Eating out is one of the best parts of life in Türkiye, and one of the easiest places to practice Turkish. From the steam counters of a tradesmen’s restaurant (esnaf lokantası) to the charcoal grills of an ocakbaşı and the long evenings of a meyhane, each type of restaurant has its own way of ordering. If you’d rather eat at home, our guide to Turkish for food delivery and couriers has you covered.
This guide explains the main restaurant types, gives you two ordering dialogues, the phrases for dietary needs and paying the bill, and a vocabulary table to practice with.
1. The main types of restaurant
- Esnaf lokantası (tradesmen’s restaurant). A simple, inexpensive place serving home-style cooked dishes (sulu yemek), especially at lunchtime. There’s often no printed menu: the food is displayed in a steam counter, you point at what you want, and it’s served onto a plate. Typical dishes are kuru fasulye (white bean stew), karnıyarık (stuffed aubergine), taze fasulye (green beans in olive oil) and pilav (rice).
- Kebapçı / ocakbaşı (kebab house / grill). Grilled meats such as Adana and Urfa kebab, şiş and beyti. Many places bring extras with the meal: flatbread (lavaş), grilled peppers, onions with sumac, and herbs.
- Meyhane (traditional meze restaurant). A relaxed evening restaurant known for cold and hot starters (meze), grilled fish and long conversation (sohbet). In many meyhanes the waiter brings a tray of cold mezes to the table and you choose the ones you want. Good meze words to know: haydari (thick yoghurt with herbs), ezme (spicy tomato and pepper dip) and patlıcan salatası (smoky aubergine salad).
- Çorbacı (soup house). Serves lentil (mercimek), chicken (tavuk suyu) and tripe (işkembe) soups, the last usually with garlic and vinegar. Some stay open very late or all night.
- Pideci and lahmacun salonu. Turkish flatbreads baked in a wood oven; cheap, quick and filling.
2. Dialogue: at an esnaf lokantası
A customer (Julian) at the steam counter with the cook (Usta).
Usta: Hoş geldiniz! Buyurun, ne alırsınız?
(Welcome! What would you like?)
Julian: Hoş bulduk. Şu patlıcanlı yemek ne?
(Thank you. What's that aubergine dish?)
Usta: Karnıyarık, kıymalı. Yanına pilav koyalım mı?
(Karnıyarık, with minced meat. Shall we put some rice with it?)
Julian: Olur, bir porsiyon karnıyarık, yanına da az pilav lütfen. Cacık var mı?
(Sure, one portion of karnıyarık, with a small amount of rice, please. Is there cacık?)
Usta: Var. Masanıza getiriyoruz, siz oturun.
(Yes. We'll bring it to your table, take a seat.)
[After the meal]
Julian: Elinize sağlık, çok güzeldi!
(Thank you, it was delicious! — lit. health to your hands)
Usta: Afiyet olsun!
(Enjoy! / Glad you liked it!)Elinize sağlık and afiyet olsun are two of the most useful phrases at any table; our guide to essential Turkish expressions explains when to use them.
3. Dialogue: asking for the bill
At a sit-down restaurant, with the waiter (Garson).
Müşteri: Bakar mısınız?
(Excuse me!)
Garson: Buyurun efendim.
(Yes, sir/madam?)
Müşteri: Her şey çok lezzetliydi, teşekkürler. Hesabı alabilir miyiz?
(Everything was delicious, thank you. Could we have the bill?)
Garson: Afiyet olsun! Hemen getiriyorum. Bu arada ikramımız, çay alır mısınız?
(Glad you enjoyed it! I'll bring it right away. Meanwhile, would you like some tea, on the house?)
Müşteri: Olur, iki çay lütfen.
(Yes, two teas please.)
[The waiter brings the bill]
Müşteri: Hesabı ikiye bölebilir miyiz? Kartla ödeyeceğiz.
(Can we split the bill in two? We'll pay by card.)
Garson: Tabii, iki karttan eşit çekerim.
(Of course, I'll charge the two cards equally.)The requests use -ebilir miyiz (“can we / could we”), and hesabı is hesap (bill) with the accusative ending for a definite object; the p softens to b before a vowel.
