There is absolutely no doubt that Turkish dishes will surprise your taste buds. You will not only feel amazed, but also want to taste more of it. So if you are exploring Turkey and want to try some of the best Turkish delicacies, we bring to you a complete guide for everyone’s choice. Turkish food is not only about kebabs, and doners, there are some more dishes to try. However, you might face difficulty in pronouncing the name of the dishes but we are sure you are going to enjoy the taste of it. Here’s a list of 12 must-try dishes to experience the best of Turkish cuisine:
1. Köfte
Köfte are Turkish meatballs made from ground beef or lamb, and mixed with some spices and herbs, then grilled or fried. They are usually served with rice, salad, or in a sandwich.
Where to Try?
Bursa: İskender Kebapçı – It is a great place to try both köfte and İskender kebab.
Istanbul: Köfteci Ramiz – It offers delicious and juicy köfte.
Ankara: Beykoz Köftecisi – This place is famous for its juicy, flavorful köfte.
Gaziantep: Hacı Bayram Köftecisi – This place serves perfect köfte in a traditional setting.
Adana: Köfteci Hüseyin – This place is renowned for its perfectly grilled köfte.
Izmir: Börekçi Ramiz – It is a favorite spot for both köfte and other Turkish dishes.
2. Çay (Turkish Tea)
Do you love tea? If you are a tea lover then you should try the famous Turkey tea which is known as Çay. It is a strong black tea served in small, tulip-shaped glasses, often accompanied by sugar cubes. It’s an important part of Turkish culture.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi – It is a famous spot for a traditional Turkish tea experience.
Antalya: Yörük Parkı – It is a beautiful spot with tea and a view of the mountains.
Izmir: Kordon Tea Garden – It is a relaxing place to sip Turkish tea by the sea.
Bursa: Cumalıkızık Çay Bahçesi – It is a charming traditional tea garden.
Ankara: Gençlik Parkı Çay Bahçesi – It is a popular park for drinking tea with locals.
Istanbul: Pierre Loti Café – This place offers amazing views and tea, especially in the evening.
3. Pide
Do you love pizza? Then pretty sure you will love this dish as well. Pide is Turkish-style flatbread, often referred to as “Turkish pizza.” It’s topped with a variety of ingredients such as cheese, minced meat, spinach, or eggs.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Pideci Ahmet – This place is known for its wood-fired pide, served with a variety of toppings.
Bursa: Hacı Mustafa – This place is famous for its delicious, crispy pide.
Kayseri: Köfteci Ramiz – This place is known for its traditional pide with local ingredients.
Gaziantep: İskenderoğlu – This place serves some of the best pides in town.
Antalya: Pideci Mehmet – This place is known for its fresh and tasty pide.
Adana: Adana Pidecisi – This place is famous for its flavorful pide with regional fillings.
4. Ayran
Do you love liquid food more than usual food? Then here’s the catch for you! Ayran is a refreshing yogurt drink made with yogurt, water, and a pinch of salt. It’s commonly served alongside meals, especially grilled meats.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Ayrancı Hoca – This place is known for its delicious, homemade ayran.
Bursa: Köfteci Ramiz – This place offers ayran alongside grilled meats and köfte.
Antalya: Pideci Mehmet – This place serves refreshing ayran to accompany your meal.
Ankara: Çıtır Ayran – This place offers fresh ayran in a relaxing cafe setting.
Izmir: Kordonboyu Ayran – A local favorite for ayran served with fast food.
Gaziantep: Beyaz Çınar Ayran – This place is known for offering the perfect ayran with kebabs.
5. Kısır
Tried all the dishes but haven’t found a single option for a healthy meal? Then worry not, we are here to rescue. So if you are a fitness freak and want to try some healthy options then Kısır is the best choice for you. It is a refreshing salad made from bulgur, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and a tangy lemon dressing. It’s often served as a side dish or light meal.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Hafız Mustafa – This place is known for its refreshing kısır and other Turkish salads.
Bodrum: Kısır Garden – This place is famous for serving the fresh, and tangy kısır.
Izmir: Çeşme Kısır – This place is famous for its delicious, lemony kısır.
Ankara: Kısır Sarayı – This place is known for its authentic kısır made with local ingredients.
Gaziantep: Açık Kısır Dükkanı – This place offers fresh kısır along with other salads.
Mersin: Çiftlik Kısır – This place is known for its tangy, flavorful kısır.
6. Künefe
Künefe is a dessert made from shredded filo dough filled with sweetened cheese (often mozzarella-like), then baked and soaked in syrup. It is served warm and topped with crushed pistachios.
Where to Try?
Antakya: Künefeci Ali Baba – This place is famous for its sweet, cheesy künefe.
Gaziantep: İmam Çağdaş – This place is known for its regional künefe with melted cheese.
Istanbul: Künefecioğlu – This is a popular spot for freshly made künefe.
Antakya: Meydan Künefe – This place is popular for serving perfect künefe with sweet syrup.
Gaziantep: Künefeciler Çarşısı – This place offers the best regional künefe with fresh pistachios.
Istanbul: Karaköy Güllüoğlu – This place is known for serving delicious künefe among other Turkish sweets.
7. Şiş Kebab
Do you love to eat meat? Are you a meat lover? Then we bet that this dish is all you need. Sis kebab is a skewered and grilled piece of marinated lamb, beef, or chicken that is often served with rice, vegetables, and flatbread.
