We are on the Cesme Peninsula, famous for its restaurants serving olive oil flavors, seafood and local wines! It is one of the most important destinations in Turkey with its periodic festivals, enthusiastic crowds during the summer months and a calm spirit during the rest of the year. As it is located in the heart of the Aegean, it is actually quite rich in terms of food and drink. A route full of experiences with the island of Chios opposite, Urla, which has become a gastronomic center towards Izmir, and Karaburun to the north. We think it can be visited any time of the year, but it can be very overwhelming in summer, especially on vacation days. We like to time it to coincide with the colorful weekly markets where local produce, organic foods and handmade products are sold.
What comes to your mind first when you think of Çeşme and ‘good food’? For us, it’s not gummy ice cream or Alacati cookies, it’s Çeşme Kumrusu!
With the slogan ‘The Wind of Taste Blowing from Çeşme’, the best address for kumru is located in Ilıca: Kumrucu Hüseyin. 🥨Kumru is a pastry derived as an alternative to sandwiches/burgers that became widespread thanks to NATO soldiers in the 50s. A recipe that has evolved over time, enriched with local cheese and meat products, with chickpea yeast sesame bread.
Kumru is the ideal breakfast for us, but there are other places we like too. Let’s take a look at all our favorite places in Cesme and Alacati together.
Our favorite places for breakfast and brunch in Alacati: BomDia, Off Sea Alacati and Apéro Bakery & Sandwicherie. @offsea__alacati has an incredibly pleasant atmosphere. Our favorite daytime stop with its delicious breakfast menu and delightful garden. @aperoalacati is a place that stole our hearts with its bakery products and artisan sandwiches.
A classic address for coffee at ☕️Alaçatı: @kosekahve
This is a constant stop on the walking routes in the center, but it is more than just a coffee shop. They also have an extensive food & beverage menu. It can be tried.
🥗Our favorite restaurants around which you can have pleasant conversations and taste delicious examples of Aegean cuisine: Papazz, Eflatun & Asma Yaprağı Tarla.
🌿 One of the most liked places is @bomdiaalacati with its vegan and vegetarian friendly menu.
🍨An Italian ice cream shop for those looking for a sweet cool down, @dafrancogelato
🐟The places in Çeşme where you won’t get ripped off, as Neşem Çelikkaya calls them, are the classic Tokmak Hasan’in Yeri and Kaptan Balık in Çiftlikköy. Rare places in the region that are really affordable and where you can sit without fear. 🍕In Reisdere, one of the historical villages of the peninsula, in a 200-year-old stone building (also a @nesemcelikkaya suggestion) @kolburanos is also worth a visit.
In this list, you can find the good restaurants we love and the places identified with Çeşme & Alaçatı:
Restaurants:
Restaurants & Street Food:
Coffee/Breakfast & Dessert:
Reservations are recommended before visiting the restaurants, taking into account seasonal changes and current opening hours.
Historical and Cultural Sites:
The most impressive unmanaged coves: Kleopatra, Deliklikoy & Paşalimanı
Our most favourite beaches: Boyalık Plajı, Ilıca Plajı, Altınkum & Pırlanta
Water Sports & Activities:
We’re in a place we love in Izmir. A much talked about and sometimes criticized business in Alaçatı: Asma Yaprağı @asmayapragialacati #kisnisvs #kişnişvesaire
Ayşe Nur Mıhçı opened the restaurant 18 years ago in Alaçatı, strangely because she was unable to find the Aegean food she was looking for, and today it has become a large family business with its field, cellar, patisserie and shop selling kitchen products.
The food at this restaurant, which emphasizes local and sustainable production, is quite successful. Most of the recipes in this cuisine, which mostly consists of olive oil dishes, come from her family heritage, and over time, Asma Yaprağı’s own recipes have emerged.
In an interview with Hürriyet, Mıhçı said: “I only buy ingredients from local producers.” We don’t get it from anyone else. We have also made our own farm, we grow our own crops. We built a good wood oven, we also bake our own bread. We make our roasted vegetables there.”
We liked the fried zucchini blossom, cherry rolls, green salad from the garden, tandoori and meatballs with 7 herbs.
Although the prices have been criticized, we can say that the bill is in line with other quality restaurants in the area.
With its large garden, small glass halls, tablecloths and enamels, it is a place that appeals to both the eye and those who want to eat delicious food. In this respect, it is not only a meal, but also an experience.
For the selection of olive oil dishes, waiters come to the table one by one and invite you inside. In this way, you can choose easily, but of course it can be a waste of time.
Although we found some of the staff disinterested, overall we found the quality of service positive.
When you go to Alaçatı, if you want to experience Aegean cuisine in a pleasant & tranquil garden, you can go to Asma Yaprağı.
Kolburano’s | Çeşme #kolburanos
We move a little away from the center of Çeşme and Alaçatı. As at the end of each guide, we again went exploring the surrounding villages;
We visited Kolburano’s for the first time in their 200-year-old stone building in Reisdere, in the meantime they moved to Ardıç.
Opened in 2015 by Emre & Damla Kolburan, the venue starts its story in a restored old Greek building.
In addition to their wood-fired pizzas, bruschetta, fresh pasta, sausages & cocktails are very popular.
Along with the food menu, there is also a wine menu where you can taste the best local wines of the region.
Especially if you like thin crust pizzas, Kolburano’s is a very pleasant place with its friendly and warm atmosphere.
Kolburano’s is a pet-friendly place, with many cats in the garden. A family portrait is available at the end of the album.
Let us remind you that they serve with reservation between 18.00-24.00. It is closed on Tuesdays and opens at 15.00 on Sunday.
We follow a route we have not tried before in Çeşme and find ourselves on the coast of Çiftlikköy. We can say that this is actually the coastal town in the westernmost part of the Çeşme Peninsula, before coming to Pırlanta Beach. It’s right after the marina in Çeşme.
There are many fish restaurants lining this beach, all in a similar style. Tables lined up along the beach are being prepared for the summer evening gatherings that begin with the sunset.
It must be true for all the places here, it is quite enjoyable to watch the sunset and all the colors while sipping your drink from your seat on this beach overlooking the island of Chios.
A sweet handwritten note, specially addressed to the name of the reservation, welcomes us at Kaptan Balık. We can say that this is the trademark of this place 🙂 The business is very friendly, the staff is smiling.
Although the appetizer cabinet didn’t have much variety, everything looked fresh. We chose among them: Cretan meze, sea cowpeas & çiroz. Appetizers: Calamari, Crab & Mushrooms
Sea beans, calamari & çiroz were quite delicious. Probably due to the intensity, we waited too long between appetizers. Lastly, the crab balls we tasted were still frozen inside and we thought we encountered a small problem in the kitchen. Even though this was the last dish we tasted, we can’t say that we left Kaptan Balık unhappy. In a restaurant there are always momentary setbacks or we may not like every dish. Nor do we want to disrespect anyone’s work. We are aware of how difficult it is to hold on in this sector in this period.
Here we try to share our experiences with transparency. Let’s add that we have visited all the places we have featured on this page and tried to try almost all of them more than once. This way we try more things from the menus and evaluate them better.
