Tasting menus, Michelin stars and the chefs redefining Gaziantep.
Tasting menus, Michelin stars, and the kitchens redefining what fine dining means in Gaziantep.
Hışvahan is the most formal room in Gaziantep, an Ottoman han restored into a hotel and restaurant that plates Antep dishes under stone vaults.
Order: Peynirli güveçte irmik helvası, the cheese and semolina halva.
Tip: Book 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.
Order: Küşleme, reserved in advance because the nightly allocation is small.
Tip: The 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.
Order: The set menu, which changes with what the region is harvesting.
Tip: The 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.
Order: Ali Nazik and a plate of havuç dilimi to finish.
Tip: Prices 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.
Order: Küşleme, ordered by weight rather than by portion.
Tip: Arrive 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.
Order: Küşleme, plus the yayık ayran that comes with it.
Tip: Small portions, high price per gram. That is what the cut costs, not a tourist mark-up.
Boğazköy is the closest Gaziantep gets to a modern international restaurant, a large room near the university with brisket, pasta and pizza.
Order: The beef brisket, the single dish the kitchen stakes its name on it.
Tip: Weekday dinner is the calmest service. Sunday reviews are noticeably weaker.
Editor picks in Gaziantep include Hışvahan, Bayazhan, Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.