Cuisine of the Antalya region: what to try in Alanya

The food of the Antalya coast is Mediterranean Turkey at its purest: plenty of vegetables and greens, olive oil, fresh fish, citrus all year round and an obligatory glass of tea after the meal. It is rarely heavy or greasy — the focus is on freshness and simple, honest flavours. Here is what is really worth trying while you are in Alanya.

Meze and starters

Getting to know the local cuisine almost always begins with meze — small cold and hot dishes served at the start of a meal.

• Antalya piyaz (Antalya piyazı). The local pride. Unlike the usual bean salad, here it is dressed with a tahini sauce with garlic and lemon, and served with a boiled egg, onion and sumac. Filling and very typical of this region.
• Hibeş (hibeş). A thick paste of tahini with cumin, garlic and lemon — simple but with a bright flavour. Another signature Antalya starter.
• Haydari and acılı ezme. A garlicky yogurt dip with herbs and a spicy tomato-and-pepper paste — served almost everywhere and perfect with fresh bread.

Main dishes

The core is meat over fire and fish — simply cooked, so as not to drown the flavour of the produce.

• Tandır kebab. Lamb slow-cooked until it is meltingly tender and falls into strands.
• Şiş köfte and şiş kebab. Grilled meatballs and skewered meat — a classic cooked almost everywhere.
• Gözleme. Thin flatbreads filled with cheese, spinach, potato or meat, baked in front of you on a large convex griddle. The perfect snack at the market.
• Fresh fish. On the coast, choose local fish — levrek (sea bass) and çipura (sea bream). They are simply grilled and served with greens, lemon and olive oil.

Gifts of land and sea

The Antalya region is one of Turkey’s main “gardens and orchards”, and you feel it at the markets.

• Citrus. Oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit grow everywhere here; the season lasts most of the year. A glass of fresh orange juice (portakal suyu) on the promenade is almost a ritual.
• Bananas. Yes, Turkey grows its own bananas — small and fragrant, cultivated right around Alanya and neighbouring Anamur. Look for the note “yerli muz” (local banana).
• Avocado and pomegranate. In recent years avocado has been grown around Alanya, and pomegranate juice (nar suyu) is sold on every corner.

Sweets and drinks

• Künefe (künefe). A hot dessert of fine kadayıf noodles with stretchy unsalted cheese inside, soaked in syrup and sprinkled with pistachio. Served piping hot — a must in the south.
• Cezerye and tahin-pekmez. A carrot sweet with nuts, and a thick paste of tahini with grape molasses — the local “something with tea”.
• Tea and ayran. Turkish black tea in little glasses accompanies literally everything. For something cool, there is salty yogurt ayran and, for the brave, the spicy fermented şalgam juice.

Turkish breakfast

The kahvaltı — Turkish breakfast — deserves a mention of its own. It is not a single dish but a whole table: cheeses, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers, honey with clotted cream, jams, menemen eggs with tomato and pepper, fresh bread and, of course, tea. Such a breakfast easily takes a couple of hours — and it is the best way to start an unhurried day by the sea.

How to eat like a local

The most honest flavours are not in the tourist cafés on the seafront, but a little deeper into the districts: in small family lokantas, at street stalls with gözleme, and at the morning markets where locals come for vegetables and fruit.

If you rent an apartment with us at ForBuddy, just ask — we’ll point you to the nearest bazaar, the lokanta that makes real piyaz and where to go for fresh fish. Like friends, with no “tourist” mark-ups.