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.
Künefe belongs to the wider Levantine belt and Hatay claims the loudest version, but Gaziantep makes it its own with the pistachio and with the charcoal. Dessert rooms across Şehitkamil fire individual copper trays to order rather than reheating a large tray, so the cheese is still pulling when it reaches the table. It is eaten late: the künefe rooms of Pancarlı and Sarıgüllük run to one or two in the morning and treat the after-dinner crowd as their main service. Erçelebi finishes its kadayıf over coals, which gives a smokier edge than an oven ever does.
3 editor picks for Künefe in Gaziantep, ranked by editorial score. All Gaziantep signature dishes · Künefe across every city.
Also in: Istanbul.
Cumba Künefe ★ 4.2
sehitkamil · Pancarlı, Ali Nadi Ünler Blv. 71/A, 27060 Şehitkamil/Gaziantep
Cumba Künefe on Ali Nadi Ünler Bulvarı serves the Gaziantep cheese pastry in oversized sharing trays, open from breakfast until two in the morning.
Erçelebi Kömürde Kadayıf ★ 4.1
sehitkamil · Sarıgüllük, Milli Egemenlik Cd. no.33, 27400 Şehitkamil/Gaziantep
Erçelebi Kömürde Kadayıf finishes every kadayıf over charcoal in Sarıgüllük, a Gaziantep dessert room that keeps serving until one in the morning.
Künefe Han ★ 4.0
sehitkamil · Pancarlı, 19019. Sk. No:3, 27060 Şehitkamil/Gaziantep
Künefe Han bakes shredded pastry over stretchy cheese until late in Şehitkamil, and Gaziantep families treat it as the after-dinner second stop.