with rose syrup |
| Ayran | Ayran | Chilled salted yogurt drink |
| Türk kahvesi | Turkish coffee | Sade (no sugar), orta (medium sweet), şekerli (sweet) |
How to write a good one-line description
Aim for 6 to 12 words and answer three questions: what is the main ingredient, how is it cooked, and how is it served?
- Ingredients over adjectives. "Delicious", "amazing" and "homemade" take space but tell the guest nothing. "With fresh mint and lemon" does.
- Name the meat. Lamb, mutton, beef or chicken. "Meat" alone sends guests who avoid a particular meat to your staff with questions.
- Match your audience. If most of your English-speaking guests are British, use British terms: starters, aubergine, courgette, chips.
- Match your kitchen. If your şeftali kebab mixes lamb and beef, say so. What's on the plate should match what's on the menu.
Common mistakes
- Literal translations. "Peach kebab", "cigarette pastry" (sigara böreği) and "the imam fainted" (imam bayıldı) raise a smile but don't help anyone order.
- Unchecked machine translation. Translation tools often don't recognise kolokas, nor or pirohu and may produce something unrelated. Use them for a first draft, then have someone who knows the food check every line.
- Inconsistent spelling. Pick one spelling, such as "Halloumi", and use it everywhere, not "Haloumi" on one page and "Hellim cheese" on the next.
- Untranslated section headings. Ara sıcaklar → Hot starters; Izgaralar → From the grill; Tatlılar → Desserts.
- Hidden charges. If you add a cover charge, write "Cover charge (per person)" on the English menu.
Portions, prices and allergens
Write quantities clearly: "6 pieces", "250 g", "for two", "price per kg", "single / double". Use one currency style throughout. North Cyprus price rules ask for prices in "TL" or "Türk Lirası", so "TL" is the safer choice over "₺". On printed English menus, remember that English readers expect "1,000" where Turkish uses "1.000".
Guests from the EU are used to seeing allergen information, because EU law (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011) requires businesses selling non-prepacked food, restaurants included, to tell customers which of 14 listed allergens a dish contains. In Turkish Cypriot dishes, watch especially for milk (halloumi, nor, cacık), sesame (hummus, tahini), gluten (bulgur, pasta, pastries), celery (in many kolokas recipes) and nuts (walnut preserve, paluze). A short line such as "Contains: milk, sesame" is enough.
Two languages, one menu
A printed menu in two languages has to be reprinted every time a price changes. On a QR menu, each dish has its own Turkish and English name and description, while the price is entered once. With Hani Menü, the menu opens in English automatically when a guest's phone is set to English, and the 14 EU allergens are shown as icons. For more on how this works, see our guide to QR menus in North Cyprus.
If you'd like to see your own dishes in Turkish and English on your phone, you can ask Hani Menü for a free demo.
Frequently asked questions
Should I translate Turkish Cypriot dish names into English?
Keep the local name as the main name and add a short English description. Guests can then order by name and still know exactly what they're getting. Where an English name is well known, such as halloumi, you can use it.
How do you say şeftali kebabı in English?
Not "peach kebab". Write "Şeftali kebab (sheftalia)" with a description such as "Minced lamb with onion and parsley, wrapped in caul fat and charcoal-grilled."
Is machine translation good enough for a menu?
Only as a first draft. Translation tools often miss local names like kolokas, nor and pirohu and translate figurative names literally. Someone who knows the food should check every line.
How should allergens appear on an English menu?
Add a short line under each dish, such as "Contains: milk, sesame", or use allergen icons on a digital menu. The 14 allergens defined by the EU are the usual reference.