01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Antalya.
Riviera Relish
Antalya
Eat Antalya at lunchtime — piyaz, tandır kebabs and hibes tahini from the coast.
Antalya Eats
Antalya
Discover the Mediterranean coast of Turkey — piyaz, tandır kebabs and orange in winter tea.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Piyaz white bean salad, tandir kebabs, hibes tahini dip, orange in the winter tea. Antalya eats the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
04 The pantry
- Olive oil, from the Mediterranean groves of the coast
- Piyaz beans, tender white beans for the town's signature salad
- Tahini, stone-ground sesame for hibes hot dip
- Orange, sweet local citrus juiced and folded into desserts
- Pomegranate molasses, sour syrup dressing for the salad table
05 In the kitchen
- Cooking piyaz white beans slow before dressing with tahini and vinegar
- Baking Antalya tandir kebab in clay-lined pits
- Slow-simmering hibes hot tahini dip with cumin and chilli
- Grilling fresh Mediterranean fish over open charcoal
- Rolling sarma vine leaves for the mezze plate
06 Eat this first
- Piyaz, white bean salad with tahini, tomato and hard-boiled egg
- Tandir kebab, whole lamb slow-roasted in a clay pit
- Hibes, Antalya hot tahini dip with cumin and chilli
- Kolyoz izgara, charcoal-grilled Mediterranean mackerel
- Portakalli irmik tatlisi, orange semolina cake in syrup
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Small round yeasted dough balls fried until deep golden, then dipped in a warm lemon-and-cinnamon syrup and scattered with cinnamon. Turkey's most-shared street sweet.
Slow-cooked lamb shin over rice in a fierce garlic and Aleppo pepper broth, served at dawn from the specialist Gaziantep beyran shops that open only for breakfast.
Grilled mackerel fillet in a soft Turkish roll with lettuce, onion, sumac and lemon. Istanbul's Galata Bridge street sandwich, eaten looking out at the Bosphorus.
Hand-minced lamb pounded with red pepper paste, cumin and salt, pressed onto flat metal skewers and grilled over charcoal. The signature kebab of southern Turkey.
Dried white beans slow-cooked with tomato and onion, served topped with kavurma of chunks of sautéed lamb. Turkey's most beloved home-cooked bean dish.
Sheets of thin homemade pastry parboiled, layered with feta, egg and herbs, and baked into a lasagne of golden layers. Turkey's Sunday-brunch centrepiece.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Antalya.
Weather
Long, hot Mediterranean summers (35°C-plus in July and August) and mild, rainy winters. May, June, September, and October are the best months for walking the old town.
Currency
The Turkish lira (TRY); cards accepted almost everywhere but the exchange rate swings wildly, so cash for street food and small purchases is smart. ATMs are plentiful.
Language
Turkish is the local language; English is widely spoken along the resort strip and in the old town. German and Russian are also common along the tourist coast.
Etiquette
Modest dress in mosques (headscarves for women, no shorts). Bargaining is expected in the bazaar but rarely elsewhere; always accept çay (tea) when offered.
Getting around
The old town (Kaleiçi) is best on foot; the modern city is served by a fast tram and dolmuş (shared minivans). Taxis are cheap but always insist on the meter.
Prayer
Five calls to prayer daily; the Friday midday prayer briefly slows the city. Ramadan noticeably reshapes eating hours, many restaurants keep normal service for visitors.