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Tables are tucked into a lovely hidden garden in summer and in cooler weather service is in a quaint, Bodrum-style, one-story house. The Mediterranean cuisine includes some local favorites. Alcohol is served.
Pınarlı Cad. 59, Bitez, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- çıtır mantı (crispy fried Turkish-style ravioli)
- Lokum pilav (rice prepared with local herbs and spices)
- Girit köfte (Crete-style meatballs)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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There are many popular seafood restaurants along the Kordon waterfront in Alsancak, but this one, with indoor and outdoor seating areas and a relaxed feel, is especially busy. It features a good selection of appetizers, including the decadent sütlü karides (shrimp sautéed in butter, then topped with béchamel and mozzarella), as well as the usual seasonal seafood choices.
Atatürk Cad. 186/A, Izmir, Izmir, 35220, Turkey
Known For
- Fried calamari
- Seafood pasta
- Look for the sign with a picture of a fish (balık), followed by "çı Hasan"
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Bitez Dondurma's creamy ice-cream concoctions full of fresh fruit have proved so popular that the shop now has branches all over the Bodrum Peninsula, and as far away as Istanbul. The waterfront location in Bodrum's town center is a convenient spot to grab a scoop or two as you stroll along the promenade.
Neyzen Teyfik Cad. 76, Bodrum, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Mandalina (mandarin) ice cream
- Balbadem (honey and almond) ice cream
- Nar (pomegranate) ice cream
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch or dinner
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A pleasantly old-fashioned place popular with locals, this cozy, casual restaurant a short walk back from the beachfront offers a range of Turkish-style grilled meats, plus a smaller selection of appetizers and meze. Portions are small, but quality high. Alcohol is served.
Şah Cad. 31, Bitez, Mugla, 48470, Turkey
Known For
- Köfte (meatballs)
- Pirzola (lamb chops)
- Ciğer (liver)
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Hidden away on a side street off busy Cumhuriyet Bulvarı, this peaceful garden oasis attached to the French Cultural Center offers a range of well-prepared Mediterranean dishes, including fresh, flavorful salads, pastas, and grilled meats. There's a winter garden for cold-weather days and regular live jazz, generally on Wednesday and Friday nights.
Cumhuriyet Bul. 152, Izmir, Izmir, Turkey
Known For
- Risottos
- Seafood pizza
- Live music
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Not far from the clock tower at the entrance of Kemeraltı, this small local favorite has served traditional İskender kebabı (and only İskender kebabı) from the city of Bursa since 1981. The spit-roasted meat is sliced thin and topped with melted butter and tomato sauce. A glass of homemade ayran (salted yogurt drink) is the traditional accompaniment to the meal. Alcohol is not served. Come for lunch or a very early dinner, as they're only open until the meat runs out, usually around 6:30 pm.
Milli Kütüphane Cad. 6/B, Izmir, Izmir, 35250, Turkey
Known For
- Ayran (a salted yogurt drink) to accompany the kebabs
- No alcohol
- Closes early (by 6:30 or sometimes sooner)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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Bedecked with blossoms, this waterfront restaurant has a classic Aegean air and wide selection of meze, including stuffed zucchini flowers and yogurt with hot red peppers, as well as grilled fish and meat. In high season, the outside tables are usually full with Turks and foreign visitors alike.
İskele Cad. 13, Yalikavak, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Grilled octopus
- Vine-leaf-wrapped levrek (sea bass)
- Levrek marin (marinated sea bass)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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The more blue-collar or on-the-go way to eat fish in Turkey is the balik ekmek, a salty grilled fish sandwich often stuffed with onion, tomato, and lettuce. With Dikili's access to quality fresh fish, the flavor multiplies at this portside restaurant, with tables spilling out onto the street. Other classic Turkish seafood dishes available include fried calamari and mussels stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and currants.
20 Atatürk Cd., Dikili, Izmir, Turkey
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No credit cards
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Deniz means "sea" in Turkish, an appropriate name for this popular, pricey seafood eatery on the Kordon waterfront, whose tables spill out of the ground floor of the İzmir Palas Hotel. It's buzzing with local notables, travelers, and a swanky business crowd, who come to splurge on exceptional fish and meze, including samphire with garlicky yogurt. And it can easily turn into a splurge in terms of price, depending on the number of courses chosen.
Atatürk Cad. 188/B, Izmir, Izmir, 35220, Turkey
Known For
- Sütlü balık (fish slow-cooked in béchamel sauce)
- Sea bass in salt crust
- Can get pricey depending on the number of dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Famed for its kebabs and other meat dishes, Denizhan also serves up very good meze and appetizers, including lahmacun (Turkish-style whisper-thin flatbread topped with spices and minced meat) and vegetable dishes such as mustard greens salad. The restaurant has a prime location on the Bodrum waterfront and an extensive wine list.
