Antalya Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Antalya

The Lette "V" His head-chef, Hadji Hasan, was a very choosey and careful person in his profession and one day, one guest found a hair in his dish and this event turned his head-chef crazy. This fact made the head-chef really very angry and his head-chef aligned all of the employees in a line and gave them a penalty. Next day, all employees came to restaurant with baldheads. Mehmet learned his lesson from this event and he took his share also from this penalty and after Mehmet's hairs were cut-off, a V shaped scar appeared on his head, as this scar was remained him from a traffic accident, which he had in his childhood. Shape of this scar meant "seven" in the old Turkish alphabet and this fact drew attention of his head-chef and he added the prefix 7 before his name and gave him the nickname of 7Mehmet and his lifelong, this 7 had never been deleted. So, the adventure of 7Mehmet started. Nowadays and since the year of 1988, Hakki and his brother Sadullah together with the grandson Mehmet, whom they had given their father's name, have been operating their restaurant at the Konyaalti shore, where blue of sea embraces with green of Beydag Mountains. The tastes, created in a small soup shop built under an eave, are now being served to the guests in an utmost modern and reliable environment, but for sure with the same warm hospitality. We have been witnessing that elegancy of the eating area is being increased and as well reliability and care paid to the kitchen area are being increased, as much as the number of tours are increased. Especially, the kitchen is equipped with all of the required physical features. All of our facilities are arranged adequately and in accordance with the proper hygiene and safety rules, such as lighting, width, ceiling height, non-sliding floors, central heating and cooling system, sectioned separate work areas, rest area and shower places for the personnel, and accordingly, we provide comfortable and peaceful work environments to our own personnel, as much as the safety and security, we provide to our guests. Our building, which has been used for the thesis studies of architecture students, was awarded with the "Peace Prize in the Construction Branch" within the scope of the 6th West Mediterranean Architecture Prizes and Exhibition held in the year of 1988. Mr. Hakki underlines that the most valuable resource of this restaurant is its personnel and told that they have ten head-chefs and four kitchen helper in the kitchen and seventeen service personnel in restaurant area, and he adds that we all are like members of a great family. As a reflection of this fact, we observed during our visits to their restaurant that their personnel have always smiling and warm faces. Mr. Akdag says that the kitchen is the hearth of their operation and adds that a healthy hearth will create a healthy body along with well-balanced and reliable nourishment. Therefore, he also mentioned that they protect and continue their philosophy to create healthy menus meticulously only with top quality and natural products. In this restaurant, which is a right address for healthy desserts, it became a pleasant coincidence for us to meet with Mr. Aydin, who is a High Agriculture Engineer and a regular guest of this restaurant for 53 years. Mr. Aydin told us that the specialties prepared by five generations in this restaurant have always the same taste and quality and our conversations with Mr. Aydin continued further. By the way, we have photographed Beste, who is the youngest guest of this restaurant, while she was passing near us, together with the eldest guest of the restaurant and this photograph shows us that this restaurant attracts all people ranging from 7 to 70 years old. A special corner has been prepared for the appreciation and excellence certificates and plates, which are kept in very good condition and this corner definitely smells nostalgia. However, our time limit was unfortunately not sufficient to inspect this nostalgia corner ornamented with 30-40 plates, and to listen the story of each plate, however we are sure of that each one of those plates has a long and cheerful story. In the honor-book, which has been brought before us, we have seen that it was full with the appreciation writings of many famous businessmen, artists, bureaucrats and many other persons, who reached the pleasure of eating traditional tastes here. This restaurant is consisted of two stories together with its Terrace and bears the capacity to serve to 1000 persons in its outdoor and indoor areas. Food and beverage menu of this restaurant brings the tastes in the Mediterranean heat before us. Nowadays, the duty to explain this menu belongs to the Mehmet AKDAG, who is the 3rd generation member of this family. Favorite specialties of the Turkish cuisine, such as water patty, tripe soup, ravioli soup, dry beans etc. are distributed to the certain days of a week in the 7Mehmet restaurant. Therefore, 7Mehmet offers a pleasant taste stop for the people, looking for table-pleasure among the daily routines. Most of the tastes served here are still prepared with the same methods and according to the same receipts, inherited from their father. Mehmet AKDAG claims that the taste of garlic crushed in the garlic crusher and vegetables sliced by hand are completely different. For the preparation of the olive oil dishes, all of the food products grown in the region are used in the most freshest condition, in order to add liveliness to the local cuisines. Fresh broad beans, kidney beans, artichokes, fresh beans, leeks, shakshuka (dried / fried aubergines in tomato garlic sauce), ciyve, okra... and goat cheese, which is an indispensible delicatessen of a drinking table, goat cheese is filled in barrels in the Korkuteli plateau and kept at least one year long in cave, so that it gains its specific taste and gets ready to be served to the guests. Calamari salad prepared with white radish and garlic sauce, this calamari salad is a specialty of 7Mehmet; it is prepared through mixing the grated white radish with the boiled calamari in a garlic sauce bed and thereafter, it is flavored with the olive oil and lemon. Rice dish, which is served as a cavalier for the meat meals such as veal chops, stewed lambs, lamb kebabs, is very delicious and quite different than other rice dishes. Mouth flavoring seasonings flavored with spices such as almond, ananas, blackcurrant, pine nut, black pepper etc. Rice of wheat grains, which is an old friend of the Anatolian people, is served not for tasting, but enough to satisfy and flavored with dill, liver, mint, blackcurrant. Other important characteristic side of the Mediterranean cuisine is the sea foods and Grida fish (white grouper) (Epinephelus aeneus) takes the first place among the sea foods, as it is one of the favorite fishes of Antalya. Grida is mostly preferred in the steamed form and it gives color to tables with the combination made from Grida head, garlic and yogurt. Swordfish is one of the favorite fishes not only in the Mediterranean area, but also in the entire world. Swordfish flavored with fish broth and wine is served in the grilled form and together with 7Mehmet's special garnish and with zucchini, fresh onion, tomatoes, fresh red and green peppers. Pumpkin dessert with walnuts is served in the final and the indescribable taste of this dessert makes the visitors regular guests of this restaurant. Among many restaurants, 7Mehmet challenges the years with its legendary history and his restaurant is keeping the treasury of Turkish cuisine alive for long years and we feel that the nostalgia of 7Mehmet has the taste of a cup of coffee. We have strong belief that the specific tastes of this restaurant, which had been inherited from father to son for 66 years, will be inherited to their next generations. Our voyage, started in a warm family house and reached to the city with the wind blowing from the Taurus Mountains, is being punctuated here in the kitchen of 7Mehmet restaurant. Consequently, our rich cuisine, unifying all people, whatever their nationalities and languages are, will continue leading the healthy nourishment, as long as our specialties are kept alive in our own house kitchens and in the specific restaurants such as 7 Mehmet. Endless thanks to the taste masters, flavoring our mouths and souls.

