Food Guide for Expats in Turkey

Published on October 4, 2025 and written by Cyril Jarnias

Diving into Turkish cuisine is an adventure for the senses, a dance of flavors where every bite tells a story rooted in centuries of tradition and culture. For expatriates, this culinary journey offers a mosaic of dishes ranging from succulent kebabs to rich and creamy mezes, along with the sweet aroma of crispy baklava enjoyed with hot tea.

Yet, Turkey’s culinary diversity isn’t limited to these renowned dishes; it extends to bustling markets teeming with aromas and colors that promise an exceptional tasting experience.

Through this guide, explore this land of flavorful contrasts where every region, every city, offers its own specialties, inviting you to discover unexpected culinary treasures off the beaten path.

Exploring Turkey’s Flavorful Treasures

Turkey’s culinary diversity reflects the richness of its history and its unique geographical position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. This cultural crossroads has given rise to a cuisine with multiple influences: Greek, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Persian, and Caucasian. Each region of the country, from the Mediterranean coasts to the Anatolian mountains, offers its specialties, the result of centuries of blending and exchange.

Turkey’s geography shapes the local gastronomy: abundance of grains in the Anatolian plains, fish on the coasts, dried fruits and vegetables in the southeast. This diversity of terroirs is reflected in the richness of recipes and ingredients used.

Iconic Dishes and Their Origins:

Dish	Geographical Origin	Main Ingredients	Description and Features
Kebab	Anatolia/Southeast	Meat (lamb, beef, chicken), spices	Grilled skewers or slices of meat, often served with bread, vegetables, and sauces.
Meze	Throughout (Mediterranean and Eastern influences)	Vegetables, chickpeas, yogurt, olive oil, fish	Assortment of small dishes served as appetizers or to accompany raki, ideal for sharing.
Baklava	Anatolia, Ottoman influences	Phyllo dough, pistachios/walnuts, butter, sugar syrup	Sweet layered pastry, a symbol of Turkish desserts.
Simit	Istanbul, widespread throughout the country	Flour, sesame, yeast, water	Ring-shaped bread covered in sesame seeds, sold on the street or in bakeries.

Recommended Places to Enjoy These Specialties:

• Local markets (bazaars): Ideal for tasting freshly baked simit or discovering a wide variety of meze at delis.
• Traditional restaurants (lokanta, kebapçı): To enjoy an authentic kebab, prefer establishments frequented by locals, such as those in the historic neighborhoods of Istanbul, Ankara, or Gaziantep.
• Pastry shops (pastane): The best spots for baklava are often in Gaziantep, renowned for the quality of its pistachios.
• Taverns and meyhane: For a friendly experience around meze and raki, head to the lively neighborhoods of Istanbul (Karaköy, Cihangir) or Izmir.

Turkish Hospitality Around Meals:

• Meals are moments of sharing and hospitality. It’s common to be invited to the family table or to share dishes placed in the center of the table.
• Serving tea (çay) and Turkish coffee after the meal is a tradition, symbolizing welcome and friendliness.

Practical Tips for Learning to Cook Turkish:

• Participate in a local cooking workshop: Many cities offer classes for expatriates and travelers.
• Start with simple recipes: Menemen (scrambled eggs with vegetables), lentil soup (mercimek çorbası), or börek (savory pastry) are accessible for beginners.
• Shop at markets to discover fresh and typical products (spices, vegetables, cheeses).
• Get inspired by Turkish cooking videos and books to master technical gestures and understand flavor combinations.

Turkish cuisine, through its diversity and conviviality, enriches the daily life of expatriates and fosters integration into local life. Sharing a meal also means discovering the culture and traditions of a people.

From Vibrant Markets to Authentic Restaurants

The atmosphere of Turkish food markets, such as the Grand Bazaar or the Kadiköy Market, is a unique sensory experience: lively alleys, scents of spices, and vibrant colors mingle with stalls overflowing with local products. You’ll find an incredible diversity of seasonal fruits and vegetables, rare spices like sumac or cinnamon, as well as artisanal specialties such as hand-painted ceramics and traditional textiles.

For expatriates seeking culinary authenticity, these markets are privileged places to discover and buy typical fresh ingredients: various olives, local cheeses (beyaz peynir), traditional breads, and aromatic herbs. Direct access to producers not only allows learning to recognize product quality but also to immerse oneself in local know-how.

Specialties to Enjoy On-Site

• Pide: flatbread often topped with melted cheese or spiced meat.
• Simit: crispy sesame ring sold warm by street vendors.
• Börek: savory pastry filled with vegetables or meat.
• Grilled köfte made to order.
• Freshly squeezed juices (pomegranate, orange) depending on the season.

Dish	Short Description	Where to Enjoy
Pide	Topped flatbread	Market stalls
Simit	Sesame ring	Street vendors
Börek	Savory pastry	Specialized shops

Extending the Gastronomic Experience

• Try a small family restaurant in a residential neighborhood like Moda (Kadiköy) where they serve kuru fasulye (stewed white beans).
• Visit a traditional “lokanta” near the fish market to savor homemade stew with a view of the Bosphorus.
• Explore a discreet “meyhane” that offers homemade mezes accompanied by rakı in a warm atmosphere.

The legendary Turkish hospitality enriches every shared meal. A restaurateur will gladly offer you tea after your lunch; it’s not uncommon for a vendor to tell you the family story behind their stall while letting you taste their latest sweet creations. This spontaneous generosity quickly forges bonds between expatriates and locals.

