Beyoğlu
An expat haven in Cihangir, Kahve Altı (Coffee 6) has a pretty interior salon and a sunny rear courtyard. The menu is simple, but deserves kudos for its…
Must-see restaurants in Turkey
İzmir & the North Aegean
In addition to four types of köfte (meatballs) – reputedly the best in town – the ‘Wonderful Köfte House’ serves various types of çorba (soup) and tavuk…
Ölüdeniz
This popular promenade hang-out has a menu that meanders through pizza, pide, steaks, seafood, burgers, omelettes and salads. Service can get stretched in…
Kars
This long-serving semi-smart stalwart serves tasty and unusual regional and Turkish dishes including alinazik (aubergine purée with yoghurt and ground…
İzmir
Thought by many to serve the best döner kebap in the city, clean and cheerful Altın Kapı is located in a side street off pedestrianised Kıbrıs Şehitleri…
Bodrum Peninsula
A seafront fish restaurant like so many others in Gümüşlük, but Leleg stands out in particular for the quality of its mezes and the friendliness of the…
Cappadocia
Tour groups often bypass this restaurant, leaving a mellow, shady spot and a chance of scoring a river platform for a lunch of local trout or hiking fuel…
Dalyan
A local fave for a sugar hit, Demet offers baklava, eclairs, gateaus, pastries and recommended chocolate desserts. It also produces fast food such as…
Princes’ Islands
This unassuming bakery has a small streetside terrace that catches the morning sun and is a popular local meeting spot. Settle in with a glass of çay and…
Amasya
With a raised riverfront terrace this is one of the more popular cafe-restaurants in the old town. People tend to congregate here for food at lunchtime…
Side
Offers solid Turkish cooking, an extensive local wine list and professional yet unstuffy service. Seafood is the mainstay of the menu and is superfresh…
Southeastern Anatolia
Right on Kahta's Dörtyol (Four Roads) intersection, Kahta Sofrası's huge kitchen and wood-fired oven turn out a plethora of pides (Turkish-style pizzas),…
Princes’ Islands
Opposite the İDO ferry dock, this busy place offers its customers a generous array of vegetable, yoghurt and seafood mezes, and a range of seafood mains…
Kuşadası
The glass-fronted 'Courtyard' is a decent place to sample traditional Turkish dishes on display in its open kitchen. Choose a kebap from the menu or point…
Southeastern Anatolia
At the beginning of the canyon, Hasbahçe offers grills, pides (Turkish-style pizzas) and snacks, while the cafe section next door specialises in sweet…
Selçuk
By the fish market, this local favourite serves excellent köfte, cooked to perfection and accompanied by salad, rice and fried onions. The good selection…
Ephesus
This conveniently located cafe-restaurant on the footpath to Mary's House serves soups, salads and burgers (₺8 to ₺13), as well as more substantial mains…
Fethiye
Reis Balık is one of the best fish restaurants in the fish market. Charge around ₺8 for meze and ₺8 to ₺10 per head to cook a fish, with an olive oil and…
Istanbul
Devotees of offal flock here for the seasoned lamb intestines stuffed with sweetbreads or other offal, seasoned with red pepper and oregano, wrapped…
Side
A thrifty haven for travellers watching their lira, this converted fishing boat serves up good-value fish and köfte (meatball) sandwiches. Meze platters…
Selçuk
This dependable, inexpensive place offers meze platters (₺10 to ₺20), köfte, and kebaps including dürüm options (grilled meat wrapped in flatbread), as…
Nişantaşi, Bomonti & Harbiye
Always busy, this branch of one of the city's most popular cafe chains serves burgers, pastas and other global cafe standards. Sit on the streetside…
Turquoise Coast
Tlos has a large covered terrace and inexpensive menu that takes in salads, guveç (casserole), pancakes (₺10 to ₺15) and a few Western dishes like chicken…
Alaçatı
On the south side of the ring road near the turn-off into Alaçatı, this eatery serves pides, grills and pre-prepared meat and vegetable dishes. Its food…
Bodrum Town
Don't expect to be bowled over by the authenticity of the Chinese dishes here but if you're desperate for a fix of rice and/or noodles, Red Dragon can…
Pamukkale
The upstairs terrace restaurant of Mustafa Hotel serves up a typically Turkish menu of mezes, kebaps and saç kavurma (stir-fried cubed meat dishes).
Bodrum Town
Inspect the day's catch at 'The 'Lighthouse' seafood restaurant, which usually includes sea bass, sea bream, octopus and more (it also serves mezes)…
Kalkan
Just below the landmark Pirat Hotel, this dependable waterside grill restaurant has a good menu of Turkish and international dishes, including kebaps,…
Cappadocia
Popular with tour groups, this place serves up standard trout, saç tava (cubed lamb with tomatoes, peppers and garlic) and kebap mains with friendly…
Bodrum Town
In a good area for waterfront seafood restaurants, this calm spot has outside seating at white tables with blue wooden chairs. Appreciative locals dig…
Bodrum Peninsula
Right along the beach, cheek by jowl with restaurants serving more complex meals, Mandarina is good for a light breakfast of poğaça (savoury bun) or the…
Cappadocia
This lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food) in the centre of town is a solid bet for filling meals of various güveç (meat and vegetable stew), bean and…
Ayvalık
It ain't haute cuisine (far from it), but the Ayvalık tost (Ayvalık 'toast') is famous throughout Turkey, and this is one of the many local places where…
Datça & Bozburun Peninsulas
Locals pile into this friendly little lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food) next to the mosque for çorba (soup), kebaps and unfussy, well-prepared…
Göcek
Mosaic specialises in steaks, with a choice of rich sauces featuring lashings of cream and brandy. The garlic sauce is recommended if you're not on a date…
Dalyan
This relaxed restaurant, with a nifty blue-and-white decoration theme, whips up a decent steak (most are around ₺85), some Mediterranean flavours and a…
Black Sea Coast
Named for the public garden onto which its tables spill, this friendly, well-run lokanta does reliable pide, lahmacun, kebaps and salads. It's opposite…
İzmir & the North Aegean
‘Phosphorescence’ lights the way with its massive meze trays groaning under the weight of things fishy, olive oily and yoghurty. There's a good local wine…
Turquoise Coast
At this friendly lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food), join the locals for lunch and point at the dishes including köfte (meatballs), chicken and bean…
Black Sea Coast
This simple family cafe is the oldest in Ayder, offers a range of local dishes and occupies a spot close to the best waterfall viewpoint, around 1km east…