4. Dietary needs and allergies
| Turkish | English |
|---|---|
| Vejetaryenim. / Et yemiyorum. | I’m vegetarian. / I don’t eat meat. |
| İçinde et var mı? | Is there meat in it? |
| Et suyu var mı? | Is there meat stock in it? |
| Fıstığa alerjim var. | I’m allergic to peanuts. |
| Glutensiz bir şey var mı? | Is there anything gluten-free? |
| Domuz eti yemiyorum. | I don’t eat pork. |
| Acısız olsun, lütfen. | Not spicy, please. |
Many vegetable dishes are cooked with meat stock or a little minced meat, so asking Et suyu var mı? is worthwhile. Questions with var mı? (“is there…?”) are covered in our guide to var and yok.
5. Restaurant vocabulary
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| menü | meh-NEW | menu | Menüyü alabilir miyiz? (Could we have the menu?) |
| hesap | heh-SAHP | bill, check | Hesap, lütfen. (The bill, please.) |
| garson | gar-SON | waiter | Garson Bey, bakar mısınız? (Excuse me, waiter!) |
| ikram | eek-RAHM | on the house | Tatlılar ikram. (The desserts are on the house.) |
| porsiyon | por-see-YON | portion | Bir buçuk porsiyon Adana, lütfen. (One and a half portions of Adana kebab, please.) |
| yarım porsiyon | yah-RUHM por-see-YON | half portion | Çocuk için yarım porsiyon olur mu? (Is a half portion possible for the child?) |
| az / bol | ahz / bol | a little / plenty | Az pilav, bol salata lütfen. (A little rice and lots of salad, please.) |
| acılı / acısız | ah-juh-LUH / ah-juh-SUHZ | spicy / not spicy | Kebap acılı mı olsun, acısız mı? (Would you like the kebab spicy or not?) |
| az pişmiş | ahz peesh-MEESH | rare | Eti az pişmiş seviyorum. (I like my meat rare.) |
| orta pişmiş | or-TAH peesh-MEESH | medium | Biftek orta pişmiş olsun. (The steak medium, please.) |
| iyi pişmiş | ee-YEE peesh-MEESH | well done | Benimki iyi pişmiş olsun. (Mine well done, please.) |
| kılçık | kuhl-CHUHK | fish bone | Balıkta kılçık var mı? (Are there bones in the fish?) |
| ayran | eye-RAHN | salted yoghurt drink | Kebabın yanına bir ayran. (An ayran with the kebab.) |
| tavşan kanı çay | tav-SHAHN kah-NUH chai | strong, dark-red tea | Çayım tavşan kanı olsun. (I’d like my tea strong.) |
| kuver | koo-VER | cover charge | Hesaba kişi başı kuver eklenmiş. (A cover charge per person was added.) |
| servis ücreti | ser-VEES ewj-reh-TEE | service charge | Servis ücreti dahil mi? (Is service included?) |
| paket | pah-KET | takeaway, to go | Kalanları paket yapar mısınız? (Could you wrap up the leftovers?) |
| nakit / kart | nah-KEET / kart | cash / card | Kartla ödeyebilir miyim? (Can I pay by card?) |
| ayrı ayrı | eye-RUH eye-RUH | separately | Ayrı ayrı ödeyebilir miyiz? (Can we pay separately?) |
| bahşiş | bah-SHEESH | tip | Masaya bahşiş bıraktık. (We left a tip on the table.) |
6. Etiquette tips
- Calling the waiter. Catch their eye, raise a hand slightly and say Bakar mısınız? (Excuse me!, lit. “would you look?”). Shouting across the room is considered rude.
- Tea after the meal. Many restaurants offer tea after the meal as an ikram (on the house). There’s no rush; it’s normal to sit and chat for a while before asking for the bill.
- Water. In sit-down restaurants, bottled water placed on the table is usually charged if you open it. Ask Su ücretli mi? (Is the water charged?) if you’re unsure.
- Cover and service charges. Some restaurants add a cover charge (kuver) or a service charge (servis ücreti). Check the bill before tipping.
- Tipping. Tipping is customary but not compulsory. Many people leave a cash tip in sit-down restaurants if service was good, or round up the bill in simpler places.
- Thanking the cook. On your way out of a small lokanta, Elinize sağlık to the cook is always appreciated.
Practice this
Read both dialogues aloud, then swap in the dishes you actually like. To build your food vocabulary, continue with our guide to Turkish food and breakfast vocabulary.
