Food and Drink in Turkey

More than a Doner - Tastes of Turkey

The tastes of Turkey are a delicious blend of Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Greek. Quite similar to a Mediterranean diet, said to be one of the healthiest in the world, it includes lots of fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruit with a touch of spice.

Any naughtiness is saved for the end of the meal when you get to feast on very sugary, sweet pastries. And if you’re still hungry for more, Turkish Delights go perfectly with a tiny cup of strong Turkish coffee.

As well as traditional foods, in most resorts you’ll also find the usual fast food outlets and, as Turkey is the home of the doner kebab, you’ll have no problem feeding those post-alcohol cravings.

Breakfast

Traditional Turkish breakfasts are continental in style with bread, white cheese, spicy sausage, eggs, olives, tomatoes, pepper, honey and recel – a kind of preserved fruit, a bit like marmalade. And it’s all washed down with plenty of Turkish tea.

Lunch

Soup is often on the menu for lunch followed by a rice or bulgar dish with spicy sausage, lamb or chicken baked with peppers and aubergine or fresh fish grilled with lemon.

Dinner

It’s usual for dinner to start with a mezze (appetisers) – huge platter of meats, meatballs, fish, roasted vegetables, olives, stuffed vine leaves, salads, pickles and more. And, if you eat all that, you’ll need a break before your next course which may be kebab, grilled meat, fish stew or roasted vegetables often with yoghurt.

Desserts

Choose from fresh fruit, milk pudding or sweet pastries made with filo pastry like baklava – very sweet, very nutty and absolutely delish.

Drinks

Tea, tea and more tea is drunk throughout every day, served in crystal, tulip shaped glasses – Turks usually like it very strong, so say if you don’t like it that way.

Turkish coffee – usually served with dessert and also very strong, needed to wake you up after all that food you’ve just eaten.

Raki, the national drink of Turkey, is an anise liqueur traditionally diluted with water.

Quick Facts:

Raki is known as ‘lion’s milk’ as it turns milky white when water is added
The end of Ramadan is celebrated with “Seker Bayrami", which means “Sugar Holiday” – for the fancy desserts that will be eaten then
In olden days men judged a potential bride as to how well she made her coffee
An old Turkish saying advises one to "eat sweetly and speak sweetly"