Neyzen Teyfik Cad. 182/C, Bodrum, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Excellent veggie meze
- Adana kebab
- Kuzu pirzola (lamb chops)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Stopping here for pide (Turkish-style pizza or calzones, piled with a variety of ingredients that can include cheese, spinach, meat, or egg) is a highlight of a trip to Ilıca and a great choice for a quick lunch, or even breakfast, though on the pricey side compared to similar fare elsewhere. The menu also includes kebabs, soup, pizza, and traditional Turkish desserts.
5152 Sok. 27, Ilica, Izmir, 35930, Turkey
Known For
- Kıymalı (mincemeat) pide
- Good breakfast stop
- Open 24 hours in peak season
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This small and colorful eatery serving Greek and Turkish fare is an increasingly rare find in ever more chic Bodrum. Choose from meze like smoked fish or roasted eggplant with tahini sauce, followed by fresh fish, ending perhaps with a cream-topped candied mandarin for dessert. Reservations are recommended.
Adliye Sok. 5, Bodrum, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Grilled squid
- Fried calamari
- Homey vibe
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch
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The Ottoman motifs seem a bit touristy, but the place is done up nicely, in the peaceful, open-air courtyard of an old house, shaded by a towering grapefruit tree. Eski Ev ("old house" in Turkish) serves a wide selection of Turkish meze (appetizers) and main dishes, including some nice choices for vegetarians. The restaurant's specialty is a delicious concoction of lamb, vegetables, and rice, served on a copper dish with its own tiny flame beneath.
1005 Sok. 1/A, Selçuk, Izmir, 35920, Turkey
Known For
- The Old House special (lamb with vegetables and rice)
- Good vegetarian options
- Pleasant atmosphere
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Simple, hearty dishes are what’s on offer at this casual restaurant in the middle of Turgutreis’s bazaar. Choose from traditional Turkish favorites or get an omelet at any time of the day.
Plaj 2 Sok. 15, Turgutreis, Mugla, 48960, Turkey
Known For
- Mantı (Turkish-style ravioli in garlicky yogurt sauce)
- çiğ börek (deep-fried savory pastry)
- Gözleme (Turkish-style savory crepes)
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This unpretentiously upscale waterfront seafood restaurant is a favorite with locals, who spill out from the stone walls and onto the terrace with its lovely view. The menu features excellent meze, including grated zucchini with yogurt and toasted walnuts and grilled eggplant with a punchy white sauce, and fish either simply grilled or cooked with béchamel or tomatoes. Ask when ordering about prices to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Güvercinada Cad. 10, Kusadasi, Aydin, 09400, Turkey
Known For
- Fried calamari
- Shrimp casserole
- Oven-baked halvah with ice cream
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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For almost half a century, this popular, no-frills restaurant near the marina has been serving the freshest seafood in town. House specialties include fish soup and octopus with pilaf, and their fried calamari has been voted one of the best versions in Turkey. Reservations recommended.
Neyzen Teyvfik Cad. 176, Bodrum, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Popular with locals
- Balık köfte (fish "meatball")
- Shrimp on a bed of pureed eggplant
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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By early evening, the white tables spread across the green lawn in front of Gunbatimi are full of customers coming to witness the inspiration for the restaurant's name, "the sunset." To accompany the visual spectacle, the owner and his culinary team cook up the classics of Aegean seafood dishes, with particular pride displayed in the grilled octopus.
396 Sk., off Ugur Mumcu Cad., Dikili, Izmir, Turkey
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No credit cards, Closed in winter. No lunch
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The specialty of the house at this simple eatery on the boardwalk in Türkbükü is large, rather greasy portions of çiğ böreği, a Crimean dish brought to Turkey that consists of flat, fried pastry stuffed with ground beef, onion, and spices. One of the few unpretentious (and relatively inexpensive) places left on the Türkbükü shoreline, this place has a beach-hut vibe, its own little patch of sand, and a family clientele.
Liman Cad. 77, Göltürkbükü, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Baked or fried mantı (tiny Turkish "ravioli," stuffed with minced meat)
- Gözleme (Turkish savory crepes with various fillings)
- Turkish breakfast
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Oct.–Apr., Credit cards accepted
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Popular with a young local crowd, this cute and friendly little café serves up assorted coffee drinks, including flavored ones mixed with Italian syrups, and Western-style cakes and other desserts. Most seating is street-side, on a central corner near the aqueduct, and it stays open late.
Namık Kemal Cad. 11, Selçuk, Izmir, 35920, Turkey
Known For
- Upbeat atmosphere
- Milkshakes
- Cheesecake
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch or dinner
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Tables spill out of the small courtyard into the cobblestone alley at this fish and meze restaurant in central Alaçatı. Innovative house specialties include a delicious dish of octopus cooked with mushrooms, onions, and soy sauce, and for dessert there's often a delicious apple baklava.
3002 Sok. 6, Alaçati, Izmir, Turkey
Known For
- Sütlü balık (fish in béchamel sauce)
- Grilled calamari
- Attentive service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential