Soup before dawn, pistachio before noon, baklava all day.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Gaziantep eats on a schedule no other Turkish city keeps. Beyran, a lamb and rice broth simmered overnight, is sold from five in the morning and gone by early afternoon, so the day starts in the bazaar rather than at a hotel buffet. Katmer follows, dough stretched to transparency over a marble counter, filled with clotted cream and the bright green Antep pistachio that gives the city its export trade. Lunch is kebab, and the local argument is about küşleme, unmarinated lamb tenderloin grilled fast over charcoal and priced by the gram. Dinner is quieter, because this is a conservative city with only a handful of licensed rooms, most of them meyhanes in restored hans. What replaces a bar culture is a sweet culture: baklava counters that have run since 1871, künefe rooms open until two in the morning, and coffee houses grinding menengiç from wild terebinth since 1635. UNESCO made Gaziantep a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015, the only Turkish city with the title, on the strength of roughly 500 dishes counted as its own.
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.
The plates that define eating in Gaziantep.
Forty or more layers of hand-rolled dough, clarified butter and crushed green Antep pistachio, baked and syruped so the top shatters and the base stays crisp rather than wet.
Where Koçak Baklava, İmam Çağdaş, Baklavacı Zeki İnal, Çelebioğulları Baklava, Tarihi Elmacıpazarı Güllüoğlu
Where to eat Antep fıstıklı baklava in Gaziantep →A single sheet of dough thrown until it is almost transparent, folded around clotted cream and green pistachio, then baked flat in a stone oven and cut into squares while it is still molten.
Where Katmerci Zekeriya Usta, Metanet Katmer, Beyoğlu Katmercim, Katmerci Murat
Where to eat Katmer in Gaziantep →Shredded lamb neck and rice in a garlic and pepper broth built on marrow bones, ladled over the top so it is served scalding. This is the Gaziantep breakfast that starts before dawn.
Where Metanet Lokantası, Sakıp Usta Paça Beyran Kebap, Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı
Where to eat Beyran çorbası in Gaziantep →Unmarinated lamb tenderloin, cut into small cubes and grilled fast over charcoal with nothing but salt. It is the most expensive kebab in Gaziantep because there is very little of it per animal.
Where Kebapçı Halil Usta, Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta, Bayazhan, Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası
Where to eat Küşleme in Gaziantep →Tiny rice and meat balls the size of a fingernail, cooked with chickpeas in a warm yoghurt soup finished with dried mint butter. It is the feast dish of Gaziantep, made for Eid mornings.
Where Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı, Hışvahan, Evirgeç Mantı Evi
Where to eat Yuvalama in Gaziantep →A bulgur shell moulded thin around spiced lamb and walnut, then fried or boiled. In Gaziantep the shell is worked so fine that the filling shows through when you cut it open.
Where Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası, Evirgeç Mantı Evi
Where to eat İçli köfte in Gaziantep →A yoghurt and chickpea soup holding two sizes of dumpling: large stuffed ones and small plain ones, the mother and the daughter that give the dish its name.
Where Hışvahan, Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı
Where to eat Analı kızlı in Gaziantep →A coffee with no coffee in it: wild terebinth berries roasted and ground to a paste, then brewed with milk into something between hazelnut, chocolate and pistachio.
Where Tarihi Tahmis Kahvesi
Where to eat Menengiç kahvesi in Gaziantep →Shredded kadayıf pastry packed above and below a layer of unsalted stretching cheese, baked or fired over charcoal until the outside is bronzed, then soaked in syrup and buried in pistachio.
Where Künefe Han, Cumba Künefe, Erçelebi Kömürde Kadayıf
Where to eat Künefe in Gaziantep →A triangle of baklava pastry with clotted cream folded in beside the pistachio, so it eats richer and softer than a standard slice and has a much shorter shelf life.
Where Baklavacı Zeki İnal, Çelebioğulları Baklava, Koçak Baklava
Where to eat Şöbiyet in Gaziantep →Shredded kadayıf wrapped tightly around a log of crushed pistachio, baked and then syruped, cut into short lengths that show a dense green core.
Where Yusuf Ziya Fıstıklı Burma Kadayıfları, İmamoğlu Baklava
Where to eat Fıstıklı burma kadayıf in Gaziantep →Fine bulgur kneaded for an hour with isot, pepper paste and spice until it turns dark and sticky, then served cold in lettuce or rolled into a wrap. Now made without meat by law.
Where Çiğ Köfteci Yuşa Usta, Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası
Where to eat Çiğ köfte in Gaziantep →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Gaziantep.
İmam Çağdaş has cooked kebab and rolled its own baklava on Uzun Çarşı in Gaziantep since 1887, and the founding family still works both counters.
OrderAli Nazik, then a plate of havuç dilimi baklava from the same counter.
Metanet Lokantası in Gaziantep opens at 05:00 and sells beyran until the pot runs dry, which is why locals queue before the bazaar wakes up.
OrderBeyran, the lamb and rice broth the kitchen has simmered overnight.
Kebapçı Halil Usta grills küşleme over charcoal in Şehitkamil, and the Gaziantep lunch crowd empties the tenderloin allocation most days by 15:00.
OrderKüşleme, the unmarinated lamb tenderloin grilled over charcoal.
Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası sits at the exit of the coppersmiths' bazaar in Gaziantep, opposite the Suriye Pasajı, and the family has run it since the 1920s.
OrderPatlıcan kebabı with firik pilav, the smoked green-wheat rice.
Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı cooks the home dishes the kebab houses skip, from yuvalama to alaca çorba, a short walk downhill from Gaziantep Castle.
OrderYuvalama, the yoghurt and chickpea soup Gaziantep eats at feast time.
Hışvahan serves Antep cooking inside a restored 16th-century han beneath Gaziantep Castle, which now works as a hotel, restaurant and shop in one.
OrderAnalı kızlı, the twin-dumpling soup, followed by the semolina halva.
The walled old city below the castle, where the copper bazaar, the hans and the baklava counters all sit inside a fifteen-minute walk.
Best for: Beyran, Katmer, Baklava, Menengiç coffee
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.
Best for: Küşleme, Mantı, Şöbiyet, Late beyran
Modern Gaziantep of wide boulevards and big salons, where the baklava houses have air conditioning and the künefe rooms stay open past midnight.
Best for: Baklava, Künefe, Kadayıf, Patisserie breakfast
A residential grid north of the centre that eats late and long, with breakfast rooms, film-poster cafes and simit bakeries rather than kebab houses.
Best for: Serpme kahvaltı, Simit, Organic breakfast, Coffee
The university side of Gaziantep, where espresso bars, brunch rooms and international menus serve a student crowd that eats later than the old city.
Best for: Filter coffee, Brunch, International
The park district west of the centre, where Gaziantep eats outdoors under trees, from park-side breakfast patios to the licensed gardens on its edge.
Best for: Park breakfast, Gözleme, Beer garden
Antep fıstıklı baklava
Forty or more layers of hand-rolled dough, clarified butter and crushed green Antep pistachio, baked and syruped so the top shatters and the base stays crisp rather than wet
Katmer
A single sheet of dough thrown until it is almost transparent, folded around clotted cream and green pistachio, then baked flat in a stone oven and cut into squares while it is still molten
Beyran çorbası
Shredded lamb neck and rice in a garlic and pepper broth built on marrow bones, ladled over the top so it is served scalding
Küşleme
Unmarinated lamb tenderloin, cut into small cubes and grilled fast over charcoal with nothing but salt
Yuvalama
Tiny rice and meat balls the size of a fingernail, cooked with chickpeas in a warm yoghurt soup finished with dried mint butter
Şehitkamil
Modern Gaziantep of wide boulevards and big salons, where the baklava houses have air conditioning and the künefe rooms stay open past midnight
İbrahimli
A residential grid north of the centre that eats late and long, with breakfast rooms, film-poster cafes and simit bakeries rather than kebab houses
A sample of Gaziantep hotels from our booking partner, who list 70 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Omur Hotel
With a stay at Omur Hotel in Gaziantep, you'll be within a 10-minute walk of Medusa Glass Works Museum and ...
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Hotel Murat
With a stay at Hotel Murat in Gaziantep (Sahinbey), you'll be within a 10-minute walk of Kurtulus Mosque an...
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Yunus Hotel
You'll be centrally located in Gaziantep with a stay at Yunus Hotel, within a 15-minute walk of Gaziantep C...
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Kargul Hotel
With a stay at Kargul Hotel in Gaziantep (Sahinbey), you'll be within a 10-minute walk of Kurtulus Mosque a...
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Utkubey Hotel
A stay at Utkubey Hotel places you in the heart of Gaziantep, within a 5-minute walk of Omeriye Mosque and ...
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Garni Hotel
A stay at Garni Hotel places you in the heart of Gaziantep, within a 10-minute walk of Gaziantep Archaeolog...
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Beliz Hanim Konaklari
A stay at Beliz Hanim Konaklari places you in the heart of Gaziantep, within a 5-minute walk of Kendirli Ki...
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Kucuk Velic Hotel
A stay at Kucuk Velic Hotel places you in the heart of Gaziantep, within a 5-minute walk of Kendirli Kilise...
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Katan Hotel
With a stay at Katan Hotel in Gaziantep, you'll be a 4-minute walk from Forum Gaziantep and 6 minutes by fo...
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Yilmazel Hotel
With a stay at Yilmazel Hotel, you'll be centrally located in Gaziantep, within a 10-minute walk of Gaziant...
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Doganbey Konagi Butik Otel
With a stay at Doganbey Konagi Butik Otel in Gaziantep (Sahinbey), you'll be steps from Kurtulus Mosque and...
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ibis Gaziantep
You'll be centrally located in Gaziantep with a stay at ibis Gaziantep, just steps from Forum Gaziantep. Fe...
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Also compare: Zen Hotels in Gaziantep from USD 43/night · Holidu in Gaziantep from USD 8/night · LateRooms in Gaziantep
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Gaziantep, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: September to November. GastroAntep runs in mid September, the pistachio harvest lands in August, and the Nizip olive pressing follows in November. July and August are punishingly hot.
Local dining hours: Beyran 05:00-13:00, katmer 06:00-11:00, lunch 12:00-15:00, dinner 19:00-22:30. Dessert counters run to 24:00 and later.
Tipping: Service is not included. Round up in bazaar counters and leave five to ten percent in restaurants. Small lira notes are essential in the old city.
Gaziantep's signature dishes include Antep fıstıklı baklava, Katmer, Beyran çorbası, Antep usulü lahmacun, Ali Nazik kebabı. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Gaziantep by district. Eski Antep, Alleben, Şehitkamil, İbrahimli are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Gaziantep include Hışvahan, Bayazhan, Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 4 editor-picked food tours in Gaziantep, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Gaziantep dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
