Food to Try in Gaziantep 2026: Baklava, Lahmacun, Beyran and Antep Pistachios

Gaziantep’s food is the reason Turkey’s food capital designation is more than a marketing phrase. The specific dishes produced here — baklava, lahmacun, beyran, katmer — are not variations on dishes available elsewhere but their definitively best version or something that doesn’t exist anywhere else. Eating through Gaziantep’s food culture is one of the best food experiences available in Turkey.

Baklava

The defining Gaziantep product — and the standard by which all other baklava should be judged.

What makes Gaziantep baklava different: Three factors distinguish authentic Antep baklava from imitations:

1. Pastry: The yufka sheets are pulled paper-thin — 15–20 layers total, each transparent. The stretching of yufka is a skilled craft; the sheets should not tear.

2. Pistachio: The filling uses finely ground Antep fıstığı — the local pistachio variety, smaller than the American or Iranian commercial pistachios, with a more intense, greener flavour. The filling should be distinctly green without artificial colouring.

3. Butter: Clarified sheep’s butter (sade yağ) — not vegetable shortening, not regular butter. The specific fat contributes a richness and the characteristic slight lamb-fat undertone that defines the flavour profile.

The varieties: Fıstıklı baklava (pistachio-filled, the reference); şöbiyet (cream-filled, richer); burma (twisted rolls); saray burma (palace twist).

Where to eat: At the established Gaziantep baklava makers — some families have been making baklava for generations. Ask the hotel for recommendations; the local consensus is the most reliable guide.

Price: ₺400–800/kg for quality baklava.

Lahmacun (Antep style)

Lahmacun — the thin flatbread with minced meat topping — exists across Turkey and the Middle East, but the Gaziantep version is the most complex and the most widely imitated.

Antep lahmacun specifics: The meat mixture uses lamb, tomato, onion, red and green peppers, parsley, and a specific spice mixture that includes isot pepper (the dried, slightly smoky red pepper unique to this region). The flatbread is thinner than the standard Turkish version.

How to eat it: Roll it with fresh parsley, squeeze lemon over it, roll into a cylinder and eat. ₺30–60 per lahmacun.

Where to find: Lahmacun restaurants throughout the city. The dedicated lahmacun restaurants (lahmacuncu) do it best.

Beyran

A morning soup — lamb shank cooked overnight until falling off the bone, served in the cooking broth with rice and a finish of butter with garlic and dried chilli.

Character: One of the most powerful morning dishes in Turkish cuisine — intensely spiced, deeply savoury, the lamb falling from its bone. Traditionally eaten for breakfast (06:00–11:00); some restaurants serve it until noon.

Price: ₺150–220 per bowl.

Note: Beyran restaurants typically sell out by mid-morning — arrive before 09:00 for the best version.

Katmer

Gaziantep’s specific breakfast pastry — flaky pastry dough stretched thin, filled with clotted cream (kaymak) and ground pistachio, then cooked on a griddle until crispy on the outside and molten inside.

Character: The combination of flaky pastry, cream, and pistachio is extraordinary — rich without being heavy, the pistachio providing texture contrast. Eaten as a breakfast or mid-morning snack.

Where to find: Dedicated katmer shops and some baklava establishments. Best eaten fresh — it doesn’t improve with time.

Price: ₺100–180 per katmer.

Antep pistachios (fıstık)

The Antep fıstığı is the world’s most highly regarded pistachio variety — smaller, greener, and more intensely flavoured than the commercial varieties that dominate global markets.

The harvest: September–October. During harvest season, the market in Gaziantep is transformed — trucks of fresh pistachios, the specific green smell, and dramatically lower prices than out of season.

What to buy: Fresh-harvest pistachios in September (₺200–350/kg); roasted salted pistachios year-round (₺300–500/kg). The pistachio paste (fıstık ezmesi) for cooking and spreading (₺300–500/500g).

Antep cheese (Antep peyniri)

A specific white brine cheese from the region — firmer than standard beyaz peynir; slightly more acidic; aged in brine for several months. Available at the city’s cheese shops and markets.

Price: ₺200–350/kg.

Sücük (spiced sausage)

The Gaziantep sücük tradition — a spiced dried sausage using lamb and the specific Antep pepper blend (isot and other varieties) — is considered among the best in Turkey.

Where to find: Butcher shops (kasap) and the market area near the old bazaar.

Price: ₺200–400/kg.

Isot pepper

The specific dark-red dried pepper of the Gaziantep/Urfa region — sun-dried, slightly smoky, with a moderate heat level. One of Turkey’s most distinctive spice products.

As a souvenir: Dried isot (₺80–200/kg) or isot flakes for cooking. Available at market stalls; a useful spice to take home.

Food price summary

Food	Price	Notes
Quality baklava	₺400–800/kg	Pistachio; clarified butter
Lahmacun	₺30–60/each	Antep style
Beyran soup	₺150–220/bowl	Morning only
Katmer	₺100–180	Fresh from griddle
Antep pistachios	₺200–350/kg	September for harvest price
Antep cheese	₺200–350/kg	Market
Sücük	₺200–400/kg	Butcher

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