Bodrum is a true holiday heaven. With restaurants offering examples of cooking from almost all over the world, there is a wide variety of food and drink, including fast food and of course traditional Turkish meals.
The main tendancy is for the prices to be lower than in Europe and the portions slightly smaller. Fast food chains are present in Bodrum with branches of Burger King and McDonalds in town, and another Burger King in the Oasis shopping center. There are also local burger restaurants providing familiar tastes but with the addition of ayran (a yoghurt drink) to the menu. Prices here are perhaps less expensive than European standards.
There are many places specializing in Turkish food, and in fact you can find the well-known shish kebab in almost all restaurants. On every corner you will find another traditional dish: Turkish-style döner kebab, a favourite especially in Germany these days. There are two restaurants catering mainly to Turks who live in Bodrum, and these are good places to taste local food. One of these is Kismet, voted by Hürriyet newspaper to be one of the ten best restaurants for Turkish cuisine in the country. Here you can find an array of delicious dishes- the selection varying from day to day. The second restaurant is Gemibaşı, just opposite the marina.
Fish is a speciality of the Bodrum peninsula and there are charming local fish restaurants in the towns around the coast. Of these, Gümüşlük is the most popular and a good restaurant here for all kinds of seafood is the Akvaryum (aquarium) which is close to the entrance to the beach. It is managed with careful attention to detail by its friendly young owners, İlknur and Cengiz. In Yalıkavak, Çavuş is another authentic fish restaurant.
Closer to Bodrum, Denizhan Restaurant is famous for meat dishes and is unsurpassed in its field. Its many kinds of kebab are the tastiest you are likely to find anywhere. We would like to particularly say that the restaurants we mention here are run by a younger generation especially eager to manage to the highest professional standards. Of the many establishments on Bitez beach, two in particular stand out for their international cuisine and variety of choice.
Dishes on the menu of the Four Seasons represent food from many different countries, while those at the Seaside Restaurant are specialities from Holland, reflecting the Dutch owners.
Epsilon is an art gallery as well as a pleasant place to have dinner accompanied by music.
The yacht clubs attached to the area's three marinas in Bodrum, Yalıkavak and Turgutreis are also good places to dine. The oldest and most popular of these is the Bodrum Marina Yacht Club. Every evening there is live music during dinner, followed by another excellent live music performance later in the bar. However, reservations are a must here.
For Chinese food we recommend the Marina China Town exactly opposite Bodrum Marina. With twenty-five years of experience and Chinese chefs, this offers you delicious dishes. The same firm runs three more Chinese restaurants: the Red Dragon in Bitez, another Red Dragon in Gümbet and the China Town in Gümbet. These three cater mainly to foreign visitors and have Irish, Mexican and Italian food as well as Chinese. In Bodrum, Küba (Cuba) has been a Bodrum 'classic' for many years, recommended for its special menus and attentive service.
Many traditional Turkish dishes are extremely good for your health. Stuffed peppers and vine leaves, imam bayıldı (with aubergines) and green beans are all made with olive oil; and meat and kebabs are grilled on charcoal. These cooking methods ensure the dishes aren't too heavy for summer. However, if you wish to sample sweet Turkish pastries such as baklava and kadayif for dessert, we suggest you don't overdo these delicious, but not-so-light treats in the hot weather! A hundred-percent natural, the perfect healthy cooling drink is 'ayran' made with yoghurt and water.
Afiyet olsun. (Literally:' may it do you good', said to mean 'good appetite' and used before, during or after a meal.)
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