The counters in Gaziantep worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in Gaziantep worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Koçak Baklava is the baklava counter most of Gaziantep names first, a bright Şehitkamil salon selling şöbiyet, dolama and midye by the kilo.
Tip: Buy by weight and eat it the same day. Antep baklava is built for hours, not for keeping.
Worth the queue: Özel şöbiyet
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.
Tip: The takeaway counter is separate from the restaurant. Use the street door if you only want a box.
Worth the queue: Havuç dilimi
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.
Tip: Ask for the börek in the morning. It comes out of the oven early and sells before lunch.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı baklava
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
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.
Tip: The special-diet trays are made in a separate line and usually need ordering ahead.
Worth the queue: Fıstık sarması
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.
Tip: Sitting in costs no more than taking away. Order a small plate and a glass of tea.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı baklava
Boztoprak Baklava bakes fresh every day on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep and ships nationwide, which keeps the trays turning over very quickly.
Tip: The mixed plate is the way to compare şöbiyet, dolama and classic in one order.
Worth the queue: Karışık tabak
Antepsan Baklava sits opposite Sanko University in Gaziantep and also holds the airport counter, so it is the last box before a flight home.
Tip: Open until late evening. Handy if you land after the old-city counters have shut.
Worth the queue: Midye baklava
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.
Tip: The shop is one small room with no seating. Buy a quarter kilo and eat it walking back.
Worth the queue: Burma kadayıf
Yusuf Ziya makes burma kadayıf and almost nothing else in a Gaziantep han on Suburcu Caddesi, rolling the pastry around crushed Antep pistachio.
Tip: Midday is when the trays are warmest. Later in the day the syrup has set firm.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı burma kadayıf
Katmerci Zekeriya Usta stretches katmer dough to transparency and bakes it in a stone oven, the Gaziantep breakfast pastry in its canonical form.
Tip: Watch the dough being thrown before you sit. The counter opens at eight and the queue builds fast.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı katmer
Metanet Katmer opens at five in the morning on Kozluca Caddesi in Gaziantep, pairing clotted cream and Antep pistachio inside paper-thin dough.
Tip: The five o'clock start suits anyone eating beyran across the street first.
Worth the queue: Simit katmer
Beyoğlu Katmercim works its dough in front of the counter on Kozluca Caddesi, and the Gaziantep katmer here arrives loaded with kaymak and pistachio.
Tip: Ask for a corner table so the katmer reaches you while it is still hot.
Worth the queue: Kaymaklı katmer
Katmerci Murat is a family katmer shop on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep, cheaper than the famous names and generous with the pistachio filling.
Tip: The şam tatlısı is worth adding if you are ordering for more than two.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı katmer
Orkide Pastanesi is the modern counterpoint to the Gaziantep baklava houses, a patisserie doing chocolates, cakes and a katmer with ice cream.
Tip: The ice-cream katmer is a modern reworking. Try the classic version elsewhere first.
Worth the queue: İnovatif katmer
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.
Tip: Order the katmer alongside the simit. The pastries come out warm through the morning.
Worth the queue: Katmer
Özcanlar Pide & Lahmacun Fırını is a working stone-oven bakery in Kayaönü, Gaziantep, turning out pide, lahmacun and sfiha throughout the day.
Tip: Buy pide whole and have it cut. Cut pide goes soft on the walk home.
Worth the queue: Kıymalı pide
Ünsal Lokum ve Şekerleme sells Turkish delight and boiled sweets made on its own Gaziantep line, a confectioner's trade counter on Altınoğlu Caddesi.
Tip: Pistachio lokum travels better than baklava does. Ask for it boxed rather than bagged.
Worth the queue: Fıstıklı lokum