The Atatürk Bulvarı corridor between the old city and the new one, where küşleme grills, mantı rooms and late beyran counters sit side by side.
Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta grills nothing but lamb tenderloin on Kemal Köker Caddesi in Gaziantep, and the founder's son now works the charcoal himself.
Signature: Küşleme, Yayık ayranı
Order: Küşleme with a glass of churned yayık ayran to cut the fat.
Tip: Portions are small because the cut is small. Order two if you have walked the bazaar all morning.
Evirgeç Mantı Evi cooks the home food of Gaziantep on Atatürk Bulvarı, from hand-pinched mantı to yuvalama and pirpirim, with vegetarian plates too.
Signature: Antep mantısı, Yuvalama, İçli köfte
Order: Antep mantı under garlic yoghurt and paprika butter.
Tip: Ask what the daily pot holds before ordering. The menu is longer than the kitchen actually cooks.
Sakıp Usta serves beyran and paça on Kemal Köker Caddesi in Gaziantep from 05:30 until the small hours, which covers both the dawn bowl and the late one.
Signature: Beyran, Antep paça, Katmer
Order: Beyran at midnight, when the second pot comes up.
Tip: The kitchen runs from 05:30 to 02:00, so this is the one beyran counter that suits either end of the day.
Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta is a single-dish kitchen in Gaziantep, grilling lamb tenderloin over charcoal and serving it with churned yayık ayran.
Order: Küşleme, plus the yayık ayran that comes with it.
Tip: Small portions, high price per gram. That is what the cut costs, not a tourist mark-up.
Evirgeç Mantı Evi is where Gaziantep eats the dishes people cook at home, a plain room on Atatürk Bulvarı built around mantı and stuffed köfte.
Order: Mantı, then içli köfte from the daily tray.
Tip: Prices run higher than the room suggests. Check the daily board before ordering the full spread.
Sakıp Usta is the all-hours beyran and paça room of Gaziantep, a functional counter on Kemal Köker Caddesi that keeps serving past midnight.
Order: Paça soup and half a portion of beyran.
Tip: Soup portions are large. Order one beyran between two if you plan on kebab afterwards.
Baklavacı Zeki İnal is a family baklava workshop on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep that makes şöbiyet by hand and sells out most days by noon.
Tip: Closed at weekends and often sold out by midday. Go on a weekday morning or do not bother.
Worth the queue: Kaymaklı şöbiyet
Evirgeç Mantı Evi plates home cooking on Atatürk Bulvarı, and Gaziantep mantı with yoghurt is one of the cheaper sit-down meals in the centre.
Try: Antep mantısı
Tip: Check the daily board before ordering. The listed menu runs wider than the day's cooking.
Sakıp Usta keeps beyran and paça going past midnight on Kemal Köker Caddesi, which makes it the Gaziantep answer to a very late-night appetite.
Try: Beyran and paça
Tip: It is still serving at 02:00, and at 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.