3 Best Restaurants in The Central and Southern Aegean Coast, Turkey

Dining out along the Aegean coast is a pleasure, especially if you enjoy seafood and fresh produce. There are countless seafood restaurants at all price ranges. A typical meal includes an assortment of hot and cold meze (appetizers), a mixed salad, and the catch of the day, capped off with a Turkish dessert. To make it authentic, accompany your meal with rak? (a spirit similar in taste to oúzo). Some of the more common fish you'll find along the Aegean coast are levrek (sea bass), çipura (sea bream), barbunya (red mullet), and lahos (grouper), as well as tasty smaller fish like sardalya (sardines). Note that most fish restaurants charge per kilogram for whole fish, and the prices often aren't listed; ask before ordering to avoid receiving an unexpectedly large bill at the end of an otherwise pleasant meal. Of course, there are plenty of meat and kebab restaurants around, too, if that’s what you’re craving.

For dessert, try local dondurma (Turkish ice cream, often thickened with orchid root or mastic resin), as well as milk puddings and baklava. It’s often better to avoid hotel restaurants at lunch and dinner—you can frequently find better and less expensive food a short walk away—but luxury and boutique hotels might be an exception as they are often firm favorites on the local restaurant scene. And don’t forget street snacks! In season, you can grab fat local Smyrna figs; a cup of icy, dark berry ?erbet (think of it as Ottoman Gatorade); or a sesame-studded feta-and-tomato sandwich, each for less than a dollar in central ?zmir. Simit, the classic Turkish bagel-like street snack, is called gevrek in the ?zmir region, and often purchased along with a piece of tulum peyniri (goat's milk cheese) and a hard-boiled egg, following an old Sephardic culinary custom.

Bağarası

$$$

Authentic Turkish mezes with delicious imaginative twists such as added peach or apple are displayed in the cabinet, where one of the family, Ümmühan, will assist with her infectious pleasure in explaining their dishes. Mains can be meatballs, kebabs, tender meats, liver, mushrooms, or if the fresh fish of the day. All dishes are attentively served at tables tucked into a lovely hidden garden in summer or in cooler weather, in a quaint, Bodrum-style, white one-story house. Local and regional Turkish wines, plus a menu of raki blends are offered to the many local and visiting diners who return to this haven of dining.

Hus Wines

$$$$

Getting lost amongst the fields and vineyards becomes worth it when arriving at Hus to receive polite but interested, professional service, beautifully curated menus, detailed explanations, and suggestions for wine pairing. The modern building houses the busy kitchen led by three chefs, while the tables are set out indoors or around the lawns looking over the Hus vineyards. There are two rooms available for bed and breakfast accommodation upstairs. Cheese platters accompany afternoon tastings of five wines for 450 TL.

Yengec Restaurant

$$$$

A dazzling array of inventive seafood and vegetable mezes in the cold cabinet, for hot or cold consumption, makes for a hard choice but yields very tasty plates. The decor is of a beguiling old-school fish restaurant, photos of years of past clients and friends, raki bottles and fish posters which fit the view of fishing nets piled on the harbor path from the small fishing boats moored there. The single tempura prawn with chili sauce is superb. The mains are fried or grilled fresh fish, but check the fish in season, weight and price before ordering. Father and sons have built a respectful, popular following, amongst the many fish restaurants along the old port walkway.

The Central and Southern Aegean Coast

The Central and Southern Aegean Coast

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