Turkish food: 20 dishes you have to eat

Turkish food beyond the airport kebab plate. Twenty dishes locals actually queue for, what to order them with, and the city where each one is best.

Breakfast (kahvaltı)

Turkish breakfast is the meal worth flying for. Order kahvaltı tabağı (breakfast platter) — you get 8–12 small plates: white cheese, kaşar, olives, butter, honey, jam, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, sucuk (spicy sausage), simit (sesame ring bread), fresh tea. Best: any small kahvaltı place in Beyoğlu or Kadıköy.

Simit

The crunchy sesame-coated bread ring sold from red carts on every Istanbul street. ₺7–10 ($0.30). Eat it warm, plain. The morning ritual.

Menemen

Tomato-and-pepper egg scramble cooked in a copper sahan pan. Simple, beautiful when done right. Kadıköy and Beyoğlu have the best versions.

Pide

Turkish flatbread with toppings — like a long pizza, no cheese mandatory. Best with kuşbaşı (cubed lamb) or sucuklu yumurta (sausage and egg). Try it in Trabzon where it's the regional specialty.

Lahmacun

Paper-thin flatbread with minced meat, parsley, lemon. Roll it up. ₺40–60 ($1.50–2). The midday workers' lunch in any Turkish city.

Mantı

Tiny meat-filled dumplings drowned in garlicky yogurt and topped with paprika butter. Hand-folded mantı is a labor of love. Kadıköy has the best mantı houses in Istanbul.

İskender kebab

Bursa's gift to humanity. Sliced döner over crisped pita, drowned in melted butter and tomato sauce, with yogurt on the side. Heavy. Worth it. Eat it in Bursa.

Adana / Urfa kebab

Adana = spicy. Urfa = mild. Hand-minced lamb on a flat skewer, grilled over charcoal, served with grilled tomato, pepper, raw onion, and bulgur pilaf. Order one of each at a Gaziantep kebabci if you make it east.

Köfte

Hand-shaped meatballs grilled over charcoal. Different cities have different styles — Tekirdağ köfte is the most famous. Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi in Istanbul has been doing the marble-counter version since 1920.

Hamsi

Black Sea anchovies, fried in a pan with corn flour. Eaten whole, head and all. Trabzon and Rize do the best versions.

Lokum (Turkish delight)

The good kind has no high-fructose syrup, no plastic wrap, and is sold by weight from a glass case. Pistachio (fıstıklı) is the move. Hacı Bekir in Istanbul invented modern lokum in 1777.

Baklava

Real baklava is from Gaziantep — pistachio, paper-thin filo, just-enough syrup. Karaköy Güllüoğlu in Istanbul has the most accessible version. Avoid honey-soaked tourist bakeries.

Künefe

Shredded filo, melted cheese, soaked in syrup, served hot with a cube of kaymak (clotted cream). Order one to share. Best in Hatay/Antakya, decent versions in Gaziantep.

Çay (tea)

Drunk in tulip glasses, no milk, two cubes of sugar optional. The social fabric of Turkey runs on çay. Free top-ups everywhere.

Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee)

Unfiltered, drunk slowly, served with a glass of water and a piece of lokum. The grounds settle in the bottom — don't drink them. Ask for orta (medium sweet) if unsure.

Ayran

Salty yogurt drink. The default with any kebab. Not for everyone — try it once.

Rakı

Anise-flavored grape spirit, drunk slowly with meze. Add cold water — it turns milky white ("aslan sütü", lion's milk). Ordered with fresh fish at any meyhane.

Meze

Small cold and warm plates eaten over hours with rakı. Standard meyhane meze: ezme (spicy tomato relish), haydari (yogurt with herbs), patlıcan salatası (smoked eggplant), midye dolma (stuffed mussels — eaten with lemon).

Balık ekmek (fish sandwich)

Fresh-grilled mackerel in white bread with onion and lemon, sold from boats moored at Eminönü. ₺80 ($3). Eat it with your hand on the bridge.

Pilav (rice)

Turkish rice cooked with butter and chicken stock. Sometimes mixed with chickpeas (nohutlu pilav). Side dish to almost everything; the chicken pilav street version (tavuklu pilav) is a midday staple.

Dondurma

Turkish ice cream — chewy, made with mastic and salep root. Maraş is the famous variety. Always served with a small theatrical bit by the vendor.

Where to actually eat

Lokantas (neighborhood canteens) are the secret weapon — point at what you want from the steam table, sit, eat for ₺120–180 ($5–8). The best meal in Turkey usually costs the least.

For full meal recommendations per city, see the restaurant picks on each Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Bodrum, and Fethiye page — we list local-favorite, classic, and view-driven options for each.

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