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This Antakya-style meyhane draws a lively crowd of diners with its atmospheric setting and delicious local cuisine. Tables are arrayed in the courtyard (avlu) and on overlooking balconies in a restored mansion, making the place feel like one big dinner party. If you don’t fill up on meze like hummus, mütebbel (eggplant dip with tahini), olive salad with sour pomegranate molasses, or atom (yogurt laced with spicy peppers), there are kebabs and other grilled meats aplenty—and crispy candied pumpkin with tahini and walnuts for dessert.
Kahraman Sok. No: 39, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey
Known For
- Delicious meze
- Kebab wrapped in lavash (thin flatbread) with yogurt sauce
- Kazbaşı (large, tender chunks of lamb) kebab
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A hospitable spot for a quick bite on your way to or from the beach and ruins, this simple, open-air eatery offers a wide range of gözleme, a type of Turkish crepe, including those with less-common fillings like eggplant and cheese or chicken with walnuts, as well as sweet options for dessert. You can also get egg dishes, meatballs, chicken kebabs, and other standard fare.
Gelemiş Mah. No: 86, Gelemis, Antalya, Turkey
Known For
- Tahini-molasses gözleme
- Homemade mantı (dumplings)
- Turkish breakfast
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Nestled in the backstreets of the old city's bazaar near the clock tower, Ciğerci Memet Usta serves up some of the best kebabs in Adana, the country's reigning center for grilled meat. Try the speciality ciğer (grilled liver), the eponymous Adana kebab, or the homemade şalgam (spicy pickled black carrot juice).
23002. Sok., No: 5, Adana, Adana, 01020, Turkey
Known For
- Grilled liver skewers
- Adana kebab
- şalgam
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Serving up tasty home-cooking in a contemporary setting, this friendly, good-value option near Hadrian's Gate has a small menu focused on meatballs and other grills, traditional Antalya-style bean salad, and meat- or potato-filled mantı (dumplings). Don’t be put off by the entry through a narrow passageway: it opens up into a pleasant café-style dining area that's bright, airy, and filled with plants.
Erbaş Pasajı No: 40, Antalya, Antalya, Turkey
Known For
- Köfte (meatballs)
- Piyaz (bean salad)
- Mantı (dumplings)
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A homey little spot offering home-style fare, this is a good place to have a satisfying and inexpensive meal before or after embarking on excursions from the nearby minibus stop and riverside docks. Choose from a daily selection of meze behind the counter or a heartier traditional dish like panfried meat with peppers and onions. In the evening, there’s more of a mini-meyhane vibe, with beer and rakı available, at its handful of tables, mostly outside.
Eski Pazaryeri 3, Dalyan, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Mixed meze plate
- Panfried liver
- Stuffed calamari
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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No trip to Antakya is complete without eating künefe, a rich dessert with thinly soft cheese in between layers of pastry, baked in an oven and topped with sugar syrup. A row of shops selling the local sweet line the road in between the bridge into the old town and the beginning of the Uzun Çarşı. Ferah, in business since 1948, is a deservedly popular favorite.
Uzun Çarşı Cad. No: 10, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey
Known For
- Künefe
- Well established
- Local favorite
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Tour groups often fill this restaurant at dinner for good reason: the food is both delicious and inexpensive, a combination that also makes it popular with locals at lunch. The restaurant also offers a nice, traditional Turkish breakfast. Expect all the usual Turkish dishes, plus local specialties including soups, stews, and börek pastries.
İstiklal Cad. No. 20, Antakya, Hatay, 31001, Turkey
Known For
- Chard leaves stuffed with meat
- Tepsi kebab (spiced minced lamb cooked in a tray)
- Aşur (wheat and beef stew)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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Little-consumed most other places in Turkey, hummus is a mainstay of the Antakya diet, and the old town is full of tiny, no-frills shops serving up little else, often as a filling breakfast. Jolly İbrahim, a hummus “usta” (master), who learned his trade in Lebanon, makes everything from scratch—even grinding the sesame seeds for his own tahini. Orders come with pillowy bread and an array of spicy peppers and pickles.
Saray Cad. Sakarya İşhanı No: 13, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey
Known For
- Hummus
- Cevizli biber (pepper paste with walnuts)
- Bakla (broad bean dip)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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One of the best of the 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 make this the restaurant of choice for many.