Vanilla was established in 2007 and has since been the centre of fine dining in Antalya. Situated five minutes walking distance from Hadrian's Gate. Vanilla offers modern international cuisine served in a warm and relaxed environment. Executive Chef/Owner Wayne designs his Menus to reflect the seasons, using the finest local produce. Our philosophy is to provide a satisfying dining experience for the full spectrum of tastes using modern, innovative and classic cooking techniques.

Always appreciated as being the pioneer of good-living in the city of Antalya, Tuvana Hotel, invites you to a feast with the unique tastes of world cuisine, which still convey the Ottoman touches and prepared by the our highly trained team led by an accomplished chef who graduated from School of Gastronomy, Yeditepe University, Istanbul. With the capability to deliver 140 covers simultaneously Seraser Restaurant, also offers a unique range of wines and liquors from all around the world. Recline, relax and let the tastes of the world envelop you. Enjoy the new dining experience, which is Seraser.

Had this little Pide/Kebeb cafe recommended by a local. If your on a budget its the place for you!! Nothing posh BUT the most authentic turkish food we found. Full of locals, staff lovely. We fed 4 of us for 66TL and there was tons of food, if your on a really tight budget you good eat well for 10TL each. 2 minutes from Hadriens Gate. Also does take aways. Don't be put off by the plastic table cloths and if it looks full ( which it will!!) there's room upstairs.