A few memorable anecdotes illustrate this transmitted passion: during an early morning visit to the Kadiköy market, it’s not rare for a vendor to invite you to discover their stand “because my mother has been making this börek for 40 years.” In some family restaurants in old Istanbul, they’ll proudly tell you how each recipe has been carefully preserved for several generations—a living testament to the respect for Turkish culinary heritage.

Etiquette Codes at the Turkish Table

Conviviality is at the heart of Turkish meals, where sharing dishes and hospitality are fundamental values. Dishes are often placed in the center of the table, allowing everyone to serve themselves, thus promoting exchange and closeness among guests.

Main Traditions and Customs at the Table:

• Meals generally begin with mezes, a variety of small dishes meant to be shared. This practice illustrates the importance given to generosity and conviviality.
• The host holds a central place: it’s customary to wait for the host to start eating before serving yourself.
• Compliments addressed to the host or the person who cooked are frequent, and showing appreciation for the meal is considered a sign of respect and integration.

Politeness Gestures to Respect:

• Address other guests with polite phrases, often using the terms “abi” (big brother) or “abla” (big sister) to show respect due to age or status.
• Avoid starting to eat before everyone is served and the host has wished “afiyet olsun” (“bon appétit”).
• Use mainly fork and knife, although some dishes, like mezes, may be eaten with bread or directly with hands depending on the family or informal context.

Importance of Tea (çay) and Turkish Coffee:

Beverage	Preferred Moment	Social Role
Turkish tea (çay)	After meals, visits	Symbol of welcome and sociability
Turkish coffee	After hearty meals	Relaxation ritual, often conducive to conversation and fortune-telling (reading the grounds)

• Tea is omnipresent, served in small tulip-shaped glasses, and marks the end of the meal or accompanies discussions. Refusing tea may be perceived as a lack of conviviality.
• Turkish coffee is served in small cups and comes with a precise ritual. After drinking, it’s common to turn the cup over to read the future in the grounds, creating a playful sharing moment.

Ways to Show Appreciation:

• Say “eline sağlık” (“health to your hands”) to the cook to express gratitude.
• Compliment the quality of the dishes and accept seconds, as systematically refusing may be interpreted as a lack of appreciation or respect.
• Actively participate in conversation and dish tasting to show interest and recognition.

Illustrative Anecdotes:

• An expatriate invited to a Turkish family meal recounts being surprised by the host’s generosity, who insisted they taste all the dishes, even filling their plate repeatedly—a gesture considered an honor.
• During an evening among friends, reading coffee grounds helped break the ice and create bonds, with each guest participating in the prediction game in a relaxed and complicit atmosphere.

In Turkey, every meal is a cultural experience where the table becomes a place of exchange, mutual respect, and discovery, making the integration and adaptation of expatriates both richer and warmer.

Finding International Ingredients in Your New Life

Integrating the local culinary heritage into the daily life of expatriates in Turkey enriches the cultural immersion experience and fosters social connections with locals. Discovering Turkish flavors, like Kahvalti (shared breakfast), local legumes, or specialties such as manti or iskender kebab, not only diversifies meals but also allows adapting favorite international recipes to what’s available locally.

Major Turkish cities offer a variety of markets and specialized grocery stores where it’s possible to find ingredients from around the world:

Istanbul

• The Egyptian Market (Mısır Çarşısı): famous for its spices, dried fruits, and imported products.
• Cosmopolitan neighborhoods like Beyoğlu, Şişli, or Kadıköy: strong international presence, numerous specialized shops (Russian, Italian, French grocery stores…).
• Supermarkets such as Macrocenter or CarrefourSA offer a wide range of imported products.

Ankara

• Neighborhoods like Çankaya and Kavaklıdere host several foreign communities; you’ll find Asian and European grocery stores there.
• Migros and Real are renowned for their international selection.

Other Major Cities

• In Izmir: Kemeraltı houses a large historic market with international stalls.
• Antalya: many Russian and European stores adapted to tourists/expatriates.

Here are some typical examples of well-known places:

City	Market/Store	Specialty/Key Product
Istanbul	Egyptian Market	Spices from around the world
Istanbul	Macrocenter	Fresh/imported products
Ankara	Migros	Common international products
Izmir	Kemeraltı	Mediterranean/export products

Practical Tips for Expatriates

• Adapt your favorite recipes by exploring local legumes (red lentils, chickpeas) that easily replace some foreign ingredients.
• Use Turkish olive oil (“liquid gold”) in Western cooking.
• Try different local breads (ekmek, simit) instead of traditional European bread.

Cosmopolitan Neighborhoods to Prioritize

• Istanbul: Beyoğlu (foreign restaurants), Şişli/Nişantaşı (international boutiques).
• Ankara: Çankaya/Kavaklıdere for their multicultural atmospheres.
• Izmir: Alsancak/Konak for the gastronomic diversity offered by a varied population.

To Facilitate Your Shopping

• Learning some Turkish basics is essential: knowing food vocabulary (“domates” = tomato; “peynir” = cheese) simplifies store searches.
• Use mobile apps like Google Translate or Duolingo to quickly memorize these keywords.
• To follow international culinary trends in Turkey:
  • TasteAtlas, Instagram (#turkishfood), Facebook groups dedicated to expatriates share tips on where to buy rare ingredients or how to reinterpret a local recipe in a Western style.

List of Useful Applications

• Google Translate
• Duolingo
• TasteAtlas
• Instagram (#turkishfood)

Integrating local cuisine means fully enjoying the cultural dynamism while maintaining easy access to your culinary traditions thanks to the very rich offerings of Turkish urban markets.