11 Best Restaurants in Çesme, The Central and Southern Aegean Coast

This Mediterranean restaurant was around (in a different location) long before the rest of Alaçatı's trendy dining options came on the scene, and remains one of the best and most stylish in town. The deliciously inventive food and romantic garden courtyard atmosphere make Agrilia a local favorite. There's a good wine list and some creative cocktails on the menu.

This outdoor terrace overlooking the waterfront is an ideal spot in Dalyanköy for a splurgy seafood dinner. After meze of kabak çiçeği dolması (stuffed zucchini flowers) and deniz börülcesi (samphire), and a main of tuzda balık (fish baked in salt), try to find room for sakızlı muhallebi, creamy traditional milk pudding flavored with gum mastic.

This local favorite is the place to come for dessert; in addition to black forest cake and semolina cake, there's ice cream in many different flavors, served in a homemade waffle cone. Sakızlı muhallebi, a local specialty, is Turkish milk pudding flavored with gum mastic, the aromatic resin of the mastic tree. A beloved local brand, İmren has opened a casual Turkish restaurant on the same street (Kemalpaşa Cad. 70), as well as an Alaçatı hotel.

This small and romantic garden restaurant is a highlight of Alaçatı’s dining scene, with chef Ayşe Nur Mıhçı famed for her fresh renditions of Aegean cooking using seasonal, local produce, especially the region’s wealth of wild herbs and greens. There’s no menu, but the staff will help you select from the options on display in the kitchen. Good local wines are available to accompany your meal. Reservations highly recommended.

Stopping here for pide (Turkish-style pizza or calzones, piled with a variety of ingredients that can include cheese, spinach, meat, or egg) is a highlight of a trip to Ilıca and a great choice for a quick lunch, or even breakfast, though on the pricey side compared to similar fare elsewhere. The menu also includes kebabs, soup, pizza, and traditional Turkish desserts.

Tables spill out of the small courtyard into the cobblestone alley at this fish and meze restaurant in central Alaçatı. Innovative house specialties include a delicious dish of octopus cooked with mushrooms, onions, and soy sauce, and for dessert there's often a delicious apple baklava.

Ilıca is known for kumru—Turkish-style panini prepared with special sesame-seed rolls and stuffed with salami, sucuk (beef spicy sausage), cheese, tomatoes, and pickles—and this place serves the best in town. Pair your sandwich with a glass of ayran, a refreshing yogurt drink. There are multiple locations in Ilıca and branches of this popular local chain in Alaçatı and Çeşme as well. It's open 24 hours.

Since 1945, the Rumeli bakery has been the place in Çeşme for treats like sakızlı dondurma (thick, chewy Turkish-style mastic ice cream) in flavors such as karadut (black mulberry) and tarçın (cinnamon), as well as jams, sweet mastic paste, and other traditional goodies. It's on the main shopping street, not far from Ayios Haralambos church.

This seafood and grill restaurant at Çeşme Marina has a menu of international and Turkish dishes, spanning everything from meze to pasta, fajitas, grilled lamb chops, and more. The waterside location is lovely, with views of the castle; the winking lights far across the water are from the Greek island of Chios.