43 editor picks in Gaziantep.
43 turkish places in Gaziantep we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Gaziantep | Turkish across every city.
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.
TipSit upstairs, order the Ali Nazik, and buy baklava on the way out rather than eating it at the table.
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.
TipGet there before 09:00. The beyran is gone by early afternoon and the kitchen will not make a second batch.
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.
TipClosed Sundays and shuts mid-evening. Book the terrace if you want the cooler upstairs tables in summer.
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.
TipThere is often no printed menu. Ask what the grill has and let the waiter build the order for you.
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.
TipHalf portions are available, which is the way to taste four regional dishes in one sitting.
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.
TipDevelik is the dining room and Susamhane the event space. Ask for a courtyard table in spring.
Bayazhan pours rakı and grills küşleme inside a Silk Road caravanserai on Atatürk Bulvarı, one of the few licensed rooms in central Gaziantep.
OrderKüşleme, which the kitchen portions in limited numbers each night.
TipThe upstairs meyhane runs live fasıl music. Reserve the küşleme when you book, it sells out.
The municipal Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi in Gaziantep cooks a weekly changing set menu of regional pot dishes and runs workshops in the same building.
OrderThe weekly set menu, built around geographical-indication ingredients.
TipWalk in for lunch without a reservation, but book by phone if you want a place on a workshop.
Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta grills nothing but lamb tenderloin on Kemal Köker Caddesi in Gaziantep, and the founder's son now works the charcoal himself.
OrderKüşleme with a glass of churned yayık ayran to cut the fat.
TipPortions are small because the cut is small. Order two if you have walked the bazaar all morning.
Üçler Kebap Lahmacun works a wood oven on Zübeyde Hanım Bulvarı in Gaziantep, turning out the thin isot-spiked lahmacun the city argues about.
OrderAntep-style lahmacun, thinner and hotter than the Urfa version.
TipOrder lahmacun by the piece and eat it rolled around parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Ali Usta Kebap ve Baklava opens at 06:00 near Karatarla in Gaziantep and works a kebab grill and a baklava counter out of the same narrow doorway.
OrderAli Nazik, smoked aubergine under garlic yoghurt and lamb.
TipClosed Sundays. Early lunch is quieter than the 13:00 rush from the surrounding workshops.
Evirgeç Mantı Evi cooks the home food of Gaziantep on Atatürk Bulvarı, from hand-pinched mantı to yuvalama and pirpirim, with vegetarian plates too.
OrderAntep mantı under garlic yoghurt and paprika butter.
TipAsk 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.
OrderBeyran at midnight, when the second pot comes up.
TipThe kitchen runs from 05:30 to 02:00, so this is the one beyran counter that suits either end of the day.
Muhsinzade grills chicken şiş and lamb liver over charcoal in the Külekçi bazaar lanes of Gaziantep, opening at 06:00 for the traders around it.
OrderChicken şiş off the charcoal, wrapped with firik pilav.
TipShut by early evening. This is a breakfast and lunch counter, not a dinner room.
Ciğerci Mustafa grills lamb liver on Bayramoğlu Sokak in Gaziantep, where the local breakfast is skewers, flatbread and a glass of tea at dawn.
OrderLiver skewers with tail fat, eaten with raw onion and zahter.
TipLiver is a morning dish here. Order the tail fat alternating on the skewer, that is the local way.
Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası is the esnaf lokanta of the Gaziantep bazaar, serving kebab, pide and bottomless soup to coppersmiths and shoppers alike.
OrderKuşbaşı kebab with firik pilav and the free soup refill.
TipComplimentary fruit and soup arrive unasked. Do not over-order the starters.
Üçler Kebap Lahmacun is a straightforward Gaziantep grill room on Zübeyde Hanım Bulvarı, priced for a family lunch rather than a special occasion.
OrderTwo lahmacun and a plate of kuzu şiş between two people.
TipLahmacun comes fastest. The şiş takes longer because it is fired to order.
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.
OrderMantı, then içli köfte from the daily tray.
TipPrices run higher than the room suggests. Check the daily board before ordering the full spread.
Muhsinzade is a charcoal counter in the Gaziantep bazaar where traders eat şiş and dürüm standing up, from six in the morning until early evening.
OrderA liver and mince dürüm wrapped in bazaar flatbread.
TipNo English menu. Point at the skewers you want and the owner will build the plate.
Ali Usta Kebap ve Baklava runs a kebab grill and a baklava tray side by side in central Gaziantep, open from six in the morning six days a week.
OrderAli Nazik at breakfast, which is normal here.
TipThe baklava counter sells by weight. Half a kilo is enough for four people.
Sakıp Usta is the all-hours beyran and paça room of Gaziantep, a functional counter on Kemal Köker Caddesi that keeps serving past midnight.
OrderPaça soup and half a portion of beyran.
TipSoup portions are large. Order one beyran between two if you plan on kebab afterwards.
Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı plates regional home cooking near the castle, and half portions make it the easiest place in Gaziantep to taste widely.
OrderEkşili köfte, the sour meatball soup.
