A Guide to Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is one of the world's great culinary traditions — a synthesis of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Ottoman cooking that has been refined over centuries. Eating well in Turkey requires almost no effort: the produce is exceptional, the techniques are ancient, and hospitality means you will rarely leave a table hungry.

Breakfast

A proper Turkish breakfast (kahçaltı) is a serious affair. Even in modest homes or small hotels, the table will be spread with:

• Fresh bread and simit (sesame-ring)

• White cheese (beyaz peynir) and yellow cheese

• Olives — black and green

• Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers

• Soft-boiled eggs or menemen (scrambled eggs with peppers and tomatoes)

• Honey, butter, and fruit jam

• Sucuk (spiced beef sausage), pastirma (cured beef)

• Endless glasses of black tea

In Antalya and along the coast, breakfast often includes fresh orange juice pressed from local fruit.

Mezze Culture

The Turkish meze tradition is one of its great pleasures. In a traditional meyhane (tavern) or fish restaurant, a meal begins with a parade of small cold dishes:

• Haydari — thick yoghurt with garlic and dill

• Patlican salatası — smoky roasted aubergine salad

• Taramasalata — creamy fish roe dip

• Dolma — vine leaves stuffed with herbed rice

• Cacik — yoghurt with cucumber and mint (similar to tzatziki)

• Zeytinyaglı enginar — artichoke hearts in olive oil

These are followed by hot mezze (fried mussels, grilled halloumi, boğaz köfte) and then the main course.

Grilled Meats

Turkey is a country of extraordinary grilled meat:

• Adana kebab — minced lamb with hot pepper, pressed onto a flat skewer and grilled over charcoal

• Iskender kebab — sliced döner lamb over flatbread, drenched in tomato sauce and browned butter

• Tandır — lamb slow-cooked in a clay oven until it falls apart

• Kuzu çevirme — whole lamb roasted on a spit, a feast-day classic

• Pide — boat-shaped flatbread topped with minced meat, cheese, or egg (sometimes called Turkish pizza)

Seafood on the Coast

In Antalya and along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, seafood is central:

• Levrek (sea bass) and çipura (sea bream) grilled whole

• Karides (prawns) in garlic butter

• Ahtapot (octopus) grilled or marinated in olive oil

• Midye dolma — mussels stuffed with herbed rice, eaten straight from the shell at street stalls

• Hamsi — fresh anchovies, pan-fried or baked with rice; the defining food of the Black Sea coast

Soups

Turkish soups are warming and filling:

• Mercimek çorbası — red lentil soup with cumin and lemon, eaten at any time of day

• Işkembe çorbası — tripe soup, the traditional late-night remedy

• Tarhana — a fermented dried soup made from wheat, yoghurt, and vegetables; deeply comforting

Sweets and Pastries

The Ottoman sweet tradition is unrivalled:

• Baklava — layers of paper-thin pastry filled with pistachios or walnuts, drenched in syrup. Gaziantep baklava is considered the finest in the world.

• Lokum (Turkish delight) — in every flavour, from rose to pistachio to pomegranate

• Künefe — shredded wheat pastry filled with unsalted cheese, soaked in syrup and served hot with clotted cream

• Sutlaç — rice pudding, oven-baked until the top is caramelised

• Dondurma — Turkish ice cream made with mastic and salep, famously stretchy and dense

Drinks

• Çay (tea) — black tea served in small tulip glasses, drunk throughout the day

• Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee) — thick, unfiltered, served with a glass of water

• Ayran — cold salted yoghurt drink, the perfect companion to grilled meat

• Şerbet — traditional fruit syrups diluted with water, especially rose and tamarind

• Raki — anise-flavoured spirit, Turkey's national drink, traditionally mixed with water and ice and shared with mezze

Eating in Antalya

Antalya's food scene combines the coastal seafood tradition with the hearty inland meat cooking of the Taurus Mountains. The old city district of Kaleiçi has excellent restaurants in converted Ottoman mansions. The harbour-front is lined with fish restaurants. And for the most authentic experience, find a small family-run lokal (neighbourhood restaurant) away from the tourist streets — your guide will know exactly where to go.