32 editor picks in Gaziantep.
32 upscale places in Gaziantep, editor-picked. occasion restaurants in Gaziantep: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Gaziantep food.
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.
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.
Koçak Baklava is the baklava counter most of Gaziantep names first, a bright Şehitkamil salon selling şöbiyet, dolama and midye by the kilo.
TipBuy by weight and eat it the same day. Antep baklava is built for hours, not for keeping.
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.
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.
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.
Baklavacı Zeki İnal is a family baklava workshop on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep that makes şöbiyet by hand and sells out most days by noon.
TipClosed at weekends and often sold out by midday. Go on a weekday morning or do not bother.
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.
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.
Tarihi Elmacıpazarı Güllüoğlu bakes baklava and börek at the edge of the apple market, and it carries the oldest baklava name in all of Gaziantep.
TipAsk for the börek in the morning. It comes out of the oven early and sells before lunch.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Çelebioğulları Baklava runs a large Gaziantep salon on Gazi Muhtar Paşa and is one of the few local names making vegan and gluten-free trays.
TipThe special-diet trays are made in a separate line and usually need ordering ahead.
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.
Çelebioğulları Baklava keeps its Gazi Muhtar Paşa salon open to midnight, so a late Gaziantep baklava run does not depend on the bazaar counters.
OrderBaklava and şöbiyet
TipThe salon has proper seating. Order a mixed plate with tea rather than a box to go.
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.
Orkide Pastanesi is the modern counterpoint to the Gaziantep baklava houses, a patisserie doing chocolates, cakes and a katmer with ice cream.
TipThe ice-cream katmer is a modern reworking. Try the classic version elsewhere first.
Orkide Pastanesi is the Gaziantep patisserie chain locals send visitors to, with chocolates, cakes and a breakfast spread on Gazi Muhtar Paşa.
TipThe breakfast is the value order. The chocolate counter is better for gifts than for dessert.
Orkide Pastanesi lays out a broad and affordable breakfast on Gazi Muhtar Paşa, the Gaziantep patisserie locals send visitors to before any other.
OrderThe breakfast spread, then a katmer with ice cream.
TipThe chocolate counter is better for gifts than for breakfast. Order the spread instead.
Boğazköy cooks an international menu near Gaziantep University, which is where the city goes when it wants a night off from kebab and baklava.
OrderThe slow-cooked beef brisket, which is the kitchen's own signature dish.
TipReviewers rate weekdays over Sundays. Book a garden table in summer, the room fills with students.
Boğazköy is the closest Gaziantep gets to a modern international restaurant, a large room near the university with brisket, pasta and pizza.
OrderThe beef brisket, the single dish the kitchen stakes its name on it.
TipWeekday dinner is the calmest service. Sunday reviews are noticeably weaker.
Boğazköy is the campus-side crowd-pleaser in Gaziantep, a big room of pasta, pizza and slow-grilled beef brisket beside Gaziantep University.
OrderPizza or brisket, depending on how much kebab you have eaten.
TipSushi appears on limited days only. Ring ahead if the sushi is the reason for your visit.
Mahlas Meyhane pours rakı inside a restored Antep courtyard house in Karagöz, and its meze tray is the most local drinking food in Gaziantep.
TipWood and stone keep the room cool. It is the better summer option of the old-city meyhanes.
Mahlas Meyhane occupies a restored Antep house in Karagöz, one of the few Gaziantep rooms pouring wine and rakı against a full Antep meze table.
TipThe stone courtyard is the room to ask for. Meze arrive as a tray, so choose before they land.
Gece Gündüz Bistro is Gaziantep's modern meyhane, a Bey Mahallesi courtyard with fasıl bands, DJ percussion and a cook-your-own grill table.
TipThe ocakbaşı tables let you grill your own meat. Say so when booking, they are limited.
Gece Gündüz Bistro runs fasıl bands and a cook-your-own grill until one in the morning, the busiest late licensed room in central Gaziantep.
OrderMeze and ocakbaşı grill
TipBook the ocakbaşı tables in advance. They are the only ones where you grill your own.
Akınal Gar Restaurant drinks and dines inside the TCDD station building in Gaziantep, a licensed room with platform views and a long meze list.
TipTrains still run past the windows. Ask for a table on the platform side.
Akınal Gar Restaurant sits inside the old Gaziantep railway station building, a licensed dining room with meze and a nostalgic platform view.
TipThe setting is the draw. Come for a long meze table rather than a quick drink.
Akınal Gar Restaurant serves meze inside the working railway station building in Gaziantep, a licensed room hiding behind the platform doors.
TipAsk for the platform side. Trains still pass the windows through the evening.
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.