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A brief guide on where (and what) to eat in Bursa. The city has a decent variety of restaurants offering all kinds of Turkish cuisine. The star of the show is the famous İskender kebab.
Where to Eat İskender Kebab in Bursa
Bursa is the birthplace of İskender kebab, which is a popular dish found at restaurants all over Turkey. İskender kebab was invented by İskender Efendi in 1867. It consists of strips of döner kebab slathered in tomato sauce and piled onto pieces of pide bread. Yogurt is served on the side to mix in, and tomatoes with spicy green peppers are used to garnish. Melted butter is usually poured over the plate right at the table. You can get a full order (tek), or an order and a half (bir buçuk) if you have a bigger appetite.
Kebapçı İskender
The most famous place to eat İskender kebab is at Kebapçı İskender, owned by the family of the dish’s inventor. It’s a large wooden Ottoman building in the historic city center.
The interior walls of the restaurant are all covered in wooden panels decorated with artwork and old photos. Some large columns are scattered in the dining room and covered with colorful tiles. The elegant atmosphere adds to the experience of trying the dish, and the friendly and formal staff are always happy to serve you.
İskender kebab is the only dish on the menu, and it’s done extremely well. The meat is succulent and served with a huge dollop of yogurt. It gets even better when the waiter brings the freshly melted butter to pour on top. Kebapçı İskender is typically open daily from 11am to 9pm.
İskender
Another good place to try İskender kebab is at İskender, which also claims to have created the delicious dish. I ate at the original location, a tiny little place in the historic city center with seating for 40. Like Kebapçı İskender, İskender kebab is the only thing on the menu. The venue isn’t nearly as elegant a place to eat, but that’s ok because their İskender is also delicious. It’s typically open daily from noon to 8pm.
Where to Eat Pideli Köfte
Pideli köfte is another local specialty in Bursa. It’s basically the same concept as İskender kebab but using köfte (small meatballs) instead of döner kebab. If you want to try it, Kayhan Street is the place to go. There are several restaurants lining the street running east from İnönü Street. It’s also a colorful and scenic place to walk.
Yeşil Pideli Köfte
The first place we visited is Yeşil Pideli Köfte. They’ve been around since 1970 selling pideli köfte and other grilled items. Their pideli köfte is great – I could eat it every week!
For dessert, we had an incredible kaymaklı kadayıf, which is a traditional Turkish kadayıf covered in kaymak (clotted cream), nuts, and halva sauce.
Where Else to Eat in Bursa
Once you’ve gotten a taste of the two specialties above, there are several other great places to grab a bite to eat in Bursa.
Hacı Dayı
Hacı Dayı is an elegant restaurant that serves a variety of different kebabs. It’s located at Tophane Park and I’ve had lunch there several times. In fact, stop there on every trip to Bursa. Service is friendly and efficient.
I typically like to start with a bowl of ezogelin soup and a few meze dishes for the table. My favorite main courses are the Ali Nazik kebab, which is beef kebabs over eggplant puree and yogurt, and the yoğurtlu kebap, which is a kebab on a bed of yogurt. The grilled chicken is also great. Everyone I’ve taken there has been happy with their choices.
Pidecioğlu
On Kayhan Street we visited Pidecioğlu. They offer a good variety of delicious pides. I had the kuşbaşılı pide while everyone else in my group had a tomato and kaşar pide. Portion sizes are perfect and prices are great.
Karadeniz Balık Evi
If you’re tired of meats, try Karadeniz Balık Evi. It’s a fish restaurant we found in an alley near the bazaar area.
We split a plate of salmon and an order of calamari. Both were delicious. For dessert, we couldn’t resist the baked halva (fırında helva). Our server was a wonderful person who tried very hard to communicate with the little English she knows, and was truly happy we were satisfied with the meal.
Unfortunately, when I tried to take a picture of the restaurant, the host from the restaurant across the street got angry and nearly shoved me. I guess he wasn’t happy he lost our business that night.
Barlam Balık
Nearby is Barlam Balık, which is another fish restaurant we tried the following night. Service is good but the food wasn’t as tasty as we expected.
We shared a plate of calamari and a shrimp casserole (karides güveç), and neither was very good. The calamari was rubbery and the shrimp was definitely overcooked. Our advice is to skip this place.
Desserts of Bursa
Bursa’s popular desserts are kestane şekeri (candied chestnuts) and kemalpaşa (fried dough boiled in a very sweet syrup). You can find each treat just about anywhere in town.
Where to Eat Street Food in Bursa
You’ll find street food vendors throughout the bazaar area and other parts of the historic city center, but I had a great experience near Kent Meydanı on my very first visit to the city in November 2010. I had arrived quite late in the evening and was short on cash. I left my hotel in search of food and found a wonderful local street market nearby. There was all kinds of delicious street food, like buttered corn and lahmacun. I chose to make this my dinner and got a lot of food for just a little money. It was also a great insight into daily life in Bursa.
