Best Restaurants in Ankara 2026: Lokanta, Meyhane and Central Anatolian Food

Ankara’s food scene does not generate the excitement of Istanbul or İzmir, but it is solid and significantly underrated. As a capital city with a large professional class, diplomatic community, and university population, Ankara supports a full range of restaurants from street-level lokantas to upscale meyhanes and international cuisine. The Central Anatolian food tradition — roasted meats, offal dishes, hearty soups, sheep’s milk products — is the baseline; Turkish cuisine from across the country is available in the capital.

Where to eat by area

Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi (Kavaklıdere): Ankara’s primary restaurant street — running through Kavaklıdere district, it concentrates the city’s better meyhanes, fish restaurants, wine bars, and modern Turkish cuisine. This is where Ankara’s professional class eats in the evening. Prices are mid-range to upscale.

Ulus and Citadel area: Traditional lokantas, kebab houses, and soup restaurants in the old commercial district. These are the places serving working Ankara — civil servants, market traders, transport workers — and the quality-to-price ratio is typically excellent. Budget eating at its most authentic.

Kızılay: The widest variety — everything from döner stands to sushi to patisseries. Predictable quality in the shopping centre food courts; better quality in the side streets. Look for the restaurants serving the office lunch crowd (12:00–14:00) rather than the tourist circuit.

Kavaklıdere and Çankaya: Beyond Tunalı Hilmi, the upscale residential streets of Çankaya have boutique restaurants, wine bars, and the kind of international cuisine (Italian, French, Japanese) that serves the diplomatic community.

Lokanta eating

The lokanta system — lunch restaurants serving pre-cooked daily dishes from a heated glass counter — is the standard working lunch of Turkish cities and Ankara does it well. A three-course lokanta meal (soup, main, dessert or tea) in Ulus or around Kızılay typically costs ₺120–190.

What’s available: Mercimek çorbası (lentil soup, ₺40–60), etli nohut (lamb and chickpea stew), kuru fasulye (white bean casserole, ₺80–120), döner plate (₺100–150), pilav (₺40–70). The daily special (günün yemeği) at lokantas is usually the best value — whatever was fresh that morning.

Best lokanta districts: Ulus (most options, most traditional character); around Kızılay’s commercial streets; near Ankara Garı for early morning departures.

Kebab and grilled meat

Central Anatolian cuisine is lamb-centric, and Ankara has several specific claims on the kebab tradition:

Ankara tava: A slow-cooked lamb and tomato casserole prepared in a terracotta dish (tava) — the specific Ankara preparation of this Central Anatolian dish. Not universally available; look for traditional Ankara cuisine restaurants (Ankara mutfağı or Ankara yemekleri on the sign).

Cağ kebabı: A horizontal rotisserie kebab originating from Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia, widely available in Ankara as the East Anatolian population is well represented in the capital. The lamb is sliced horizontally from the rotating spit and served on lavash bread. ₺120–200 for a portion.

Döner: The standard. Best found at specialist döner shops rather than generic fast food — the indicator is a large vertical spit (not a wrapped factory product) and a visible line of customers. ₺60–120 for a sandwich; ₺100–180 for a plate.

Kokoreç: Grilled lamb intestine wrapped around sweetbreads — a Turkish street food eaten primarily late at night, found at dedicated stands around Kızılay and Kavaklıdere. ₺60–100 for a sandwich. Not for everyone; strongly recommended if it’s not.

Meyhane dining

Ankara’s meyhane tradition is less theatrical than Istanbul’s but the standard is high. A meyhane is an evening restaurant built around raki — the anise spirit — with an extended series of cold and hot meze dishes followed by fish or grilled meat.

The structure: Arrive no earlier than 19:30. Order a bottle of raki (₺400–600) and a jug of cold water and ice. Meze come first — a selection of cold dishes (haydari yoghurt with herbs, patlıcan ezmesi smoked aubergine dip, tarama fish roe, stuffed vine leaves, white beans in olive oil). Then hot meze (fried squid, midye dolma, börek). The fish or meat main comes after, though many people never reach it.

Cost: ₺400–700/person including raki, meze, and a main. This is an evening of eating rather than a meal — expect 2–3 hours.

Tunalı Hilmi area concentration: Most of Ankara’s better meyhanes are here. The Friday and Saturday night atmosphere on Tunalı Hilmi is genuinely good — the street is busy, the meyhane terraces are full, and it’s one of the more enjoyable evenings in the city.

Fish and seafood

Ankara is 500km from the sea — fresh fish arrives daily by refrigerated truck, primarily from the Black Sea (hamsi, istavrit, lüfer in season), the Marmara, and the Aegean. Quality at dedicated fish restaurants is reliable; the price reflects transport costs.

Seasonal fish (October–February): Black Sea hamsi (anchovy), lüfer (bluefish), kefal (grey mullet) — when available, these are the best value and freshest options.

Year-round: Levrek (sea bass, ₺250–400/portion), çipura (sea bream, ₺200–350), karides (prawns, ₺200–350), midye (mussels, ₺15–25/each at street stands).

Fish restaurants: Concentrated on Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi and the streets around it. A full fish restaurant meal costs ₺350–650/person including meze, fish, and drinks.

International cuisine

Ankara’s diplomatic and professional class supports a level of international restaurant variety unusual for an inland Turkish city:

Italian: Well-represented, primarily in Kavaklıdere and Çankaya. Pizza ₺200–350; pasta ₺180–300.

Chinese and Asian: A handful of restaurants in the Çankaya area serving the diplomatic community. Quality varies; better options near the embassy district.

International fast food: The full range — McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks — concentrated around Kızılay. Not why you’re here.

Street food and market eating

Simit: The sesame-seed ring bread, sold from carts across the city. ₺10–15. The standard Ankara breakfast with a glass of tea.

Midye dolma: Stuffed mussels sold from street carts, typically in Kızılay in the evening. ₺15–25/each; eat them with a squeeze of lemon. Look for the carts with queues.

Gözleme: Flatbread stuffed with spinach and white cheese (or potatoes, or minced meat), cooked on a griddle. ₺80–150 depending on filling. Bazaar and market areas.

Çorba stands: Soup restaurants open 24 hours for post-evening workers — işkembe çorbası (tripe soup, the classic late-night recovery), mercimek çorbası (lentil), tavuk çorbası (chicken). ₺50–80 per bowl.

Price comparison

Category	Price range/person	Notes
Street food	₺20–100	Simit, midye, döner sandwich
Lokanta (lunch)	₺120–200	2–3 courses
Kebab restaurant (dinner)	₺180–300	Plate + bread + drink
Fish restaurant (dinner)	₺350–650	Meze + fish + raki
Meyhane (full evening)	₺400–700	Raki + meze + main
Upscale dinner	₺700–1,500+	Çankaya fine dining

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