115 Best Restaurants in Turkey

There's no menu here at Fevzi Hoca, Trabzon's most serious seafood restaurant; you'll simply be shown the fish available and you choose how you want your order to be cooked. The restaurant is decorated with photos of famous Turks dining on the premises, a hint of just how popular it is. Non-fish eaters can order the delicious akçaabat köfte (meatballs).

A few blocks north of the fray, Flash attracts more locals than tourists and survives on word of mouth. It’s known for soups, steaks, kebabs, and meat stews cooked in a clay pot (kiremit); it also makes delicious oven-fired pide and lahmacun (wafer-thin spiced-meat flatbread). Come ravenously hungry, and you may have room for a dessert of künefe, a rich confection of cheese, strands of stringy pastry, and sugar syrup sprinkled with pistachio.

Part of a new wave of small cafés, craft shops, restaurants, and antiques dealers popping up in the atmospheric but long-neglected neighborhood of Balat, Forno distinguishes itself with owner Yona Grunberg’s short, high-quality menu of freshly prepared pides, pizzas, salads, and soups. With its brightly colored geometric tiles, exposed-brick walls, and large wooden communal table, this is an equally pleasant place to just relax for a while over a coffee or tea, and the weekend breakfast gets raves.

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.

This pebbly lakeside beach set with plastic tables is a good spot for lunch or dinner after a visit to Akdamar. The food, which includes local dishes such as kebabs and trout baked in a terra-cotta dish, is delicious, and afterwards you can swim off the rocks and use one of the showers.

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.

Two blocks behind the Zeugma Museum, hidden away in a quiet neighborhood, is this Gaziantep institution. While you shouldn't expect a serene dining experience (it can get pretty noisy and crowded), it's surprisingly simple and as the photos on the wall demonstrate, anyone who's anyone in Turkey has eaten here. There's no menu, but the antep (pistachio) kebabs are what it's most famous for, though you should also sample their unbelievably tender kuşleme (marinated cubes of lamb). Note that it's only open for lunch.

One of the best places to eat on any of the islands, Heyamola offers a daily selection of fresh vegetable and seafood meze, salads, and seafood, including specialties of the house like a sardine casserole or mezgit (whiting) cooked with white wine and ginger. The charming indoor-outdoor garden has a relaxing Aegean air.

One of the most popular traditional Turkish lokantas around the church of St. Nicholas, Ipek doesn't look like much, and the waiters can be surly, but excellent meat dishes and generous portions make this the restaurant of choice for many.

Attached to a pansiyon of the same name near the entrance to town, this casual restaurant offers an assortment of grilled meats and home-cooked dishes as well as meze and gözleme (Turkish-style crepes). Meals are served in a pleasantly tree-shaded, plant-filled courtyard decorated with brightly colored hanging lamps, some made out of dried gourds. The entrance and wall are so colorful it is a popular spot for posing for photos by day-trippers.

Part of the Gunay's Garden villa complex, this tranquil spot in the far corner of Kaya village blends the best of Turkish and European cuisine, using homegrown ingredients as much as possible. There is a good range of largely organic starters; try the mixed meze plate for a taste of everything. Mains include excellent fish, steak, pizzas, and a lovely oven-cooked lamb. As befits the hotel's family-friendly ethos, there's also a kids' menu.

Drawing on Istanbul’s cosmopolitan past, this cozy spot offers meze and mains made from Armenian recipes, along with Greek, Ottoman, and Circassian dishes. With its white tablecloths and bookshelves in a low-ceiling space that opens out onto the street, Jash makes you feel as if you’ve stepped into someone’s home kitchen to taste all of Istanbul’s history.

This popular, cozy hangout, named after famous Turkish photographer Ara Güler, whose black-and-white photographs of Istanbul line the walls, is a nice place for a light meal or cup of coffee. The menu includes several Turkish meat dishes along with more international fare, such as grilled entrecôte (sirloin) steak with fries or tagliatelle with salmon.

Down a quiet, pretty alley just a two-minute stroll from the waterfront, the white, candlelit tables at this seafood restaurant quickly fill with hungry locals. Accompany a heaping plate of fried local calamari (probably the most generous in town) with a tasting plate of up to four vegetable meze with toasted bread, and, if you're still hungry, order grilled fish and (more) rakı.

