Turkish Food to Try in Antalya

If one plate defines Antalya, it is tahinli piyaz. Elsewhere in Turkey piyaz is a simple white-bean salad with onion, but Antalya's version is bound in a creamy, lemony tahini sauce, topped with a boiled egg, parsley and sumac. The richness comes from the region's excellent sesame, which also appears in local meze. It is served cold as a starter or alongside kofte, and a good piyaz tells you the kitchen cares about local cooking rather than generic tourist fare. The historic 7 Mehmet, an Antalya institution since 1958, is famous for its version, but you will find honest plates of it in small Kaleici lokantas too.

Antalya grills with the best of them. Spicy Adana and milder Urfa kebabs arrive as hand-minced lamb skewers; Iskender layers thin doner over bread with tomato sauce and yogurt; and kuzu sis delivers cubed, char-grilled lamb. Look out for tandir, lamb slow-cooked in an earthen oven until it falls off the bone, and for kofte, seasoned meatballs that are a cheap, reliable favourite. Order meat with grilled peppers, raw onion in sumac and warm pide bread. For kebabs near the old town, locals point visitors toward the grill houses around Hadrian's Gate, where turnover is high and the coals stay hot all evening.

A meze spread is the social heart of a Turkish meal, and Antalya's leans sesame and herb. The local star is hibes, a creamy tahini dip sharpened with garlic, lemon, cumin and chilli, scooped with bread. Around it you will find haydari (strained yogurt with herbs), smoky aubergine salads, dolma (stuffed vine leaves), and sea-fresh samphire dressed in olive oil and lemon. Meze are meant for sharing and pair naturally with raki, the anise spirit. Order four or five plates for the table, let them arrive slowly, and treat them as the meal rather than a rushed prelude to mains.

A full Turkish breakfast, kahvalti, is a feast of cheeses, olives, tomato, cucumber, honey with clotted kaymak, jams, eggs and endless tea. Order menemen, eggs scrambled with tomato, pepper and chilli, for something hot. For lighter bites, gozleme is hand-rolled flatbread filled with spinach, cheese or potato and griddled crisp, often made by women at village-style stalls. Pide, the boat-shaped Turkish flatbread baked with cheese, minced meat or sucuk, is the local answer to pizza and great value. Vanilla Lounge in Kaleici is a long-running favourite for breakfast and menemen in a leafy courtyard setting.

On the coast, seafood is a must. Levrek (sea bass) and cipura (sea bream) are the everyday catch, often grilled whole or baked in a salt crust that keeps the flesh moist. Try them with tarator, a tahini-lemon-garlic sauce, and a squeeze of lemon. Grilled octopus, calamari and mussels round out the menu. Fish is sold by weight, so ask the price per kilo before ordering and check it is fresh. The stalls and small restaurants around Balikpazari near the old harbour grill the day's catch on the spot, a more honest option than glossy waterfront terraces.

Save room for dessert. Baklava layers wafer-thin pastry with pistachio or walnut and honeyed syrup; ask for it with extra pistachio and a coffee. Kunefe is the showpiece, shredded pastry packed with stretchy unsalted cheese, baked golden and drenched in syrup, served hot so the cheese pulls. A true Antalya speciality is kabak tatlisi, candied pumpkin slow-cooked in sugar and topped with tahini and crushed walnuts. Finish with Turkish coffee, served thick with a glass of water, or a tulip glass of tea. Family-run sweet shops in Kaleici's bazaar lanes sell baklava fresher than any supermarket box.