Kolcular Sok., Demre, Antalya, 07570, Turkey
Known For
- Köfte (grilled meatballs)
- Moussaka
- Chicken soup
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In business since 1950, Kervan draws hummus lovers from as far away as Mersin city center to eat its house specialty, served warm with a choice of toppings, including chickpeas and butter, köfte (meatballs), chicken, or cheese–all with spicy peppers and pickles on the side. The only thing on the menu other than hummus at this simple eatery by the çarşı (market) area is the equally delicious fındık lahmacun—miniature flatbreads topped with ground meat cooked in tomatoes and spices.
Abdi İpekçi Cad., 801. Sok., Abacı İşhanı No: 18, Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey
Known For
- Hummus with chickpeas and butter
- Hummus with pastırma (cured beef)
- Fındık lahmacun (tiny flatbreads)
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This homey lokanta is a good-value place to grab a quick bite after visiting the nearby castle. Choose from the daily array of traditional Turkish stewed or sautéed meat and vegetable dishes displayed at the counter, or order a grilled kebab or spit-roasted döner. It’s in the maze of streets below the citadel on the inland side, next to Eski İbrahim Ağa Cami.
36. Sok., No: 69, Marmaris, Mugla, 48700, Turkey
Known For
- Döner kebab
- Moussaka
- Kuru fasulye (stewed white beans in tomato sauce)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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An Ölüdeniz institution, this casual restaurant set just 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 (flatbread) 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.
957. Sok. No: 13, Ölüdeniz, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Assorted pide (flatbread)
- Chicken casserole
- Grilled sea bass
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After paying your respects to St. Nick, retire to this bakery-café, the local branch of a popular Turkish chain, to enjoy arctic air-conditioning and a cold drink or tea accompanied by fresh baklava, the diamond-cut honeyed pastry with nuts. Until early afternoon Nur also serves su böreği, a salty pastry flavored with crumbly cheese.
Kolcular Sok., Demre, Antalya, 07570, Turkey
Known For
- Baklava
- Ice cream
- Su böreği (savory pastry with crumbly cheese)
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A homey, peaceful retreat on the southern edge of the old city serves great coffee, fruit smoothies, homemade American cakes, and home-cooked lunches that include both Turkish and Asian dishes. Part of the St. Paul Cultural Center, it's one of the rare inexpensive eateries in central Antalya with distinctive and high-quality food. There's a library of exchange books on-site, as well as a gift shop with some lovely and unusual offerings (notably traditional jewelry from eastern Turkey) and a garden so quiet it's hard to believe you're so close to Kaleiçi's main drag.
Yenikapı Sok., No. 24, Antalya, Antalya, 07100, Turkey
Known For
- Cashew chicken
- Carrot cake
- Mantı (Turkish dumplings in yogurt sauce)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekends and last 2 wks of Aug. No dinner
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Every Turkish village has a fırın: a tasty, unpretentious bakery that churns out a daily bounty of smooth puddings, flaky pastries, fresh bread, and sweets. The amazing thing about this one is that it's survived in the heart of touristy Kaleiçi—and with reasonable prices. Options include spicy spinach börek and incirli cevizli muhallebisi, a milk pudding flavored with local figs and walnuts.
Balıkpazarı Sokak, Antalya, Antalya, 07100, Turkey
Known For
- Spinach börek
- Milk pudding with figs and walnuts
- Baklava
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Continue up the hill beyond Tlos to the nearby village of Yaka Köyü (it's signposted) and you'll reach the vast but peaceful Yakapark Restaurant, which is on the site of a now-demolished windmill and which has become an attraction in its own right. The enormous space, which seats up to 600 people, has its own trout farm, guaranteeing the freshest of fish. Water is everywhere here, gurgling around traditional Turkish wooden platforms where diners sit, and there is even a little channel in the bar where fish can swim around your chilled beer. Bring a bathing suit if you dare—the waters of the wading pool are so icy, owners promise a free drink to anyone who can withstand them for 10 whole minutes. If you can manage for a full 15 minutes, your drink and entire meal are free.
Yaka Köyü, Mugla, 48300, Turkey
Known For
- Fresh trout
- Reasonable prices
- Nicely chilled beer
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This casual lokanta in the center of town is a reliable place to get satisfying home-cooked food at reasonable prices. Choose from the array of daily dishes—different varieties of meatballs, casseroles, stews, and vegetables cooked in olive oil—under the glassed-in counter at the entrance, and then grab a seat in the simple dining room or at one of the sidewalk tables.
Atatürk Cad. No: 72, Datça, Mugla, Turkey
Known For
- Stuffed zucchini flowers
- Stewed chard with lamb
- Rice with saffron and currants
