Food & Drink

The Turkish breakfast is a ceremony — and for many travelers, the culinary highlight of the country. Forget croissants and muesli: A Serpme Kahvaltı (large breakfast) consists of up to 20 small bowls and plates:

• Beyaz Peynir: White cheese, similar to feta — THE standard cheese
• Kaşar Peyniri: Yellow hard cheese, mild
• Zeytin: Olives, green and black — Turkey is one of the largest olive producers
• Domates & Salatalık: Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers in slices
• Bal & Kaymak: Honey with kaymak (a type of thick cream/clotted cream) — divine on warm bread
• Sucuk: Garlic sausage, fried in slices — hearty and aromatic
• Menemen: Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, and spices — the Turkish shakshuka
• Börek: Phyllo dough with cheese or spinach — crispy and filling
• Reçel: Jams in varieties you've never seen — rose, fig, walnut, sour cherry
• Çay: Black tea, endlessly refilled. Without milk, with sugar (as desired)

A real Kahvaltı lasts 1–2 hours and is ideally enjoyed with friends or family. In Istanbul, Van Kahvaltı Evi (Beyoğlu) and Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu (Beşiktaş) are the classics. In coastal towns, many hotels and guesthouses offer a rich Kahvaltı.

Kebab Varieties

"Kebab" simply means "grilled meat" — and each region has its own specialty:

• İskender Kebab (Bursa): Döner meat on bread, drizzled with tomato sauce and melted butter, served with yogurt. One of the most famous kebabs in Turkey.
• Adana Kebab: Spicy minced meat on a skewer — the Adana version is fiery.
• Urfa Kebab: Like Adana, but without the heat — for milder palates.
• Şiş Kebab: Cubes of meat on a skewer, marinated and grilled — the "classic" kebab.
• Köfte: Grilled meatballs made from minced meat with spices — every city has its own köfte tradition.
• Tandır Kebab: Lamb, slow-cooked in an earth oven — buttery tender, falls off the bone.

Other Main Courses

• Pide: "Turkish pizza" — boat-shaped flatbread with cheese, minced meat, sucuk, or egg. From Trabzon: closed (like a calzone).
• Lahmacun: Thin flatbread with spiced minced meat — rolled with parsley, onions, and lemon. Not to be confused with pide!
• Mantı: Turkish ravioli — tiny dumplings filled with minced meat, served with yogurt and paprika butter. From Kayseri (Cappadocia).
• Güveç: Casserole in a clay pot — meat or vegetables, slowly cooked. Particularly popular in Cappadocia (Testi Kebab: the clay pot is broken open at the table).
• Balık: Fish — freshly grilled on the coast: Çipura (sea bream), Levrek (sea bass), Hamsi (anchovies, Black Sea).

Meze — the Turkish tapas culture — is often the highlight of any meal. A meze evening with friends, rakı, and endless small plates is the Turkish way of life.

Cold Meze (Soğuk Meze)

• Hummus: Chickpea puree with tahini, lemon, and olive oil
• Babaganuş (Patlıcan Salatası): Smoky eggplant puree — the best thing that can happen to an eggplant
• Haydari: Thick yogurt with garlic, dill, and mint
• Atom (Ezme): Spicy paste made from peppers, tomatoes, and chili peppers
• Yaprak Sarma: Stuffed vine leaves with rice, pine nuts, and currants
• Çoban Salatası: Shepherd's salad made from tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers — fresh and simple
• Fava: Bean puree with dill — an Aegean specialty

Warm Meze (Sıcak Meze)

• Sigara Böreği: Crispy phyllo dough cigars with cheese filling
• Kalamar (Calamari): Fried squid rings — found everywhere along the coast
• Patlıcan Kızartma: Fried eggplant slices with yogurt
• Arnavut Ciğeri: Fried liver, Albanian style — surprisingly delicious
• Midye Dolma: Stuffed mussels with rice and spices — a street food classic in Istanbul

A meze evening works like this: order 4–8 meze, along with fresh bread, rakı, and water. Eat slowly, talk a lot, order more. Often, you don't need a main course afterward.

The art of Turkish patisserie is legendary — baklava is just the beginning of a sweet universe:

• Baklava: Paper-thin layers of yufka dough with chopped pistachios (Antep style) or walnuts, soaked in sugar syrup. The best baklava comes from Gaziantep — brands: Güllüoğlu, İmam Çağdaş. In Istanbul: Karaköy Güllüoğlu. Price: 400–800 ₺/kg.
• Künefe: Hot, crispy shredded pastry with melted cheese in the middle, drizzled with syrup and sprinkled with pistachios. Best in Hatay restaurants.
• Lokum (Turkish Delight): The famous jelly cubes in hundreds of flavors — rose, pistachio, pomegranate, mastic. Available in the Spice Bazaar from 200 ₺/kg.
• Dondurma: Turkish ice cream made from goat's milk and salep (orchid root) — sticky-elastic. The vendors make a show of it (Taksim Square!).
• Sütlaç: Rice pudding, baked in the oven until the surface caramelizes — simple and perfect.
• Tavuk Göğsü: Milk pudding with chicken breast(!) — sounds bizarre, tastes incredible.
• Tulumba: Fried dough sticks in syrup — the Turkish churro.

Çay (Tea)

Turkey has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world — over 3 kg per person per year, more than the UK. Çay is black tea, served in tulip-shaped glasses, strongly brewed using a double kettle (Çaydanlık). Without milk, with sugar as desired. Price: 15–30 ₺ in a Çay Bahçesi (tea garden), often offered for free.

Turkish Coffee (Türk Kahvesi)

Boiled in an Ibrik (Cezve) on sand or flame — strong, thick, with grounds. Order it "sade" (without sugar), "orta" (medium sweet), or "şekerli" (sweet). UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2013. Always served with a glass of water. Price: 60–120 ₺.

Ayran

Salted drinking yogurt — THE refreshing drink with meals, especially with kebab. Homemade (Süzme Ayran) is a hundred times better than the supermarket version.

Rakı

The national drink — anise-flavored spirit (45%), mixed 1:1 with cold water (turns milky white: "lion's milk"/Aslan Sütü). Traditionally consumed with meze and fish. Yeni Rakı is the standard brand, Efe Rakı the premium alternative. Price in restaurants: 150–400 ₺ per glass. Drinking rakı is a social ritual — never alone, always slowly, always with food.

Beer & Wine

Efes Pilsen is the ubiquitous Turkish beer (similar to a German lager). There is also a craft beer scene in Istanbul (Gara Guzu, Felicita). Turkish wine is surprising: regions like Cappadocia (Ürgüp), Thrace, and the Aegean produce excellent wines. Kavaklıdere (Angora, Yakut), Kayra (Vintage), and Vinkara are recommended.

Şalgam

Fermented turnip juice — salty, sour, deep purple. The Adana accompaniment to spicy kebab. An acquired taste, but authentic.