Where to drink well in Gaziantep by the glass and the bottle: natural, classical, and worth the cab fare.
Wine bars in Gaziantep. natural, classical, and the grower-focused rooms worth the cab fare.
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.
Signature pour: Anatolian red by the glass
Wine focus: Turkish wine and rakı alongside Antep meze
Food: Antep meze, hot starters
Tip: The stone courtyard is the room to ask for. Meze arrive as a tray, so choose before they land.
Bayazhan runs the most serious drinks list in central Gaziantep, a caravanserai meyhane pouring wine and rakı with live fasıl under stone arches.
Signature pour: Rakı with the meze tray
Wine focus: Turkish wine and rakı in a caravanserai meyhane
Food: Antep meze and grilled meat
Tip: Ask for the meyhane floor rather than the family section if you want the drinks list.
Akınal Gar Restaurant sits inside the old Gaziantep railway station building, a licensed dining room with meze and a nostalgic platform view.
Signature pour: Rakı with cold meze
Wine focus: Turkish wine and rakı
Food: Meze selection
Tip: The setting is the draw. Come for a long meze table rather than a quick drink.
Meyhane Bizim Bağ is a small garden meyhane in Osmangazi, Gaziantep, pouring rakı and wine alongside home-style meze at neighbourhood prices.
Signature pour: House rakı with the garden meze
Wine focus: Turkish wine and rakı
Food: Home-style meze
Tip: The garden is the reason to come. Book ahead in summer, the outdoor tables are few.