These are the best restaurants in Antalya on the Turkish Riviera that you’ll want to visit now

Life in Turkey revolves around food. That alone makes it one of my favorite destinations. But Turkey is a huge country, and when you talk about Turkish cuisine, you’re actually talking about a fusion of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Eastern European, Armenian, and Georgian cuisine. It’s one of my favorite cuisines, and in sunny Antalya you can taste an enormous variety of Turkish food. Perfect for a mini-break or a longer holiday.

Turkey is divided into seven regions, and each region has its own terroir (simply put: climate and soil composition), so the dishes in the different regions are influenced by the various products grown there. Antalya lies on the Turkish Riviera, the sunny and warm Mediterranean region stretching along Turkey’s southern coast. Because of its climate and location, close to both Europe and the Middle East, Antalya is Turkey’s tourism capital. The tourist season starts in April. July and August are the hottest months, and everything before and after that is wonderful here. Not only because of the sun and sea, but especially because of the food, based on fresh and seasonal produce.

Staying in an Ottoman palace

Antalya has 600 kilometers of coastline and countless hotels. Titanic Mardan Palace is one of the most luxurious resorts on the Mediterranean, where you could easily spend the entire day. Here, you can imagine yourself in the fairytale-like Ottoman Empire. The enormous entrance, the lobby’s architecture with its gigantic chandeliers, and the lavish staircases are replicas of the famous Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul. The tower behind the swimming pool is a replica of the Maiden’s Tower, and the bridge is a replica of Istanbul’s Galata Bridge.

Antalya’s best baklava

The buffet at Mardan Palace is something you probably haven’t seen before. There are different sections where you can choose from the tastiest vegetables, fish, fruit, meat dishes, and, of course, sweets. Then there’s an entire section with bread (I still dream about those little simit with their crispy sesame seeds at night), cheese, olives… fresh herbs, hummus (tip: try making Karsu’s hummus at home!) And if that weren’t enough, there’s also a patisserie in the lobby with the most delicious pastries, macarons, chocolate… And: at the hotel, you’ll eat the best baklava in Antalya; everything is made at the hotel.

There are also nine à-la-carte restaurants, including Pascarella, where you can enjoy fantastic Italian dishes in a quieter restaurant setting. You do have to pay separately for the à-la-carte restaurants, but the price-to-quality ratio is also insanely good here (hello, 19 euros for an extensive Italian dinner—where can you still find that?)

Lunch at 7 Mehmet

A hotel with unlimited great food and drinks is a treat, but Antalya has so much to offer that you obviously shouldn’t stay cooped up in your hotel. One thing you really shouldn’t miss is an extensive lunch at restaurant 7 Mehmet in central Antalya. It’s about a twenty-minute drive from Mardan Palace. It’s one of the oldest restaurants in the Mediterranean region and has been around since 1937. The dishes are traditionally Turkish, but modernized. It’s also the place where all the famous Turkish chefs come for inspiration. You can sit inside or outside—when the weather is nice, be sure to get a spot on the spacious terrace (look at that view! Reservations are essential).

As always in Turkey, lunch starts with hot and cold mezes. Meze (or mezze) is derived from the Persian word maza, meaning to taste or enjoy. You’ll certainly enjoy yourself when you see everything that arrives at the table! And although mezze are served to stimulate the appetite, you won’t be the first person unable to stop eating all these delicacies—and then the main course, served with rice, and the elaborate dessert still have to come…

Hibeş is prepared tableside with the mezze: a red, mildly spicy sauce made from tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The flavor is best described as a spicy tahini, and it is truly heavenly with everything. For dipping bread, over meat, with vegetables… Everything that arrives at the table here is so delicious! The fava is wonderful too: a dish of puréed lentils topped with fried onions. They also make a dish here that resembles deconstructed dolmas, incredibly flavorful, with almost juicy vine leaves. And of course they also serve labneh, strained yogurt made in the same way as hangop, but with a little salt added.

