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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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Summer and winter, the dining room at the Kırkınca Houses Boutique Hotel is the best in town, overlooking the lovely landscape and serving delicious and authentic dishes prepared with oil produced from olives harvested in the garden. You can accompany your meal with wines produced in Şirince, and the sound of mellow live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Among the delicacies on the menu are creamy eggplant soup; şevketi bostanı, a root vegetable cooked with tender pieces of lamb; and delicious homemade pasta, erişte, served in a light cream and almond sauce.
Şirince Köyü, Sirince, Izmir, 35920, Turkey
Known For
- Lovely atmosphere
- Local wines
- Erişte (homemade pasta, served in a light cream and almond sauce)
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This popular spot overlooking the Selçuk aqueduct is run by a friendly family team—husband, wife, and son—and offers a menu that includes such traditional vegetarian dishes as exemplary stuffed peppers and fried eggplant. It may sometimes take a while for the generous, juicy lamb and chicken kebabs to cook in the small hearth, but it's worth the wait.
Cengiz Topel Cad. 9/E, Selçuk, Izmir, 35920, Turkey
Known For
- Good veggie options
- Pirzola (lamb chops)
- Kuzu beyti (lamb rolls)
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This local favorite is the place to come for dessert; in addition to black forest cake and semolina cake, there's ice cream in many different flavors, served in a homemade waffle cone. Sakızlı muhallebi, a local specialty, is Turkish milk pudding flavored with gum mastic, the aromatic resin of the mastic tree. A beloved local brand, İmren has opened a casual Turkish restaurant on the same street (Kemalpaşa Cad. 70), as well as an Alaçatı hotel.
Kemalpaşa Cad. 65 and 72, Alaçati, Izmir, 35000, Turkey
Known For
- Variety of delicious cakes
- Mastic cookies
- There's also an İmren restaurant on the same street (Kemalpaşa Cad. 70)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch or dinner
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This charming outdoor café and restaurant is just a five-minute walk from the Priene ruins and features a shaded, leafy atmosphere with gazebos and picnic tables. The menu consists of classic Turkish staples and the speciality is gözleme: savory crepes stuffed with either potato, spinach, or cheese.
Kahramanlar Caddesi, Güllübahçe, Aydin, Turkey
Known For
- Charming outdoor setting
- Gözleme (savory crepes)
- Grilled meatballs and kebabs
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Hearty traditional Turkish soups, stews, and meat and vegetable dishes are arrayed buffet-style at this cheery lokanta, which is always bustling at lunchtime. At the top of Alaçatı village near the minibus stop, it offers a reasonably priced and reliable alternative to the increasingly expensive fare found farther into town.
Uğur Mumcu Cad. 22, Alaçati, Izmir, Turkey
Known For
- Meatballs with pureed potato
- Mücver (zucchini fritters) with homemade yogurt
- Lamb and golden thistle stew
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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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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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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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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 served.
Merkez Çarşı İçi, Yalikavak, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Good köfte
- Simple menu
- Casual vibe
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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.
Atatürk Cad. 3, Pamukkale, Denizli, 20280, Turkey
Known For
- Mixed grill
- Karnıyarık (stuffed eggplant)
- Full bar including a good selection of bottled beer
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Ilıca is known for kumru—Turkish-style panini prepared with special sesame-seed rolls and stuffed with salami, sucuk (beef spicy sausage), cheese, tomatoes, and pickles—and this place serves the best in town. Pair your sandwich with a glass of ayran, a refreshing yogurt drink. There are multiple locations in Ilıca and branches of this popular local chain in Alaçatı and Çeşme as well. It's open 24 hours.
5066 Sok. 2, Ilica, Izmir, 25700, Turkey
232-723–2392-Ilıca waterfront branch
Known For
- They also do a good Turkish breakfast
- There are multiple locations
- The place for kumru
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With a huge variety of baked goods and desserts, excellent house-made ice cream and chocolates, this pastry shop has been popular for decades. This branch of the legendary patisserie, in the heart of trendy Alsancak, is also a sit-down café serving coffee and Turkish-style breakfast.
Dr. Mustafa Enver Bey Cad. 24, Izmir, Izmir, 35260, Turkey
Known For
- Strawberry cheesecake
- Profiteroles
- Sütlaç (creamy rice pudding)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch or dinner
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Since 1945, the Rumeli bakery has been the place in Çeşme for treats like sakızlı dondurma (thick, chewy Turkish-style mastic ice cream) in flavors such as karadut (black mulberry) and tarçın (cinnamon), as well as jams, sweet mastic paste, and other traditional goodies. It's on the main shopping street, not far from Ayios Haralambos church.
İnkilap Cad. 46/A, Çesme, Izmir, 35930, Turkey
Known For
- Sakızlı muhallebi (mastic-flavored pudding)
- Balbadem (honey and almond) ice cream
- Mastic cookies
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch or dinner
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Blissfully lacking the touts trying to lure tourists into the restaurants around Cengiz Topel Caddesi, this tiny, friendly pide shop is conveniently located near the Selçuk Museum. In addition to the crisp, tasty pide offerings, there is also a selection of güveç (casserole) dishes on the menu.
Uğur Mumcu Sevgi Yolu 12/A, Selçuk, Izmir, Turkey
Known For
- Vegetarian-friendly pide toppings such as spinach and mushrooms
- Lahmacun (flatbread with spicy minced meat topping)
- Tahini-topped pide for dessert
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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 hanging lamps, some made out of dried gourds.
Şirince Köyü İç Yölü, Sirince, Izmir, 35920, Turkey
Known For
- Saç kavurma (finely chopped meat and vegetables sautéed on an iron plate)
- Kuru fasulye (white bean stew)
- Köy kahvaltısı (village breakfast)
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Italian-inspired pizzas, pastas, and salads are served alongside traditional Turkish chicken and beef dishes. It's always packed with local families and tourists sitting back at wooden tables filled with the enormous portions. Alcohol is served, and not at a ludicrous markup. There's also a branch in Turgutreis.
Neyzen Tevfik Cad. 160, Bodrum, Mugla, 48400, Turkey
Known For
- Calzones
- Breakfast served until 2 pm
- Large summer terrace
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On a small side street in Kuşadası's main bazaar area, "My Nest/Home" truly lives up to its name, offering the kind of food you'd find in a Turkish home. It's open only at lunch, and items can sell out quickly, so get there early to enjoy daily specials such as meatballs in sour sauce, baked chicken with rice, or bamya (okra) in a tomato-olive oil sauce. Alcohol is not served.
7 Eylül Sok. 4/A, Kusadasi, Aydin, 09435, Turkey
Known For
- Soups and stews
- Vegetarian dishes
- Lunch-only
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner