Top Restaurants in Turkey

İmam Çağdaş ★ 4.8 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Şekeroğlu Mahallesi, Uzun Çarşı Caddesi No:49, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

Tip: Sit upstairs, order the Ali Nazik, and buy baklava on the way out rather than eating it at the table.

Çiya Sofrası ★ 4.8 · Istanbul

kadıköy · Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sokak No:43, 34710 Kadıköy, İstanbul

Chef Musa Dağdeviren's culinary-anthropology lokanta in Kadıköy market, plating regional Turkish dishes drawn from his fieldwork since 1998.

Metanet Lokantası ★ 4.7 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Kozluca Mah, Kozluca Cd. No:11, 27400 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

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 ★ 4.6 · Gaziantep

sehitkamil · Karşıyaka Mah. Tekel Cad., Ocukoğlu Sk. No:6, 27500 Şehitkamil/Gaziantep

Kebapçı Halil Usta grills küşleme over charcoal in Şehitkamil, and the Gaziantep lunch crowd empties the tenderloin allocation most days by 15:00.

Tip: Closed Sundays and shuts mid-evening. Book the terrace if you want the cooler upstairs tables in summer.

Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası ★ 4.5 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Suyabatmaz, Kalender Sk. No:6, 27410 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

Tip: There is often no printed menu. Ask what the grill has and let the waiter build the order for you.

Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi ★ 4.5 · Gaziantep

sehitkamil · Gazi mah. Zübeyde hanım blv No:39, Şehitkamil/Gaziantep

The municipal Mutfak Sanatları Merkezi in Gaziantep cooks a weekly changing set menu of regional pot dishes and runs workshops in the same building.

Tip: Walk in for lunch without a reservation, but book by phone if you want a place on a workshop.

Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5 · Istanbul

karaköy · Kemankeş Mah., Kemankeş Caddesi No:57, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

The teal-tiled Karaköy Lokantası, Bib Gourmand listed in the Michelin Guide, runs an Ottoman-leaning lunch lokanta downstairs and a meyhane upstairs at night.

Antiochia ★ 4.5 · Istanbul

beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., General Yazgan Sokak No:3, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Antiochia in Asmalımescit cooks the kebabs and mezze of Antakya, Turkey's Levant border city, on a tight Beyoğlu side-street menu of southeastern grills.

Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı ★ 4.4 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Şekeroğlu, Hamdi Kutlar Cd. No:51/1-B, 27400 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Yesemek Gaziantep Mutfağı cooks the home dishes the kebab houses skip, from yuvalama to alaca çorba, a short walk downhill from Gaziantep Castle.

Tip: Half portions are available, which is the way to taste four regional dishes in one sitting.

Bayazhan ★ 4.4 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Akyol, Atatürk Blv. No:119 D:1, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Bayazhan pours rakı and grills küşleme inside a Silk Road caravanserai on Atatürk Bulvarı, one of the few licensed rooms in central Gaziantep.

Tip: The upstairs meyhane runs live fasıl music. Reserve the küşleme when you book, it sells out.

Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta ★ 4.4 · Gaziantep

alleben · Alleben, Kemal Köker Cd. No:25 A, 27500 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Küşlemeci Mehmet Usta grills nothing but lamb tenderloin on Kemal Köker Caddesi in Gaziantep, and the founder's son now works the charcoal himself.

Tip: Portions are small because the cut is small. Order two if you have walked the bazaar all morning.

Develi1912 Samatya ★ 4.4 · Istanbul

samatya · Koca Mustafapaşa, Gümüş Yüksük Sokak No:5, Samatya, 34098 Fatih, İstanbul

Develi has fired Gaziantep kebabs at its Samatya address for decades, the canonical Istanbul pistachio kebap stop behind the old Marmara walls.

Hayvore ★ 4.4 · Istanbul

beyoğlu · Turnacıbaşı Sokak No:4, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Hayvore tucked off Istiklal, cooking the corn-bread, anchovies and smoky bean stews of the Black Sea since 2009 in a noisy steam-table lokanta close.

Yakup 2 ★ 4.4 · Istanbul

beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Asmalı Mescit Sokak No:21/B, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Yakup 2 on Asmalı Mescit Sokak, the Yakup Arslan meyhane founded in 1977 after seventeen years at Refik next door, multi-time winner of best-meyhane awards.

Çiya Kebap ★ 4.4 · Istanbul

kadıköy · Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sokak No:44, 34710 Kadıköy, İstanbul

Çiya Kebap, the original 1987 sister to Çiya Sofrası on the opposite side of Güneşlibahçe in Kadıköy market, fires kebabs, lahmacun and pide from a single.

Hışvahan ★ 4.3 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Karagöz, Handan Bey Sk No:23/1, 27400 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Hışvahan serves Antep cooking inside a restored 16th-century han beneath Gaziantep Castle, which now works as a hotel, restaurant and shop in one.

Tip: Develik is the dining room and Susamhane the event space. Ask for a courtyard table in spring.

Sakıp Usta Paça Beyran Kebap ★ 4.3 · Gaziantep

alleben · Alleben, Kemal Köker Cd. No:55 D:53, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

Tip: The kitchen runs from 05:30 to 02:00, so this is the one beyran counter that suits either end of the day.

Madam Despina ★ 4.3 · Istanbul

kurtuluş · Kurtuluş Mah., Akarca Sokak No:9, 34375 Şişli, İstanbul

Madam Despina in old Tatavla, the 1946 Rum meyhane opened by Despina Bademciyan from Gökçeada and still pouring rakı in the grape-leaf garden.

Boncuk ★ 4.3 · Istanbul

beyoğlu · Hüseyinağa Mah., Nevizade Sokak No:7/A, 34435 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Boncuk on Nevizade Sokak in Beyoğlu's Balık Pazarı, the Armenian-leaning meyhane built around topik with chickpeas and tahini, kısır bulgur cakes.

Lokanta 1741 ★ 4.3 · Istanbul

fatih · Alemdar Mah., Profesör Kazım İsmail Gürkan Caddesi No:34, Cağaloğlu, 34110 Fatih, İstanbul

Lokanta 1741 beside the 300-year-old Cağaloğlu Hammam, a Michelin-listed modern Turkish dining room with a terrace overlooking the hammam domes and seasonal.

Asmalı Cavit ★ 4.3 · Istanbul

beyoglu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Asmalı Mescit Caddesi No:16/D, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Asmalı Cavit on Asmalı Mescit Caddesi, a 1990s-opened Beyoğlu meyhane where proprietor Cavit Bey works the room nightly over a mezze list led by smoked.

Ali Usta Kebap ve Baklava ★ 4.2 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Karatarla, Yeniçeri Sk. 27/A, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

Tip: Closed Sundays. Early lunch is quieter than the 13:00 rush from the surrounding workshops.

Üçler Kebap Lahmacun ★ 4.1 · Gaziantep

sehitkamil · Sarıgüllük, Zübeyde Hanım Blv. NO: 16/C, 27060 Şehitkamil/Gaziantep

Üçler Kebap Lahmacun works a wood oven on Zübeyde Hanım Bulvarı in Gaziantep, turning out the thin isot-spiked lahmacun the city argues about.

Tip: Order lahmacun by the piece and eat it rolled around parsley and a squeeze of lemon.

Muhsinzade Türk Şiş Kebap ★ 4.1 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Boyacı, Külekçi Çarşısı Sk., 27400 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

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.

Tip: Shut by early evening. This is a breakfast and lunch counter, not a dinner room.

Boğazköy ★ 4.0 · Gaziantep

yeditepe · Yeditepe, 85203 Nolu Sk No:22, 27470 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Boğazköy cooks an international menu near Gaziantep University, which is where the city goes when it wants a night off from kebab and baklava.

Tip: Reviewers rate weekdays over Sundays. Book a garden table in summer, the room fills with students.

Ciğerci Mustafa ★ 4.0 · Gaziantep

sahinbey · Çukur Mah. Bayramoğlu Sok. No:1/B Şahinbey, 27400 Gaziantep

Ciğerci Mustafa grills lamb liver on Bayramoğlu Sokak in Gaziantep, where the local breakfast is skewers, flatbread and a glass of tea at dawn.

Tip: Liver is a morning dish here. Order the tail fat alternating on the skewer, that is the local way.

Akın Balık ★ 4.0 · Istanbul

karaköy · Arap Cami Mah., Fermeneciler Caddesi No:40/A, 34421 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Akın Balık in Karaköy's fish-market arcade, a waterside lokanta where the waiter walks guests to the ice display to pick the catch and pulls four meze.

Evirgeç Mantı Evi ★ 3.8 · Gaziantep

alleben · Alleben, Atatürk Blv. 58/B, 27010 Şahinbey/Gaziantep

Evirgeç Mantı Evi cooks the home food of Gaziantep on Atatürk Bulvarı, from hand-pinched mantı to yuvalama and pirpirim, with vegetarian plates too.

Tip: Ask what the daily pot holds before ordering. The menu is longer than the kitchen actually cooks.