Don’t be put off by the word offal, because the most popular Turkish street-food dish, Kokoreç, made from grilled organ meat, is delicious here. The sheep intestines are thoroughly cleaned, seasoned, and grilled, and come with thick, crispy chips on the side.

The lamb dish with pilav (Turkish rice) is also fantastic. I find pilav so much tastier than plain rice. It’s no wonder, because after the rice is cooked, it’s fried briefly in butter and sunflower oil. At 7 Mehmet, the rice also contains large almonds and pieces of bergamot. The pilav has the crunch of almonds, the sweetness of bergamot, and the rice itself is wonderfully soft and creamy. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten better rice anywhere.

You should also order the famous pumpkin dessert kabak tatlisi here. The pumpkin is gently cooked in its own juices with sugar, and the pumpkin alone is already delicious, but what makes this dish truly heavenly is the combination of the sweet pumpkin topped with a dollop of thick cream (made from boiled milk, called kaymak), finished with tahini and crushed hazelnuts. Sweet, fresh, delicious! Of course, we finish with Turkish coffee and Turkish tea to aid digestion.

Dinner at fine-dining restaurant Seraser

As I said, everything in Turkey revolves around food and drink. And there’s so much choice! According to locals, fine-dining restaurant Seraser is one of the best restaurants in Antalya. And the location is lovely; you’re right in the middle of the old town. As everywhere in Turkey, the service here is excellent. The setting has the atmosphere of an old French château, the plates look beautiful, and they pair very well with the Turkish wines served here (although international wines are also on the menu). Whatever you order, don’t forget to finish with a cup of Turkish crème brûlée. To die for. 

Aspendos & Side

Apart from the delicious food, Antalya and its surroundings have so much more to offer. Take ancient Aspendos, about 50 kilometers east of Antalya, famous for the Aspendos theater. It is one of the largest theaters ever built by the Romans in Asia Minor and today one of the best-preserved examples of Roman theater architecture.

Side, founded in the seventh century BC, is also worth visiting. Wars, fires, and various natural disasters destroyed part of the ancient port city of Side, but among the twentieth-century buildings there is still plenty of beauty to see, such as the Temple of Apollo, and there is also a beautiful amphitheater here. Side’s beach is long and wide, and in the evening it’s wonderfully lively, with all kinds of restaurants and shops.

Cocktail masterclass

Eating in Side? Then Alma is highly recommended. You can sit inside or outside on the large terrace, with the cocktail bar as its eye-catcher. And with a little luck, cocktail shaker Mehmet Ciger, named Turkey’s cocktail champion in 2015, will be there for a cocktail masterclass. From Turkish mezze to very well-grilled meat and grilled fish, this is a restaurant where you can linger until late. Be sure to order the Pastırma Katmer, a puff-pastry bread with Turkish cheese and pastrami, as well as the fresh Avokadolu Mevsim Yeşillikleri Salata, an avocado salad with roasted cashews, fresh herbs such as dill, and pomegranate seeds. Wonderfully fresh and as simple as it is effective.

Dining in an aquarium

The Turkish theme park The Land of Legends is home to a very special restaurant that’s perfect for lunch (don’t forget to make a reservation!). Nemo is an aquarium restaurant where you dine among the fish. The cuisine is “Eurasian,” a mix of European and Asian food, and the quality is excellent. If you don’t mind eating fish among the fish, the grilled sea bass here is exceptionally good. You can also eat meat or vegetarian food here, and they serve delicious desserts too. A unique place!

Dondurma

And of course, you can’t go home without having eaten Turkish ice cream on the street. In Turkey, you’ll find stalls selling dondurma everywhere, a very distinctive stretchy Turkish ice cream that is also quite a spectacle to order. You’ve been warned 🙂

For more information about Turkey, be sure to visit the website of the Turkish National Tourist Office. 

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Header image: restaurant Nemo.