Restaurants in Central Anatolia
-
Ali Kaya Restaurant
The best time to visit this simple licensed restaurant above Amasya is at sunset, when you can recharge after the steep climb with meze while taking in views of town and the tombs. Taxis will ferry you up for TL8.
reviewed
-
A
Urfalı Hacı Mehmet
A welcome haven for family and female diners, kept clean and bright for maximum enjoyment of an extensive fast-food menu.
reviewed
-
B
Sema Hanımın Yeri
In this rustic, wood-panelled restaurant, the welcoming Madame Sema serves home-cooked food such as içli köfte (meatballs stuffed with spices and nuts). Watch gözleme being made while trying three dishes for TL4.
reviewed
-
Baro Lokali
It's the setting that's the pull here, an enchanting leaf-dappled outdoor terrace at the western end of the 100 Yıl Atatürk Kültür Parkı (about TL8 by taxi) – perfect for escaping sticky Gaziantep on a hot summer day. Good choice of mezes and meat dishes. You can order beer, rakı or wine with your meal.
reviewed
-
İncilipinar Sofrası
Hmm, will it be çoban salata (salad), altı ezmeli (a stew with tomato sauce served in a clay pot) or ali nazik (aubergine puree with yogurt and ground meat)? Set on the edge of a leafy park, this widely acclaimed venue serves savoury fare in seductively cosy rooms complete with cushions, low tables and old artefacts. It's also a good place to puff a nargileh (water pipe). Alas, it's not licensed - there's a mosque nearby.
reviewed
-
C
İmam Çağdaş
This talismanic pastry shop and restaurant is run by the Çağdaş family, and their wicked pistachio baklava is delivered daily to customers throughout Turkey. If there were a kebap Oscar, this place would be a serious contender. The secret? Fresh, carefully chosen ingredients and the inimitable 'Çağdaş touch'. Our pick? The creamy, chargrilled aubergine flavours of the ali nazik kebap.
reviewed
-
D
Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası
Surrender helplessly to your inner carnivore at this Gaziantep institution. The yummy kebaps are the way to go, but grilled chicken also puts in menu appearances. Don't be fooled by the unremarkable entrance; there's a vast, neat dining area at the back. It's tucked away down a narrow side street across the otopark near the Şıra Hanı, about 20m from a little mosque called Nur Ali.
reviewed
-
Köşk Konya Mutfağı
Southeast of the centre, this excellent traditional restaurant is run by the well-known food writer Nevin Halıcı, who puts her personal twist on Turkish classics. The service is excellent and the outside tables rub shoulders with vine-draped pillars and a fragrant rose garden. The menu features some unusual dishes like the mouth-clogging dessert höşmerim.
reviewed
-
E
Zenger Paşa Konağı
Crammed with Ottoman ephemera, the Zenger Paşa looks at first like a deserted ethnographic museum, but wealthy Ankaralıs love the pide, meze and grills, still cooked in the original Ottoman oven. The views of the city from the back porch are worth the visit alone; there's joyful live music most nights.
reviewed
-
F
Ekim 29 Kafe-Bar-Restaurant
Set in a converted old house, this mellow place feels light years away from the grinding pace of Gaziler Caddesi and time-warps you back to the past century, with dark wood furniture, cushions and wooden beams. Foodwise, it focuses on simple meals, such as salads, chicken dishes, appetisers and grills. There's live music every evening. Yes, it's licensed!
reviewed
Advertisement
-
G
Kale Washington
By far the most elegant eatery in the old town, the 'WR' serves international cuisine to visiting dignitaries (Hillary Clinton reportedly ate here) and some Turkish specialities including halep işi kebap and su böreği. The views from the white tablecloths are most palatable.
reviewed
-
H
Gürbüzün Yeri
Ultrafresh fruit juices are the deal in this buzzing hole-in-the-wall, so put some bounce in your step with a glass of atom (an explosive mixture of milk, honey, banana, hazelnuts and pistachio) or şalgam, a bitter but refreshing drink made from root vegetables, garlic and hot peppers. Lezzetli (delicious)!
reviewed
-
I
Yeşil Café
This friendly apple-green café-restaurant might not look like much until you get out onto the tiny balcony and realise you have the best views of the neon-lit twin minarets, like, ever. What's more, the menu's even enough to distract you from them, with pasta, schnitzel, grills and an actual choice of milkshakes.
reviewed
-
J
Amasya Şehir Derneği
Overlooking the river next to the chunky clock tower by the Hükümet Köprüsü, this three-tiered clubhouse has the best balconies in town, mostly reserved for Amasya's movers and shakers (ie men in suits). Foreign tourists also get a free pass to enjoy the grill menu, live music and frog chorus.
reviewed
-
K
Bulvar Tavuk Döner
This central hole-in-the-wall would be a mere blip on busy İstasyon Caddesi, were it not for its well-executed chicken sandwiches and melt-in-your-mouth gözleme (savory pancakes). If the weather permits, grab one and walk down the street to the 100 Yıl Kültür Parkı.
reviewed
-
L
Mado Café
The super-slick Mado is the place to meet Gaziantep's movers and shakers. You can nosh on snacks and sip fruity cocktails, but the pastries and ice creams are what make the place tick.
reviewed
-
M
Kadıoğlu Şehzade Sofrası
Tucked behind a pretty courtyard and sought after by savvy locals, this mansion restaurant has a lowdown Ottoman seating plan. We recommend any of the huge, steaming hot pide, çorba (soup), grills and zerde (saffron dessert). The rooms are tacky but pretty large.
reviewed
-
Havuzlu Köşk Et Lokantası
For an enchanted evening, direct your designated driver straight to this attractive licensed restaurant, where you can dine at tables set around an upstairs pool or in a pleasant garden. The menu runs the gamut of Turkish standards: kebaps, köfte (meatballs), salads etc.
reviewed
-
N
İmren Lokumları
Overlooking the main square in Çarşı, this flagship sweet shop has a sprawling 1st-floor café complete with fountain and mannequins showing off Ottoman-style costumes. Try the safranlı zerde, a gelatinous dessert flavoured with saffron.
reviewed
-
O
Boyacızâde Konağı
Entered via a cluttered courtyard, this wonderfully converted mansion-restaurant offers great views, typical Ottoman-stalgic decor and good fish dishes. Fasıl (Turkish classical) music provides the entertainment.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
P
Tapa Tapa Tapas
The chef plays it a bit safe with the chilli and with the booze level of the sangria (€3.50), but the sheer novelty of finding albondigas and patatas bravas in Turkey doesn't wear off fast. Pasta, crêpes and grills round out the menu.
reviewed
-
Hatipoğlu Konağı
The touristy set menus here are good value, but watch those steps if you go for the unlimited-alcohol option! Acoustic groups play here every day except Sunday. To find it, come out of the citadel through the Parmak Kapısı and turn left.
reviewed
-
Q
Wok
Achingly fashionable, this mixed Oriental bar-restaurant above a BMW showroom supplements its pan-Asian menu with sophisticated European dishes and electronic music. For added entertainment, certain tables get a view of the kitchen action.
reviewed
-
R
Konya Cadde Restaurant
Beside the İnce Minare, this restaurant is a low-lit, 1st-floor place which will do for a night out as well as a meal. On a good night the place is packed with an unconservative slice of the populace seeking beer and live music.
reviewed
-
S
Köşk
Specialising in fish, the Köşk cultivates a slightly staid air to please the decorum-minded older diners that form its core demographic, though at €1.40 the beer's cheap enough to enthuse the younger crowd as well.
reviewed
