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You won't find many fancy restaurants in this region, but eastern Turkey is the place for smaller eateries offering flavorful local cuisine and welcoming patrons. Food in the Black Sea area relies on dishes made with plenty of butter, rich yellow cheese, corn flour, and fish, especially hamsi (Black Sea anchovies). Although meat
You won't find many fancy restaurants in this region, but eastern Turkey is the place for smaller eateries offering flavorful local cuisine and welcoming patrons. Food in the Black Sea area relies on dishes made with plenty of butter, rich yellow cheese, corn flour, and
You won't find many fancy restaurants in this region, but eastern Turkey is the place for smaller eateries offering flav
You won't find many fancy restaurants in this region, but eastern Turkey is the place for smaller eateries offering flavorful local cuisine and welcoming patrons. Food in the Black Sea area relies on dishes made with plenty of butter, rich yellow cheese, corn flour, and fish, especially hamsi (Black Sea anchovies). Although meat kebabs rule the rest of the east, most restaurants will also offer a variety of fresh salads and delicious vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil, along with stews and other ready-made hot dishes, which are usually meat-based. Gaziantep and (to a lesser extent) Mardin have become known as foodie destinations in their own right, where you can find regional specialities in more refined settings.
Open since 1887, Imam Çağdaş is certainly doing something right, as the crowds that pack this restaurant in the bazaar district day and night will tell you. Besides top notch lahmucan (crispy stone baked dough topped with spiced minced meat), there's a small menu of standard kebabs such as ali nazik (minced-meat kebab served on a puree of roasted eggplant, garlic, and yogurt) and the sebzeli kebab, a skewer of grilled vegetables and lamb minced with garlic and parsley. The star however is the terrific syrupy baklava, so widely regarded as the best in the country that orders have regularly been received from Turkish presidents and from as far afield as Fidel Castro.
Something of a local institution, Zekeriya Usta is not to be missed. Try the katmer, which is a sort of large folded pancake, and here it comes filled with crushed pistachio and kaymak (a type of clotted cream). Witnessing the team of master chefs at work is all part of the fun here, and they do it with a flourish for all to see, before cooking in a stone oven. Try skipping breakfast one day and head here instead for a filling brunch, or save it as a spot to savor a decadent dessert treat.
This little shop inside a spice bazaar is considered by many Turks nationwide to have the best baklava in the country. Run by a fifth-generation baklava maker, this humble store turns out a delicious version of the classic dessert, as well as other phyllo-and-nut-based sweets.
A warehouse built in 1909 for a tobacco merchant is now a spot for diners to enjoy their meals in either a large outdoor courtyard or the cool stone-vaulted chambers at the back. There are excellent mezes, quality incarnations of standard kebabs, and a good sampling of local dishes like smoky eggplant kebabs and fantastic yavulama (meatball-and-yogurt soup). This is not only one of the nicest places in town, but is also one of the few that serves alcohol.
Atatürk Bulvarı 119, about 1 km (½ mile) west of İstasyon Cad., Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey
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.
Tekel Cad. and Öcükoğlu Sokak, Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey
Head here for a break from kebabs and to get a taste of classic Gaziantep home cooking. A local woman who returned to Gaziantep after living in Europe for several years rotates her menu on a regular basis, but the food is consistently good. Dishes to try include kapamala firik pilavı (roasted cracked wheat topped with tender lamb) and çacıklı arap köfte (balls of fried bulgur wheat served on a yogurt and purslane base). For dessert try the local specialty zerde sutlaç (rice pudding with a saffron topping). The restaurant is bit difficult to find— but it's one block east of Fevzi Çakmak Caddesi, which runs north from the Gaziantep Museum.
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