The Turquoise Coast Restaurants

This coast has been serving tourists for a long time, and you will find a rich choice of restaurants to prove this. There’s no shortage of older, established eateries, which dish out the standard national fare (think mezes, kebabs, assorted grilled meats, and fresh seafood). Simple—but often superb—spots are as popular with vacationing Turks as they are with foreigners. In recent years, the number of fine dining options has also increased, especially in larger cities and tourist centers. The top ones prepare creative dishes, combining high-quality local ingredients with international flair.

Regional specialties along the Turquoise Coast include mussels stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and currants; ahtopot salatas?, a cold octopus salad, tossed in olive oil, vinegar, and parsley; and grilled fish. Most of Turkey's tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, zucchinis, and peppers are grown along the coast, so salads are fresh and delicious. In Lycia, a local home-cooking specialty is stewed eggplant with basil—wonderful if you're offered it. Semiz otu (cow parsley) is a refreshing appetizer in a garlic yogurt sauce.

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  • 1. Lebessos Restaurant and Wine House

    $$$$

    What was once the house of a prosperous Greek merchant is now a fine restaurant specializing in steak and ultra-tender lamb kleftiko (lamb shank marinated in red wine and slow-cooked in a 400-year-old oven). The wine cellar has more than 10,000 bottles, including a good selection of Turkish wines. The Turkish breakfast, served until 2 pm, is also popular. On hot summer days, you can take refuge in the cool basement; at night, the restaurant lights the abandoned buildings all around, creating an atmosphere that is romantic or spooky, depending on your take. Free transportation is available to and from hotels in the Fethiye–Ölüdeniz area.

    Kaya, Mugla, 48300, Turkey
    0536-484–7290

    Known For

    • Steak
    • Braised lamb
    • Stuffed meatballs

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and evenings in winter
  • 2. Seraser Fine Dining Restaurant

    $$$$

    With fine food and excellent service, stylish Seraser aspires to be the best restaurant in all of Turkey, and its inventive international menu certainly lifts it above other options in Antalya. This is considered a special-occasion restaurant, yet it's wonderfully relaxed and a decent value compared to its American counterparts. Part of the Tuvana Hotel, it is set in the leafy courtyard of a historic house, with indoor and outdoor dining areas and live jazz on weekends. The menu tends European, made with quality Turkish ingredients—90% of which are organic. Starters include goat cheese and aubergine soufflé, mussels Provençal, and superb house-made pastas. Grouper and char-grilled steak are popular mains, but do save room for dessert: the Turkish coffee-infused crème brûlée is a showstopper. The wine list is impressive, with more than 300 options, though prices are steep.

    Karanlık Sok. 18, Antalya, Antalya, 07100, Turkey
    242-247–6015

    Known For

    • Goat cheese and eggplant soufflé
    • Grouper
    • Chargrilled steak
  • 3. Smiley's

    $$

    Located next to a 19th-century Ottoman house at the edge of the harbor, Smiley's has been an open secret among Turquoise Coast yachters since 1987. Relax in the fresh air beneath vines, flags, and fishing nets, and enjoy a reasonably priced and generously portioned meal of some of the best kebabs and seafood in Kaş, as well as some of its friendliest service. Try the Greek-style grilled calamari and brightly flavorful mezes (the reasonably priced mixed-meze plate is a good deal; make sure the roasted eggplant in garlicky yogurt is included). Head downstairs to see the restored Lycian cistern.

    Liman Sokak, Kas, Antalya, 07580, Turkey
    242-836–2812

    Known For

    • Good mezes
    • Grilled calamari
    • Chicken with almond sauce
  • 4. Vanilla

    $$$$

    If you are kebabed out, this old town restaurant has some of the best contemporary cuisine on the coast and serves it in an appropriately stylish setting. The menu changes regularly, though it's basically modern European with a touch of Asia and includes items (like foie gras) that you don’t see too often in Turkey. There's also a stylish lounge area where you can order coffee during the day or cocktails at night. It's on the pricey side for Turkey, but so is most of Kaleiçi—and this is some of the best food you'll find here.

    Hesapçı Sok. 33, Antalya, Antalya, 07100, Turkey
    242-247–6013

    Known For

    • Duck confit
    • Prawn and avocado salad
    • Steak
  • 5. Altın Sofra

    $$

    This restaurant in the Finike marina is famed for lamb and lambs' liver, but it serves a full menu, including fish and meze. There is a pleasant garden shaded by plane trees and acacias. Everything here is so fresh that the chef refuses to add anything but olive oil and salt to flavor his meats and grilled chicken, and he doesn't need to.

