İmamoğlu Baklava is a bakery restaurant in Sahinbey, Gaziantep.
Editorially verified August 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: A tiny Eski Saray Caddesi shop cutting its trays thin and priced below the famous Gaziantep names, with no sign visitors would notice.
Tip: There is nowhere to sit. Buy a quarter kilo and eat it on the walk home.
Address: Karatarla, Eski Saray Cd. No:6, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep
Papirüs Cafe sits inside a restored Armenian mansion in Bey Mahallesi, and its vine-shaded courtyard is the quietest table in old Gaziantep.
Why locals love it: A restored Armenian mansion in Bey Mahallesi with a vine-covered courtyard that stays quiet through the whole morning.
Tip: Come before noon. By mid-afternoon the courtyard is full and the calm has gone.
Katmerci Murat is a family katmer counter on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep, cheaper and more generous with pistachio than the addresses on every list.
Why locals love it: A family katmer shop on Atatürk Bulvarı where the children work the counter and the pistachio is heavier than at the famous names.
Tip: Add the şam tatlısı if you are ordering for more than two people.
Kahveci Seddar Bey hides in the courtyard of a Gaziantep han rather than on a street front, which is why the two-colour dibek coffee stays a local secret.
Why locals love it: Inside the Gümrük Han courtyard, closed Mondays but open the other six days, with two-colour dibek coffee ground by mallet at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Come before 19:00, when the han courtyard shuts for the day.
Havara Kitap Kafe is a women-run book cafe in Karagöz, Gaziantep, assembled from reclaimed material and stacked across several quiet levels.
Why locals love it: A women-run book cafe built from reclaimed material in Karagöz, several levels deep and almost never on a Gaziantep visitor list.
Tip: Service is partly self-serve. Order at the counter rather than waiting to be found.
Ünsal Lokum ve Şekerleme is a Gaziantep confectioner's own trade counter on Altınoğlu Caddesi, selling the lokum and boiled sweets it makes itself.
Why locals love it: A confectioner's own trade counter on Altınoğlu Caddesi rather than a gift shop, selling the lokum and boiled sweets it manufactures itself.
Tip: Pistachio lokum survives the flight home better than baklava. Ask for a box, not a bag.
Akınal Gar Restaurant serves meze inside the working railway station building in Gaziantep, a licensed room hiding behind the platform doors.
Why locals love it: A licensed meze room inside the working TCDD station building, which almost no Gaziantep food guide bothers to list.
Tip: Ask for the platform side. Trains still pass the windows through the evening.
Papirüs Cafe sits inside a restored Armenian mansion in Bey Mahallesi, and its vine-shaded courtyard is the quietest table in old Gaziantep.
Why locals love it: A restored Armenian mansion in Bey Mahallesi with a vine-covered courtyard that stays quiet through the whole morning.
Tip: Come before noon. By mid-afternoon the courtyard is full and the calm has gone.
Katmerci Murat is a family katmer counter on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep, cheaper and more generous with pistachio than the addresses on every list.
Why locals love it: A family katmer shop on Atatürk Bulvarı where the children work the counter and the pistachio is heavier than at the famous names.
Tip: Add the şam tatlısı if you are ordering for more than two people.
Kahveci Seddar Bey hides in the courtyard of a Gaziantep han rather than on a street front, which is why the two-colour dibek coffee stays a local secret.
Why locals love it: Inside the Gümrük Han courtyard, closed Mondays but open the other six days, with two-colour dibek coffee ground by mallet at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Come before 19:00, when the han courtyard shuts for the day.
Havara Kitap Kafe is a women-run book cafe in Karagöz, Gaziantep, assembled from reclaimed material and stacked across several quiet levels.
Why locals love it: A women-run book cafe built from reclaimed material in Karagöz, several levels deep and almost never on a Gaziantep visitor list.
Tip: Service is partly self-serve. Order at the counter rather than waiting to be found.
