25 editor picks across Turkey.
25 bakeries worth the trip across Turkey, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Turkey guides.
Koçak Baklava is the baklava counter most of Gaziantep names first, a bright Şehitkamil salon selling şöbiyet, dolama and midye by the kilo.
TipBuy by weight and eat it the same day. Antep baklava is built for hours, not for keeping.
İmam Çağdaş rolls its own baklava beside the kebab grill on Uzun Çarşı, and the havuç dilimi wedge is the one Gaziantep queues at the counter for it.
TipThe takeaway counter is separate from the restaurant. Use the street door if you only want a box.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu, the one-counter Rıhtım Caddesi baklava emporium across from Galataport, has filled the Güllü family's pistachio version since 1949.
Katmerci Zekeriya Usta stretches katmer dough to transparency and bakes it in a stone oven, the Gaziantep breakfast pastry in its canonical form.
TipWatch the dough being thrown before you sit. The counter opens at eight and the queue builds fast.
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.
TipClosed at weekends and often sold out by midday. Go on a weekday morning or do not bother.
Tarihi Elmacıpazarı Güllüoğlu bakes baklava and börek at the edge of the apple market, and it carries the oldest baklava name in all of Gaziantep.
TipAsk for the börek in the morning. It comes out of the oven early and sells before lunch.
Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir at Bahçekapı, the 1777-founded confectioner credited with inventing modern lokum, run from a heritage-listed shopfront beside Yeni.
Çelebioğulları Baklava runs a large Gaziantep salon on Gazi Muhtar Paşa and is one of the few local names making vegan and gluten-free trays.
TipThe special-diet trays are made in a separate line and usually need ordering ahead.
Yusuf Ziya makes burma kadayıf and almost nothing else in a Gaziantep han on Suburcu Caddesi, rolling the pastry around crushed Antep pistachio.
TipMidday is when the trays are warmest. Later in the day the syrup has set firm.
Beyoğlu Katmercim works its dough in front of the counter on Kozluca Caddesi, and the Gaziantep katmer here arrives loaded with kaymak and pistachio.
TipAsk for a corner table so the katmer reaches you while it is still hot.
Orkide Pastanesi is the modern counterpoint to the Gaziantep baklava houses, a patisserie doing chocolates, cakes and a katmer with ice cream.
TipThe ice-cream katmer is a modern reworking. Try the classic version elsewhere first.
Hafız Mustafa 1864 on Hamidiye Caddesi, the original Sultan Abdülaziz-era confectioner still rolling lokum and laminated baklava in Eminönü over a 160-year.
Gaziantep Ayıntap Baklava keeps an air-conditioned salon on Gazi Muhtar Paşa Bulvarı where you can sit with tea and a plate rather than a box.
TipSitting in costs no more than taking away. Order a small plate and a glass of tea.
Metanet Katmer opens at five in the morning on Kozluca Caddesi in Gaziantep, pairing clotted cream and Antep pistachio inside paper-thin dough.
TipThe five o'clock start suits anyone eating beyran across the street first.
Saray Muhallebicisi on Istiklal, the 1935 muhallebici pulling chicken-breast pudding, kazandibi and milk-pudding bowls into the small hours.
Borsam Taşfırın in Kadıköy, pulling stone-oven lahmacun and pide since 1968 from a glass-fronted counter on the Bahariye side of Caferağa. At Caferağa Mah..
Boztoprak Baklava bakes fresh every day on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep and ships nationwide, which keeps the trays turning over very quickly.
TipThe mixed plate is the way to compare şöbiyet, dolama and classic in one order.
İmamoğlu Baklava is a small shop on Eski Saray Caddesi in Gaziantep where the trays are cut thin and the prices sit below the more famous names.
TipThe shop is one small room with no seating. Buy a quarter kilo and eat it walking back.
Akşam Simit bakes simit and morning pastries in İbrahimli and sets out a full teapot with them, which is rarer in Gaziantep than it ought to be.
TipOrder the katmer alongside the simit. The pastries come out warm through the morning.
Beyaz Fırın in Etiler, a heritage Turkish bakery dating to 1836, working out of a two-floor Nispetiye Caddesi space with a vertical garden and a 350-seat.
Antepsan Baklava sits opposite Sanko University in Gaziantep and also holds the airport counter, so it is the last box before a flight home.
TipOpen until late evening. Handy if you land after the old-city counters have shut.
Katmerci Murat is a family katmer shop on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep, cheaper than the famous names and generous with the pistachio filling.
TipThe şam tatlısı is worth adding if you are ordering for more than two.
Özcanlar Pide & Lahmacun Fırını is a working stone-oven bakery in Kayaönü, Gaziantep, turning out pide, lahmacun and sfiha throughout the day.
TipBuy pide whole and have it cut. Cut pide goes soft on the walk home.
Ünsal Lokum ve Şekerleme sells Turkish delight and boiled sweets made on its own Gaziantep line, a confectioner's trade counter on Altınoğlu Caddesi.
TipPistachio lokum travels better than baklava does. Ask for it boxed rather than bagged.
Mado on Bağdat Caddesi, the Maraş-origin Kanbur-family ice-cream brand whose first Istanbul branch opened in Caddebostan, famous for the stretchable salep.
Private tour · 5 hours
Discover Gaziantep’s history, art, and cuisine on a guided tour. Visit the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, taste local street food, and explore the city’s vibrant streets.
3 hours
Join a local family in Gaziantep for a traditional Antep cooking class. Learn how to prepare classic dishes, enjoy a warm welcome, and savor the flavors of Gaziantep.
Guided tour · 2 hours
Explore Gaziantep’s culinary delights and cultural heritage on a guided walking tour. Sample iconic dishes, visit traditional markets, and learn about the city’s rich history.