We are in Eskişehir, which you can reach by high speed train in about 3 hours from Istanbul and 1.5 hours from Ankara. With its bicycle paths, huge parks and gondolas, this is a city where the residents seem quite happy. It would not be wrong to say that this city, where the quality of life has improved considerably as a result of good municipalism, emulates other cities of the world a little too much at certain points. Gondolas from Venice, a castle reminiscent of Disneyland, an artificial beach and waterfall… the newest addition to these examples seems to be the stairs in Odunpazarı, which emulate the famous Kamondo Stairs of Istanbul. This is not to say that these projects are unsuccessful; in fact, they are very popular and embraced by the public and have become identified with Eskişehir. However, we believe that Eskişehir has much more to offer than these symbolized buildings and is an Anatolian city worth exploring.
In our opinion, OMM has an importance in this sense, we can say that this museum, which has a great transformation in the region where Odunpazarı Historical Houses are located, is experiencing a ‘Bilbao Effect’ for the city by itself. Although it has been criticized that the project was not opened to competition or given to a foreign architect, we see the Odunpazarı Modern Museum designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates as an important step for Eskişehir.
We hope that more innovative and original projects can be produced by utilizing the knowledge of the city’s well-established universities. Let’s take a look at the flavor stops and sightseeing spots we visited during our travels in Eskişehir this year.
Our favorites:
-Kör Kamil – a regular hangout & tavern
-Bahar Pide & Kavurma – All pitas and sheet roasted
-Yusufeli Çoruh Döner – Yatık döner is a must try
-Sivrihisar Bamya Lokantası – Okra soup & kelle paça
-Marco Pizzeria
-OMM Restaurant – all vegan cuisine
Traditional:
-Mazlumlar Muhallebicisi – Kazandibi
-Ayten Usta – Anatolian dishes
-Isa Usta Konyalı Etli Ekmek
-Fahrettin Usta Balaban
-Abdussalam Balaban
-Kırım Tatar Çibörek
•Karakedi Bozacısı
•Tanınmış Helvacı
Coffeeshops:
•78 Coffee
•Ordinarius
•Caffe İtalyan
•Hey Joe Coffee
Cocktails:
-Abra Bar – Sweet place with gastropub concept
-OMM Inn – The hotel’s cocktail bar
Breakfast:
-Doyuran Kahvaltı Salonu – shabby and simple, just the way we like it
-Almond Cafe – open buffet but delicious products
-Ayten Usta – traditional ‘serpme’ breakfast
Eskisehir is full of attractions, museums & important buildings, here is a list of places to visit:
-Odunpazarı Modern Museum
-Odunpazari Historical Houses
-Porsuk Stream, Kanlikavak and Sumer Park
-Eskişehir Botanical Park
-Eti Archaeological Museum
-Türasaş Museum of Revolution Cars
-The Liberation Museum
-Kurşunlu Mosque & Külliye
-Hamam Museum
-Museum of Contemporary Glass Arts
-Atlıhan Bazaar
-Museum of Educational Cartoons
-Lületaşı Museum
-Sazova Science Park
-Anadolu University – Japanese Garden
-Yazılıkaya Valley & Midas Monument ~ 1 hour away
When to go to Eskisehir?
Eskisehir is a city famous for being quite cold in winter and quite hot in summer due to its continental climate. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that spring is the best time.
Accommodation:
– OMM Inn
• Tasigo Eskişehir
For many years there has been a debate between Erzurum and Artvin about who invented the famous cağ kebab.
What distinguishes this meat, which we can call ‘horizontal’ döner, from others is that it is prepared with ingredients obtained from ovine and bovine animals grazing on high plateaus and mountain slopes and a special finishing process. As you know, there are plenty of plateaus and high altitudes in both cities. Cağ is essentially the skewer that these meats are attached to.
While the people of Erzurum patented this dish as “Oltu cağ kebab” in 2010, Artvin patented this flavor as “Yusufeli cağ döner” in 2020.
The döner shop we will talk about today in Eskişehir is Yusufeli Çoruh Yatık Döner Salonu. No cag skewers in this döner shop from the Çoruh valley in Yusufeli, Artvin. Döner is served normally on a plate. Since the meat is lined with rows of fat, it does not dry out even though it is lying down.
This döner restaurant, which we discovered by chance when we came to Eskişehir, is very popular in the city because of its flavor. Sometimes there is a queue in front of it. It gets quite full in the evening. We definitely stop here every time we visit Eskişehir. And every time the döner makes us happy. The fact that it is very close to the train station is another beauty, you can stop by quickly on your way back before coming to the station and you can leave Eskişehir with good memories by tasting this flavor.
The place has become so famous that a rival company has even opened in its place.
The service is quite shabby as it is an artisan restaurant. Don’t expect any special care or extra smiles 🙂
We visit Bahar Pide & Sac Kavurma, which is very popular with the locals even though it is a bit in the shadow of the very popular food and places in Eskişehir. Having lived here for 13 years, our designer friend Seda Özcan, who we can say has become a local, shows us the way. Bahar Pide has recently moved to its new location, and we find ourselves a table outside/on the street by convincing them to let us sit in their 15m2 shop before they moved. The people who run the place and the family in charge of the kitchen are very unique. Here we try their small pastrami pitas and sac kavurma. All of them are delicious, but the sheet roasted beef tenderloin marinated for days is the star of the table and the reason to go back again. If you are ever in Eskisehir, you will often hear the advice “Eat Balaban kebab, eat çibörek!”. In our opinion, Bahar Pide is one of the must-visit flavor stops in Eskişehir.
9 good venue recommendations in Eskisehir!#kişnişvesaire#kişnişvseskişehir
Our favorite gastropub/bar on the ground floor of Cassaba Modern, overlooking the pine trees:@abra.bar
For Neapolitan pizzas, @marcoeskisehir opened last year and Gorill Burger, which belongs to the same company, is also very popular but we haven’t tried it yet.
For coffee, @78_coffee and @ordinariuscoffee on the Sumer side are our favorites.
One of the most popular and successful addresses for breakfast and local delicacies: @aytenustagurme
A slightly nostalgic place for classic milk desserts: @mazlumlar_muhallebicisi
You can sit on the street in the bazaar and quickly eat a good meatball and drink grape must: @tatlidilkoftecisi
Another successful restaurant we like is Sivrihisar Bamya Lokantası. The okra soup and the head trotter are very successful. @bamyalokantasi
Tatar cuisine is widespread in Eskişehir, the right address to try their famous çibörek is Crimean Tatar Culture Çibörek House @kirimtatarciborek
It’s not like the 9 best places, it’s a compilation where we talk about 9 different places that we love.. Don’t forget to check out other Eskisehir recommendations.
OMM – Odunpazari Modern Museum!
This cultural building by Kengo Kuma and Associates is inspired by both Odunpazarı architecture and Japanese culture.
A museum structure spread over 3 floors, where daylight floods into the exhibition spaces through openings and illuminates all spaces.
Inside the museum building there is also a café with a cozy atmosphere and a shop where you can find products from local designers.
Just behind the museum is the OMM Inn where we stayed on this trip. Welcoming you with a large courtyard, this hotel features an all-day restaurant, OMM Grocery, which sells sustainable living supplies, and a store selling designer goods.
OMM is a place that tries to implement sustainability in all its spaces and develops projects on less consumption and zero waste. The rooms are set up in the same way; The existence of such a formation is promising for the future. In this context, animal products are not used in the hotel and the menus are completely vegan.
We love to try cocktails from the bar of this restaurant, which you can also visit without staying at OMM Inn.
If you are staying in a hotel, you also get a free ticket to the museum.