A few minutes' walk from the Acropolis, this casual eatery with stone tables and colorful flowerpots is a welcome stop, especially on a hot day, on the way back from seeing the ruins. The ayran (a salty yogurt drink) is thirst quenching and a great restorative. Try the mantı (Turkish ravioli in garlicky yogurt sauce), the tavuk şiş (chicken kebab), or the gözleme, thin Turkish pastry filled with minced meat, mashed potato, or cheese and cooked on a flat griddle.

Situated in the heart of Kaleiçi, this meyhane that bears the same name as its neighborhood serves the best mezes in Antalya, as well as an array of hot appetizers and the freshest seafood. Expect great service in a spacious outdoor atmosphere.

With a prime spot right on the beach, Karakuş is a beautiful spot to enjoy any time of day—and if you spend 500 TL on food, you'll get sunbed and umbrella use for free. The mezes, grilled fish, and oven-fresh flatbreads are delightful, and the beachfront scene is serene.

Köfte (Turkish-style meatballs) are the mainstay of this popular, no-frills eatery, and you can enjoy them as a sandwich or with a side of piyaz (navy bean salad, with or without onions), homemade bread, and ayran (salted yogurt drink). The only other dish on the menu is çöp şiş, small pieces of skewered grilled lamb. No alcohol is served, and they close early in the evening. 

This cheery traveler favorite just off Pamukkale’s main square serves up better-than-average grilled meats, güveç (casseroles), and other traditional Turkish dishes (plus international staples like omelets and pasta) on an outdoor patio under a thick canopy of grapevines. Portions are on the small side but nicely presented. The full Irish Bar side has sports TV and games.

Eager patrons line up outside this little white-and-blue house near the bazaar to enjoy heaping servings of meat, dished up by a grandson of Mehmet İskenderoğlu, who invented the İskender kebap back in 1867 (he's pictured on the wall, opposite Atatürk). The kebab is tender, the portions filling, and the photograph-lined dining rooms quaint. The kitchen closes by 6:30 during the week and 8 on weekends, so go early.

Hidden up some unassuming stairs on the west side of Cumhuriyet Cadessi, this popular kebab spot has a more refined atmosphere than the competition around town and has excellent food as well. There's a broad range of typical kebabs, plus a few more unusual choices here, such as the kaşarlı sarmabeyti, ground meat and cheese in a tomato sauce–covered wrap. 

A favorite with locals and cruise ship visitors alike, this spot doesn't look much from the busy roadside but once seated the views over the port are winners, as are the highlights of the seafood menu: tandoori octopus, seafood salad, stuffed mussels, and an array of mezes.

An Ölüdeniz institution, this casual restaurant set back from the seafront at the eastern edge of town serves up hearty fare at reasonable prices. In addition to its crisp, thin-crust pide with a wide variety of toppings—including vegetarian options such as spinach or mushrooms—Kumsal’s large menu encompasses kebabs, pizza, fish, and international dishes. The service is friendly, and there’s an open-air terrace upstairs, away from the heat of the pide oven.

This cafe serves delicious, sourdough gluten-free toasts, breakfasts, omelettes, focaccia, vegan breakfast, cold homemade limonata, and reyhanli (purple basil syrup) limonata. Its modern decor stands out amongst the traditional tea houses and döner shops in the small square under the ancient plane tree. Their good choice of coffee rounds off a start for the day, after a good breakfast or brunch.

Settle into a lovely, flower-scented garden about 1 km (½ mile) from the seafront, above the town, overlooking olive and citrus trees, the Myndos harbor, and the fields concealing the ancient city of Myndos, and enjoy a meal in these rustic surroundings. Dinner should begin with the excellent mezes, and then fried calamari and other dishes, with vegetarians well catered for. Note the mantı (Turkish-style ravioli) is homemade. The crowds come for cocktails at sunset.

This cheery, casual bistro-style restaurant on the ground floor of the Hotel Ilayda is popular with visitors for its broad international menu, ranging from pasta dishes to fajitas to traditional Turkish grills. Prices are reasonable, portions hearty, and alcohol served.

Simple, hearty, traditional dishes are what’s on offer at this casual restaurant in the middle of Turgutreis’s bazaar, usually known as Osman's Place. Choose from traditional Turkish favorites starting with the traditional soups in the early morning, to hot vegetable and meat casseroles on display from cabinet at any time of the day. A good selection of baklava and desserts round off the offerings. No alcohol is served. It's a favored place for the working and the local residents, so it's busy at meal times, and on Saturday, market day.