Sultanahmet
This hybrid cooking school–restaurant serves a set four-course menu of Turkish home cooking, regional Anatolian specialities and Ottoman classics…
Must-see restaurants in Turkey
Black Sea Coast
This excellent yet inexpensive place for fresh seafood, including karides güvec (prawn stew) and fish sandwiches, is a gleaming white contrast to the old…
Cappadocia
Meaty mains of tenderloin cooked in pekmez (syrup made from grape juice) and lamb chops with smoked aubergine head up the menu here. Smaller plates are…
Far Northeast
An excellent choice for barbequed meats and tasty aubergine meze plates washed down with shots of rakı, Hasir is upstairs in an 1898 stone building facing…
Cappadocia
At this cosy upstairs restaurant, dishes are cooked by local women traditionally in the tandır (clay oven), and ingredients are sourced from the neighbour…
Lake District
The restaurant at Sagalassos Lodge, with seating in the glass-fronted dining room or around the pool, is a great option for a slap-up meal after trekking…
Ankara
At this blue-and-white fish restaurant, pluck your creature of the deep off its ice bed, then have it grilled or fried up and doused in olive oil and…
Black Sea Coast
Amid roses and yew hedges at the top of the cable car, this spacious, all-window cafe overlooks the Amisos tumuli and a wide, partially tree-obscured…
Eastern Mediterranean
Popular with families, Antakya's culinary anchor serves a long list of fine mezes on gold-coloured tablecloths in a covered garden where the trees push…
İzmir
A Parisian-style divertissement in the heart of the city, this stylish cafe on Lozan Meydanı is wildly popular with Alsancak's ladies-who-lunch. Coffee is…
Western Anatolia
Set in an old town Ottoman house, Mihrioğlu offers a menu of Anatolian classics: börek (filled pastry), saç kavurma (stir-fried cubed meat dish), çöp şiş …
Cappadocia
This cheerfully painted blue-and-white cafe, with its slim terrace strung with dangling nazar boncuk (charms resembling eyes), is Çavuşin's most charming…
Beyoğlu
A staple for Beyoğlu night-owls, this tiny grill shop on a grungy corner near the Beyoğlu Fish Market turns out mouth-wateringly tender kebabs – try the …
The Bosphorus Suburbs
The pedestrianised street running inland from Ortaköy Mosque is crowded with stands selling kümpir (stuffed baked potato) and sweet-smelling waffles…
Southeastern Anatolia
This is the Midyat favourite for lunchtime lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food) meals. Choose from the bain-marie, which usually contains interesting…
Cappadocia
Just up the slope, directly behind the ticket office for Zelve Open-Air Museum, is this peaceful retreat, with ramshackle terraces, fruit trees and…
Başka Şubemiz Yoktur Karadeniz Aile Pide ve Kebap Salonu
Sultanahmet
Serving tasty pides and kebaps since 1985, the original Karadeniz (Black Sea)–style pide joint in this enclave is a hit with local shopkeepers. You can…
Western Anatolia
Try to ignore the entrance cake counters and head upstairs to this cafe where Kütahyalıs hang out drinking tea and scoffing decadent desserts. There's a…
Western Anatolia
The shady garden of the Seyir Butik Pansiyon has tables surrounded by roses and kitschy classical statuettes. It's a tranquil spot for a lunch of butter…
Şanlıurfa
Slap in the central city, Gülhan does a roaring trade with generously portioned kebap plates, lahmacun (Arabic-style pizza) and local dishes like borani …
Erzurum
At the base of the main gondola in Palandöken, this glass-fronted cafe stares straight up the main pistes, serves proper espressos and, most…
Gaziantep
Since 1871, six generations of the Güllüoğulu family have been churning out pistachio-encrusted and syrup-soaked baklava to the masses. There's also…
Black Sea Coast
Stylishly youthful, this bayfront restaurant and 'gourmet cafe' has a casually upmarket lilt, serving a wide range of Turkish fare alongside Mexican steak…
Ürgüp
This lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food) run by a friendly couple is deservedly popular. Choose from the six to eight daily-changing dish selection…
Doyuranlar Aile Çay ve Gözleme
Gallipoli Peninsula
The village women in charge of this roadside eatery and çay bahçesi (tea garden) midway between Eceabat and Kabatepe serve up huge breakfast platters,…
Beyoğlu
Known throughout the city for the quality of its kaymak (clotted cream), which it has been serving for half a century, this no-frills place is a highly…
Western Anatolia
In business since 1922, the original owner of this lokanta (eatery serving ready-made food) cooked for Atatürk on his 1934 Afyon visit. Adventurous eaters…
Amasya
Every version of mantı (Turkish ravioli) you know, and plenty that you may have never seen before – from bowls of the little dumplings drenched in walnut…
Eastern Mediterranean
The best in a row of welcoming pide/mangal (barbecue) places on the main strip, Zeugma does spot-on mercimek çorbası (lentil soup, served with bread,…
Ankara
Quirky vintage styling and comfy sofas make Café des Cafés one of our favourite Kavaklıdere pit stops. The menu is bistro-style cooking offering mains…
Bursa
The impeccably clean, comfortable surrounds and ultra-friendly staff raise this long-standing favourite above most of Bursa's lokantas (eateries serving…
Istanbul
A constant cluster of customers in front of this hole-in-the-wall joint near the Grand Bazaar signals the fact that its offerings are both fresh and tasty…
Trabzon
Occupying one of the meydan's biggest and most attractive stone buildings, this relaxed international restaurant offers much more than just the chain's…
Beyoğlu
Local celebrity chef Arda Türkmen is a master of mezes, so that's what you should order at this upmarket meyhane on the top floor of the Haze Hotel. There…
Meşhur Dönercı Hacı Osman'ın Yeri
Istanbul
This döner stand, occupying an elegant Ottoman sebil (fountain) outside the Ali Paşa Camii on the corner of Mercan Caddesi, is hugely popular with local…
Beyoğlu
Despite their long and much-vaunted tradition in the city, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find meyhanes (taverns) serving good food. Standards…
Beyoğlu
Occupying a converted garage in a lane opposite the Galatasaray Lycée, this cafe is named after legendary photographer Ara Güler, whose photographs of old…
Van
On Kahvaltı Sokak (Breakfast Street), Sütçü Kenan is one of the cafes specialising in Van's breakfast experience. Expect a spread of warm pide bread, eggs…
Çanakkale
The restaurant at Hotel Limani is popular for good reason. The glass-fronted building on the kordon (waterfront promenade) is stylish and inviting; the…
Eskişehir
Inside the Abacı Konak, this elegant restaurant serves up classic Turkish dishes – meze starters and meaty kebap mains. There's live music from Tuesday to…
