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This Mediterranean restaurant was around (in a different location) long before the rest of Alaçatı's trendy dining options came on the scene, and remains one of the best and most stylish in town. The deliciously inventive food and romantic garden courtyard atmosphere make Agrilia a local favorite. There's a good wine list and some creative cocktails on the menu.
Alaçati mahallesi 11016 sokak 5, Çesme, Izmir, 35930, Turkey
Known For
- Longtime favorite
- Creative cocktails
- Good wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekdays Nov.--June. No lunch summer, Reservations essential
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At this waterfront restaurant, you should begin your meal with a selection of meze, like stuffed zucchini flowers, roasted eggplant with tulum cheese, and octopus salad. Then you can let the owner, Cengiz Bey, help you select the best local fish for the grill. Whatever you choose, don't skip dessert: Gaziantep baklava or irmik helvası (traditional warm semolina halvah) served with ice cream.
Yalı Mevkii 54, Gümüslük, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Spectacular meze
- Aquarium special (shrimp and octopus cooked with garlic, butter, and flame-roasted peppers and eggplant)
- Delicious desserts
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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This outdoor terrace overlooking the waterfront is an ideal spot in Dalyanköy for a splurgy seafood dinner. After meze of kabak çiçeği dolması (stuffed zucchini flowers) and deniz börülcesi (samphire), and a main of tuzda balık (fish baked in salt), try to find room for sakızlı muhallebi, creamy traditional milk pudding flavored with gum mastic.
4226 Sok. 45/A, Çesme, Izmir, 35930, Turkey
Known For
- Unusual (and delicious) meze
- Tuzda balık (fish baked in salt)
- Gracious service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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The peripatetic Turkish-Armenian maestro Garo heads the kitchen at this enduringly popular stone cottage–turned–waterfront restaurant in Türkbükü with a comfy Greek-taverna feel, friendly staff, and an outdoor terrace with blue-and-white checkered tablecloths. If you're not in the mood for seafood and meze, there are spicy Turkish meatballs or a Bodrum specialty, çökertme kebabı (beef strips over fried potatoes with yogurt sauce).
83 Sok. 9, Göltürkbükü, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Friendly vibe
- Grilled octopus
- Veal cheek
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Oct.–Apr., Reservations essential
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This lovely restaurant on the waterfront specializes not only in fresh fish, seafood, and meze but also serves an excellent summer brunch. Tables are only a few feet from the peaceful waters of the bay, with a truly romantic view of the ancient ruins of Rabbit Island, often with a soft breeze. The waitstaff are cheery and attentive, and though the kitchen has been refurbished almost beyond recognition, it retains a 300-year-old hearth from when it served as the bakery for the surrounding villages.
1120 Sok. 82, Gümüslük, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Atmospheric spot
- Levrek (sea bass) wrapped in vine leaves
- Stuffed zucchini flowers
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Nov.–Apr.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The owners of Sevilen, one of Turkey’s best-known wine brands, have renovated and opened their family home to visitors as a fine-dining restaurant in a bucolic setting near İzmir airport. Grilled meats are the focus of the menu, which also includes tasty salads and starters—along with Sevilen wine pairings, of course. Summertime meals are served under a 300-year-old plane tree that provides cooling shade on a hot day.
901 Sok. 38, Izmir, Turkey
Known For
- Lovely setting
- Dry-aged steaks
- Summer meals under the plane tree
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With fishnets on the ceiling and simple tables under strands of small lights outside, this laid-back fish restaurant on the waterfront in Türkbükü has a nautical vibe. Start your meal with a selection of seafood or vegetable meze, and save room for the house special dessert, helva sarma (phyllo-dough rolls filled with tahini paste, flavored with cinnamon, and served with ice cream and chocolate sauce).
Liman Cad. 81/B, Göltürkbükü, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Laid back but romantic setting
- Grilled octopus
- Levrek lokum (sea bass morsels)
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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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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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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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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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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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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
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This long-standing, family-run fish house overlooks the harbor and is especially noted for a wide selection of Cretan dishes and seafood appetizers that include delectable shrimp cooked in butter, garlic, and seaweed. A local institution with courteous waitstaff, Körfez also serves some meat dishes.
Neyzen Tevfik Cad. 2, Bodrum, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Fried calamari
- Fish soup
- Good brunch
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Settle into a lovely, fig-scented garden about 2 km (1 mile) outside town, overlooking citrus trees, the sea, and the ancient city of Myndos and enjoy a meal in these rural surroundings. While the late-risers' breakfast, served until 3 pm daily is a draw, the crowds come for dinner at sunset. Lunch or dinner should begin with the excellent fried calamari; the mantı (Turkish-style ravioli) is homemade.
Kardak Cad. 7, Gümüslük, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- House-specialty cocktails
- The sunset views
- Homemade mantı (Turkish-style ravioli)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Oct.–Apr., Reservations essential
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This waterfront spot in pleasant Şevket Sabancı Park, just outside Turgutreis city center, has grand views of the sea along with a nice selection of Turkish and international dishes (though, perhaps surprisingly given the location, no fish). Alcohol is served and reservations advisable in high season.
Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bul., Turgutreis, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Kebabs
- Patlıcan sarması (eggplant rolls)
- Turkish breakfast
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Popular with the yachting crowd and holidaymakers from Istanbul, this friendly steak house has live music—jazz, Latin, flamenco, Turkish, and pop—just about every night. The broad menu also includes chicken, fish, and other meat dishes, along with salads and assorted meze. Come for dinner, stay for the dancing.
Çökertme Cad. 17, Yalikavak, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Steak in pepper sauce
- Surf and turf
- Dancing as well as dinner