    Kale Mah., Limaniçi, Finike, Antalya, 07740, Turkey
    242-855–1281

    Known For

    • Mezes
    • Grilled sea bass
    • Lamb's liver
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  • 6. Arma Restaurant

    $$$$

    One of Antalya's flashiest restaurants serves seafood carpaccio, lobster, duck, chocolate soufflé, and warm chestnut cake, along with a full range of foreign spirits and cigars from a humidor. Its spectacular location halfway up the main road from the old harbor gives it a panoramic view of the old town and the sea. Inside, airy stone arches give it elegant style despite the fact that this was once the port's petroleum depot.  At 11 pm, the dance club alongside swings into action.

    İskele Cad. No. 75, Antalya, Antalya, 07100, Turkey
    242-244–9710

    Known For

    • Seafood carpaccio
    • Lobster
    • Warm chestnut cake
  • 7. Ata Kebab

    $$

    A down-to-earth, traditional Turkish restaurant in often tourist-oriented Kalkan, Ata is (as the name suggests) known for its tender, flavorful kebabs, which come in medium- and large-portion sizes. The menu also includes pide (Turkish flatbread) cooked in a wood oven and the classic array of mezes, salads, and hot starters. The casual seating is on a patio overlooking the main road into town.

    Şehitler Cad. No: 21, Kalkan, Antalya, Turkey
    242-844–1600

    Known For

    • Mixed grill
    • Mixed meze plate
    • İskender kebab
  • 8. Aubergine

    $$$$

    The adventurous menu at this harbor-front eatery includes excellent pasta, salmon en croûte, stuffed sea bass with bacon, extra-large steaks, and occasionally wild boar shot in the mountains. The restaurant caters predominantly to the well-heeled British ex-pat crowd (hence the rather ambitious prices), and offers a nightly happy hour and a legendary party on New Year's Eve. All the desserts are made on site. It's worth calling ahead to reserve a table right by the water.

    Yaliboyu Mah. Kalkan Harbour No. 25, Kalkan, Antalya, 07960, Turkey
    242-844–3332

    Known For

    • Salmon en croûte
    • Stuffed sea bass
    • Steak
  • 9. Avlu Restaurant

    $

    This Antakya-style meyhane draws a lively crowd of diners with its atmospheric setting and delicious local cuisine. Tables are arrayed in the courtyard (avlu) and on overlooking balconies in a restored mansion, making the place feel like one big dinner party. If you don’t fill up on meze like hummus, mütebbel (eggplant dip with tahini), olive salad with sour pomegranate molasses, or atom (yogurt laced with spicy peppers), there are kebabs and other grilled meats aplenty—and crispy candied pumpkin with tahini and walnuts for dessert.

    Kahraman Sok. No: 39, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey
    326-216–1312

    Known For

    • Delicious meze
    • Kebab wrapped in lavash (thin flatbread) with yogurt sauce
    • Kazbaşı (large, tender chunks of lamb) kebab
  • 10. Bahçe & Demeti by Bahçe Balık

    $$$

    A casual but stylish courtyard restaurant serving delightful Turkish dishes in a quiet garden setting, Bahçe is just opposite the 4th-century-BC Lycian sarcophagus known as the King's Tomb. The starters are very famous—especially tasty options are grated carrot with yogurt, mashed walnut, cold spinach, fish balls, and arnavut ciğeri (fried liver prepared with chopped nuts). The same family runs a restaurant opposite (Demeti by Bahçe Balık) that has lots of fresh seafood on offer.

    Doğruyol Cad. No: 31, Kas, Antalya, 07580, Turkey
    242-836–2370

    Known For

    • Grilled octopus
    • Fried liver
    • Good mezes

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch, closed Nov.–Mar.
  • 11. Balıkçım the Fisherman

    $$

    This relaxed restaurant on a side street in the town center serves fish, seafood, and meze and is popular with locals, who prefer fresh, unfussy fare to a river view. Its small dining room would be utterly austere were it not for the decorative tile accents; most seating is outside, at tables decked out in a classic Mediterranean blue-and-white color scheme. There’s no menu, so ask the prices before ordering, especially for fish.

    Hasan Erkul Sok. 9/B, Dalyan, Mugla, Turkey
    0543-848–4448

    Known For

    • Garlicky prawns
    • Calamari
    • Seafood börek (pastry roll)
  • 12. Blue Marlin

    $$$$

    This relaxed restaurant by the harbor has a “back to basics” approach focusing on fresh fish, seafood, and a well-stocked counter of mostly vegetarian meze made daily. Service is solicitous and the atmosphere serene (if sometimes intruded on in the later hours when the nearby bars crank up the volume).