TipVegetarian dishes are listed separately. The kuru patlıcan dolması is meat-free on request.
Hışvahan is the most formal room in Gaziantep, an Ottoman han restored into a hotel and restaurant that plates Antep dishes under stone vaults.
OrderPeynirli güveçte irmik helvası, the cheese and semolina halva.
TipBook for dinner rather than lunch. The courtyard lighting is the reason to be here after dark.
Bayazhan turns a Silk Road caravanserai in Gaziantep into a meyhane, a winter dining room and a bar, with live fasıl music on most nights of the week.
OrderKüşleme, reserved in advance because the nightly allocation is small.
TipThe non-alcoholic family section is separate from the meyhane. Say which you want when booking.
Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi is the Gaziantep municipality's culinary centre, cooking a weekly set menu from geographical-indication regional produce.
OrderThe set menu, which changes with what the region is harvesting.
TipThe building also runs cookery workshops, so the dining room can be busy with course groups.
İmam Çağdaş is the benchmark kebab house of Gaziantep, running since 1887 and still judged on its Ali Nazik and on its havuç dilimi baklava tray.
OrderAli Nazik and a plate of havuç dilimi to finish.
TipPrices sit above the bazaar average. That is the trade for the address and the age of the kitchen.
Kebapçı Halil Usta charges fine-dining money for one thing in Gaziantep, küşleme, and shuts the grill once the day's lamb tenderloin has gone.
OrderKüşleme, ordered by weight rather than by portion.
TipArrive by 12:30. The tenderloin allocation is the whole business and it does not last.
Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta is a single-dish kitchen in Gaziantep, grilling lamb tenderloin over charcoal and serving it with churned yayık ayran.
OrderKüşleme, plus the yayık ayran that comes with it.
TipSmall portions, high price per gram. That is what the cut costs, not a tourist mark-up.
Bayazhan keeps a bar and an upstairs meyhane inside a Gaziantep caravanserai, with live traditional music running on most nights of the week.
TipWeekends need a reservation. The family section is alcohol-free, so specify which floor.
Bayazhan runs the most serious drinks list in central Gaziantep, a caravanserai meyhane pouring wine and rakı with live fasıl under stone arches.
TipAsk for the meyhane floor rather than the family section if you want the drinks list.
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.
Muhsinzade rolls liver and mince straight off the charcoal into flatbread in the Gaziantep bazaar, and the counter opens at six in the morning.
OrderCiğer dürüm
TipEat it standing at the counter. There is no table service and the bench seats fill fast.
Ciğerci Mustafa threads lamb liver and tail fat onto skewers on Bayramoğlu Sokak, the Gaziantep breakfast that surprises most visitors first.
OrderCiğer kebabı
TipOrder onion, parsley and sumac alongside. Locals eat liver with all three, never on its own.
Üçler Kebap Lahmacun bakes Antep-style lahmacun on Zübeyde Hanım Bulvarı, thinner and hotter with isot than the versions sold in Urfa further east.
OrderAntep usulü lahmacun
TipTwo pieces per person is normal. Roll them around parsley and eat them straight from the paper.
Ali Usta Kebap ve Baklava opens its grill at six in the morning near Karatarla, so kebab counts as street breakfast in this part of Gaziantep.
OrderAli Nazik
TipClosed Sundays. Order at the grill window rather than sitting down if you are in a hurry.
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.
OrderBeyran and paça
TipIt is still serving at 02:00, and at 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bayazhan keeps its caravanserai meyhane in Gaziantep running to midnight with live fasıl, rakı and a küşleme allocation that sells out early.
OrderKüşleme and meze
TipReserve the küşleme when you book. After ten o'clock the grill is usually out of it.
Muhsinzade grills for the traders of the Külekçi lanes in Gaziantep from six in the morning, and shuts long before the evening kebab crowd arrives.
TipThe owner will build the plate for you if you do not read Turkish.
Ciğerci Mustafa charges bazaar prices for lamb liver skewers in Gaziantep, and a skewer with bread and salad lands well under most kebab bills.
OrderCiğer kebabı
TipLiver runs out by early afternoon. Go at breakfast when it is freshest and cheapest.
Muhsinzade sells charcoal-grilled dürüm in the Gaziantep bazaar at trader prices, which is what keeps the benches full from six in the morning.
OrderCiğer ve kıyma dürüm
TipOrder the mixed liver and mince wrap for the best value on the board.
Üçler Kebap Lahmacun keeps lahmacun cheap on Zübeyde Hanım Bulvarı, so a Gaziantep lunch of two pieces and an ayran barely dents a day's budget.
OrderLahmacun
TipLahmacun is priced per piece. Skip the şiş if you are keeping the bill down.
Metanet Lokantası charges soup money for the dish Gaziantep is proudest of, and a beyran with bread is a full breakfast for one very modest price.
OrderBeyran çorbası
TipOrder half a portion if you plan on katmer afterwards. The broth is richer than it looks.
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.
OrderAntep mantısı
TipCheck the daily board before ordering. The listed menu runs wider than the day's cooking.
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.
