The restaurants worth a reservation in Gaziantep, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Gaziantep. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
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.
Signature: Ali Nazik kebabı, Soğanlı lahmacun, Havuç dilimi baklava
Order: Ali Nazik, then a plate of havuç dilimi baklava from the same counter.
Tip: Sit 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.
Signature: Beyran çorbası, Lahmacun, Patlıcan kebabı
Order: Beyran, the lamb and rice broth the kitchen has simmered overnight.
Tip: Get 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.
Signature: Küşleme, Simit kebabı, Kaşık salatası
Order: Küşleme, the unmarinated lamb tenderloin grilled over charcoal.
Tip: Closed 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.
Signature: Patlıcan kebabı, Firik pilavı, İçli köfte
Order: Patlıcan kebabı with firik pilav, the smoked green-wheat rice.
Tip: There 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.
Signature: Yuvalama, Alaca çorba, Kuru patlıcan dolması
Order: Yuvalama, the yoghurt and chickpea soup Gaziantep eats at feast time.
Tip: Half 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.
Signature: Yuvalama, Analı kızlı, Peynirli güveçte irmik helvası
Order: Analı kızlı, the twin-dumpling soup, followed by the semolina halva.
Tip: Develik 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.
Signature: Küşleme, Patlıcan kebabı, Antep mezeleri
Order: Küşleme, which the kitchen portions in limited numbers each night.
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Haftalık set menü, Tencere yemekleri, Yuvalama
Order: The weekly set menu, built around geographical-indication ingredients.
Tip: Walk 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.
Signature: Küşleme, Yayık ayranı
Order: Küşleme with a glass of churned yayık ayran to cut the fat.
Tip: Portions 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.
Signature: Antep usulü lahmacun, Küşleme, Kuzu şiş
Order: Antep-style lahmacun, thinner and hotter than the Urfa version.
Tip: Order 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.
Signature: Ali Nazik, Küşleme, Baklava
Order: Ali Nazik, smoked aubergine under garlic yoghurt and lamb.
Tip: Closed 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.
Signature: Antep mantısı, Yuvalama, İçli köfte
Order: Antep mantı under garlic yoghurt and paprika butter.
Tip: Ask 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.
Signature: Beyran, Antep paça, Katmer
Order: Beyran at midnight, when the second pot comes up.
Tip: The kitchen runs from 05:30 to 02:00, so this is the one beyran counter that suits either end of the day.
Boğazköy cooks an international menu near Gaziantep University, which is where the city goes when it wants a night off from kebab and baklava.
Signature: Beef brisket, Boğazköy Harman
Order: The slow-cooked beef brisket, which is the kitchen's own signature dish.
Tip: Reviewers rate weekdays over Sundays. Book a garden table in summer, the room fills with students.
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.
Signature: Tavuk şiş, Ciğer dürüm, Firik pilavı
Order: Chicken şiş off the charcoal, wrapped with firik pilav.
Tip: Shut 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.
Signature: Ciğer kebabı, Kuyruk yağı, Zahter salatası
Order: Liver skewers with tail fat, eaten with raw onion and zahter.
Tip: Liver is a morning dish here. Order the tail fat alternating on the skewer, that is the local way.