Where to Try?
Adana: Kebabçı İskender – This restaurant is famous for its juicy şiş kebab.
Gaziantep: Şişçi Hüseyin – This place is known for tender and flavorful şiş kebab.
Istanbul: Kebapçı Halil Usta – This place offer delicious and perfectly grilled şiş kebab.
Mersin: Mersin Şişçileri – This place is widely known for its şiş kebab with a regional twist.
Ankara: Çıtır Kebab – This place is famous for its smoky, tender şiş kebab.
Istanbul: Nusr-Et Steakhouse – It is a trendy place for şiş kebab with a modern twist.
8. Fırın Tavuk (Roast Chicken)
Fırın Tavuk (Roast Chicken) is a simple yet delicious dish of roasted chicken. This dish is often seasoned with Turkish spices and served with potatoes, rice, or pilaf.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Fırın Tavukçusu – This place is famous for serving its flavorful roast chicken and crispy skin.
Ankara: Köfteci Ramiz – This place is widely known for its delicious roast chicken served with rice.
Antalya: Tavukçu Mehmet – This place offers juicy and well-seasoned roast chicken.
Bursa: Bursa Tavukçusu – This place is popular for serving roast chicken along with local sides.
Izmir: Tavukçuoğlu – This place is a local’s favorite for serving tender roast chicken and crispy skin.
Istanbul: Tavukçu Şahin – This place is known for serving its perfectly roasted chicken with herbs and spices.
9. Imam Bayıldı
Imam Bayıldı is a classic Turkish dish made with eggplant that is stuffed with a variety of veggies such as onions, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil, and then baked until soft and flavorful. It is usually served cold as an appetizer.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Meze by Lemon Tree – This place serves a delicious and simple Imam Bayıldı.
Antalya: Seraser Fine Dining– This place is famous for its gourmet Imam Bayıldı with rich flavors.
Gaziantep: Kısmet Lokantası – It is a traditional restaurant that serves authentic and delicious Imam Bayıldı.
Bodrum: Kocadon– This place offers Imam Bayıldı as part of its Mediterranean menu.
Izmir: Kordon Meze– It is one of the fantastic places to try Imam Bayıldı as part of a meze platter.
Ankara: Fırıncı Kadir – This place is famous for its well-cooked Imam Bayıldı with rich tomato sauce and olive oil.
10. Hamsi
Hamsi is small anchovies that are usually served as a fried, grilled, or baked dish. It is a very popular dish in Turkey along Turkey’s Black Sea coast. If you want to try something unique then you should definitely go for it!
Where to Try?
Trabzon: Hamsi Evim – The place is famous for serving fresh and crispy hamsi along the Black Sea coast.
Rize: Rize Hamsi Sofrası – This place is one of the local’s favorites for eating fresh and flavorful hamsi dishes.
Istanbul: Hamsi Lokantası – This place is known for offering the best hamsi in a matter of preparations.
Zonguldak: Hamsi Kardeşler –This is a popular restaurant for fresh Black Sea anchovies.
Samsun: Samsun Hamsicisi – This place is famous for serving the best grilled and fried hamsi along with traditional accompaniments.
Sinop: Sinop Hamsi Sofrası– This place also offers delicious grilled and fried hamsi in a beautiful setting.
11. Çörek
Do you love something sweet? Or love to eat savoury things? Or do you love both? If the answer of all these questions is yes, then you should definitely try Çörek. It is a sweet or savory pastry, often flavored with some spices such as cinnamon or anise, and usually eaten as a breakfast or as a snack.
Where to Try?
Istanbul: Çörekçi Hafız Mustafa – This place is widely known for its sweet çörek pastries, especially during holidays.If you visit this place we suggest you to try it once.
Ankara: Çörekçi Mehmet– This place is famous for its fresh, buttery çörek made with local ingredients. We bet you will love it!
Izmir: Kumru Çörek– This place offers you two options. You can go for both savory and sweet çörek options and none of them will disappoint you with their taste.
Bursa: Bursa Çörekçisi– It serves a variety of sweet çörek pastries. So if you love to try other flavours then go for this.
Gaziantep: Çörekçi Ramiz– This place is known for serving their traditional savory çörek with authentic flavors.
Antakya: Antakya Çörek Evi – This place also serves the options of both sweet and savory çörek, and more importantly they are freshly made.
12. Testi Kebab
Testi Kebab is one of the authentic dishes in Turkey. It has a regional specialty from Cappadocia. This dish is made of slow-cooked meat and vegetables slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot, which is cracked open before serving. If you are a lamb meat lover, then you should definitely try it once!
Where to Try?
Cappadocia: Dibek Restaurant – They are famous for serving Testi Kebab in a traditional clay pot.
Avanos (Cappadocia)- Uranos & Sarıkaya – They are known for their Testi Kebab cooked to perfection in a sealed clay pot.
Istanbul: Asmalı Cavit – Unlike other restaurants that offer authentic kebabs, this place makes the kabab in their unique way which makes it worth trying once.
Nevşehir (Cappadocia) Ziggy’s Cafe – The place is known for its delicious Testi Kebab made with juicy lamb meat.
Kayseri: Kayseri Testi Kebabı Evi – This place serves tasty Testi Kebab made with local ingredients yet delicious.
Ürgüp (Cappadocia): Seten Restaurant – It offers a delightful experience with their slow-cooked Testi Kebab.