About Turkish Foods

Food in tourist areas of Turkey can be disappointing. The worst thing to do is to try and eat as you would as if you were at home. While many small restaurants and cafes will try to cater to European palates the results are usually uninspired. There are, of course, exceptions to this trend but on the whole eating 'International Cuisine' means paying too much for something that may look right but probably doesn't taste the way you thought it would.

If you get at all off the beaten track then you're going to be eating Turkish food. Most of the time this is a good thing. Many guide books will tell you that Turkey has one of the world's 3 great cuisines. This is probably true but it's unlikely that you'll get to sample much of it for yourself. The great dishes of Ottoman tradition tend to rely on a house full of women at home all day with nothing to do but prepare intricate and subtle dishes. You'll probably only sample Turkish cuisine at this level if you're prepared to pay for it, or, if you're invited into peoples homes.

What you will find however is enough variety to keep you interested for a couple of weeks. Turkey has some great street food and if you find a good restaurant then you'll enjoy the freshest of ingredients prepared with care.

A quick run down of the forms of eating available might be helpful:

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Street Food - This covers the majority of kebaps, lahmacun, pide and an assortment of burgers and sandwiches. Things you can eat quickly and cheaply and available wherever 2 or more are gathered together.
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Lokantas - Usually cheap Turkish restaurants serving pre-cooked food kept warm over burners. Most night bus stopovers carry dishes of this type and although they may not look great they're often pretty good.
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Iskembe joints - Iskembe is a tripe based soup that claims to prevent hangovers as long as you eat it at 3:00am. In any large town or city there will be somebody selling Iskembe when you need it.
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Restaurants - In all the areas frequented by tourists you'll find general purpose restaurants serving Turkish food and dishes influenced by European and American tastes. It will probably be worth your while to seek out the more authentic places. Not necessarily very easy in places like Marmaris or Kusadasi. You're going to be petitioned by waiters as you walk past anyway and this doesn't make it any easier to take your time. Anywhere selling food has to post a price list, by law, and as long as you know how much you're going to be paying it's difficult to be ripped off.
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Fish Restaurants - In Istanbul, Ankara, other big cities and, of course, on the coast, you'll find some good fish restaurants. The general idea is that you start with hot or cold Meze (starters) and then move on to a plate of fish. Not cheap, especially compared to the street price of fish, but usually pretty good. The safest situation to drink raki in.

What you'll find:

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Kebaps - more than some meat on a stick
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Pide - Turkish Pizza? Well, kind of