Lahmacun (Turkish pizza)

Lahmacun—the Turkish equivalent of pizza—is a round, thin dough that is heavy on meat (minced in this case) as might be expected from Turkish cuisine. Usually wrapped with lettuce, parsley, and sprinkled with lemon, lahmacun doesn’t feature cheese at all. Nonetheless, lahmacun is delicious, especially when it’s piping hot, its base thin and crisp.

Kebap

Obviously the most famous Turkish specialty, kebap (or kebab) is eaten everywhere by everyone, either as street food or in a fancy restaurant. Well-prepared kebabs, made with the right amount of spices and served with side dishes, are hard to beat. Here are some of the common types:

Şiş

Şiş kebap is made of simple chunks of lamb, marinated and then chargrilled (along with vegetables—mostly onions, tomatoes, and peppers). The meat is grilled on skewers or şiş in Turkish, giving this kebab its name. You can also ask for çöp şiş, which are made of extra small pieces of lamb.

Döner

Döner is roasted lamb either served on a plate with rice and french fries or wrapped with tomatoes, french fries, and hot pickled peppers in a very thin bread known as dürüm (similar to tortilla). Döner can be found at all kebab restaurants, while döner dürüm is sold at numerous büfes (Turkish fast-food restaurants) around the city.

Iskender Kebap

Named after Alexander the Great, Iskender Kebab is a dish made of thin cuts of roasted lamb spread on top of buttery pide (pita bread), topped with savory tomato sauce and melted butter, and served with a dollop of yogurt.

Beyti Kebap

Beyti is made from ground lamb or beef, skewered, grilled, wrapped in flat bread, and served with yoghurt and tomato sauce.

Adana

Adana is the specialty from the southern city of Adana. The spicy, minced meat is first chargrilled on a skewer, then served on a bed of pide (pita bread) or lavash bread with tomatoes, bell peppers, and bulgur pilavı (pilaf of bulgur).  Those who can’t handle spicy food should steer clear from this one.

Urfa

From the southeastern city of Urfa, Urfa kebab is similar to Adana kebab, although much less spicier and a bit thicker.

Köfte

Köfte refers to meatballs that are usually prepared with mild spices, onion, and parsley.

Some distinct varieties of köfte:

The most commonly served köfte is izgara, which is grilled and is a relatively simple version.

The Izmir variety is served as a stew with potatoes in a tomato sauce.

Peynirliliterally means with cheese in Turkish; the added component of melted cheese turns köfte into a wonderful comfort food option.

Inegölis a county southeast of Bursa, and is famous for its singularly delicious variety of köfte, slightly fattier than most other types and hence tastier.

Mantı

Sometimes referred to as Turkish Ravioli or Turkish dumplings, mantı is a meat mixture wrapped in small parcels of dough, which is boiled, steamed, and sometimes fried. Regardless of the cooking style, mantı is always delicious, topped with yogurt, garlic, tomato sauce, melted butter, and red pepper powder.

Beyaz Peynir (Feta cheese)

Literally translated as white cheese in Turkish, this is the Turkish version of feta and has the same cool, creamy texture and salty taste. It is generally eaten at breakfast, sometimes topped with jam on bread, and with olives, cucumber, and tomatoes. Also a great filling for sandwiches and börek.

Börek

This is a crispy filo pastry usually filled with beyaz peynir (fetta cheese), spinach, or minced meat. When hot and fresh, it is utterly unbeatable and a favorite on the hot meze section of any menu. Look out particularly for sigara (cigarette)böreği, which is long and thin, made with cheese and parsley, and shaped like a cigarette (hence the name).

Dolma (Stuffed Vine Leaves)

These come in many shapes and forms, hot or cold. When hot they are a proper meal, filled with minced meat, rice, spices, parsley, and occasionally sweetened with a few currants. When cold, they can be found on the cold meze section of the menu. There is also a variant of dolma (which is the umbrella term for this type of dishes) made with cabbage leaves instead of vine leaves, and equally delicious.

Olive Oil Dishes

These dishes are cooked in olive oil with onion and tomato, and are usually served chilled. Typical examples are eggplant (sliced or cubed), green beans, fava (broad beans, usually mashed), okra, enginar (artichoke), and kabak (courgette).

Pilav

Pilav can refer to plain rice, although numerous delicious versions of rice are found in Turkey. A common method is to fry a small amount of şehriye (vermicelli) until brown, then add basmati rice, water, salt, butter and cook for around 20 minutes. The result is moist and delicious, tastier than plain rice due to the butter and vermicelli. It is sometimes served with chickpeas (nohutlu) especially when sold as street food, or with chicken (called tavuklu pilav), mostly at restaurants offering home-cooked meals or at any esnaf lokantası (tradesmen restaurants).

Grilled Fish

Istanbul has a huge influx of fresh fish thanks to its proximity to the sea. Walking along the Galata Bridge, you will see scores of fishermen catching 7 or 8 little yellow-tailed blue fish on each line. At the northern end of the bridge is a market where buyers and sellers haggle furiously and restaurants get their catches for the day. Typical grilled fish served at the fish restaurants that line the waterfront on either side of the Bosphorus are whitebait, red mullet, lemon sole, sea bass, bream, and whatever else has been caught that day. The fish is usually served with fresh sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and a wedge of lemon.

Meze

Either in a fish restaurant or a kebab restaurant, you can skip the main dishes and give your full attention to the meze tray. The range of hot and cold meze includes  haydari (thick yoghurt with garlic and dill), köpoğlu (chopped fried eggplant mixed with yogurt), lakerda (salted bonito), gavurdağı (salad with tomato, mint, pomegranate syrup, green peppers, and chopped walnuts), tulum peyniri (goat cheese) with pide (pita bread), közlenmiş patlıcan (chargrilled eggplant), börülce salatası (samphire salad), tarama (dip made of fish roe mixed with bread crumbs, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil), ciğer (fried liver), humus (better with pastırma—cured beef), fava (broad beans), pickles (generally a mixture of cabbage, gherkin, cucumber in vinegar marinated with chili).