    Yat Limanı, Kalkan, Antalya, Turkey
    0535-302–6410

    Known For

    • Sea bass with spinach
    • Stuffed calamari
    • Meze
  • 13. Buse Gözleme Evi

    $

    A hospitable spot for a quick bite on your way to or from the beach and ruins, this simple, open-air eatery offers a wide range of gözleme, a type of Turkish crepe, including those with less-common fillings like eggplant and cheese or chicken with walnuts, as well as sweet options for dessert. You can also get egg dishes, meatballs, chicken kebabs, and other standard fare.

    Gelemiş Mah. No: 86, Gelemis, Antalya, Turkey
    0553-500–5158

    Known For

    • Tahini-molasses gözleme
    • Homemade mantı (dumplings)
    • Turkish breakfast
  • 14. Can

    $$$

    This busy harborside fish restaurant is popular with Göcek natives and visitors alike and is considered a town institution. In summer, the seating extends out toward the waterfront, under tropical trees and with romantic views of the water. Main dishes (kebabs, steak, seafood) are typical, but the pride of the menu is its selection of 30 meze (starters). The homemade bread is delicious, and wild mountain mushrooms are served as a side dish in spring and fall.

    Göcek, Mugla, 48310, Turkey
    252-645–1507

    Known For

    • Sea bass
    • Calamari
    • Meze

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Dec.–Mar.
  • 15. Çarıklı Et Restaurant

    $$$

    Owned by a local butcher, this sophisticated waterfront spot serves up the high-quality, perfectly cooked steaks and chops that you’d expect, along with burgers, kebabs, and lighter options like mezes and salads, though the selection of non-meat mains is slim. There’s a full bar and a great view, especially at sunset.

    Cahit Gündüz Cad. No: 11, Fethiye, Mugla, Turkey
    252-614–3124

    Known For

    • Pepper steak
    • Baked lamb shank
    • Chateaubriand
  • 16. Chill House Lounge

    $$

    "Chill" is the perfect word to describe this relaxed spot. Popular with locals, its tables are mostly set out in the prime open area, toward the southern end of the beach. The food ranges from snacks to grilled meat, seafood, and pasta. In the evening, Chill evolves into a bar and the closest thing Adrasan has to a disco.

    Deniz Mahallesi, Kumluca, Adrasan, Antalya, 07350, Turkey
    532-775--2618

    Known For

    • Grilled salmon
    • Calamari
    • Bolognese pasta

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Nov.–Apr.
  • 17. Ciğerci Memet Usta

    $

    Nestled in the backstreets of the old city's bazaar near the clock tower, Ciğerci Memet Usta serves up some of the best kebabs in Adana, the country's reigning center for grilled meat. Try the speciality ciğer (grilled liver), the eponymous Adana kebab, or the homemade şalgam (spicy pickled black carrot juice).

    23002. Sok., No: 5, Adana, Adana, 01020, Turkey
    0535-405–5212

    Known For

    • Grilled liver skewers
    • Adana kebab
    • şalgam
  • 18. Culinarium

    $$$$

    This tiny upscale restaurant run by German-Turkish owners blends European style, atmosphere, and creativity with local ingredients and flavors. The result is a refined, low-key environment, with well-made food that provides an interesting variation on typical Turkish cuisine like zucchini flowers stuffed with local fish instead of the usual rice.

    64. Sokak No: 20, Datça, Mugla, 48900, Turkey
    252-712–9770

    Known For

    • Boneless fish in lemon butter
    • Ravioli
    • Steak

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Sometimes closed in winter, Reservations essential
  • 19. Datça Sofrası

    $$

    This is an ideal lunch spot, with a terrace shaded by bougainvillea and grapevines and traditional Turkish meats prepared using a brass-hooded charcoal brazier. The menu is exceptionally vegetarian friendly, with 20 meatless meze (starters), many concocted from local wild herbs. The vibe is tranquil, laid-back, and friendly, with beer and rakı (a Turkish liquor) on the menu, along with homemade lemonade.

    Gazi Mustafa Kemal Cad. No: 21, Datça, Mugla, Turkey
    252-712–4188

    Known For

    • Bademli köfte (meatballs with chopped local almonds)
    • Mastic pudding
    • Meze
  • 20. Dikkat Et

    $

    Serving up tasty home-cooking in a contemporary setting, this friendly, good-value option near Hadrian's Gate has a small menu focused on meatballs and other grills, traditional Antalya-style bean salad, and meat- or potato-filled mantı (dumplings). Don’t be put off by the entry through a narrow passageway: it opens up into a pleasant café-style dining area that's bright, airy, and filled with plants.

    Erbaş Pasajı No: 40, Antalya, Antalya, Turkey
    242-241–4707

    Known For

    • Köfte (meatballs)
    • Piyaz (bean salad)
    • Mantı (dumplings)

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