Eat in Izmir – Best Restaurant Guide

Cheap, Tasty Food in Göztepe

Göz Göz Büfe & Kokoreç Evi

Although it doesn’t look like much, Göz Göz Büfe & Kokoreç Evi is one place in Izmir’s Göztepe area where you can eat cheap, delicious and local food. The biggest attraction is this eatery’s kokoreç, a toasted bread with fried lamb intestines, which offers generous amounts of meat with just the right amount of spices.

Göz Göz Büfe & Kokoreç Evi is located across from Adnan Saygun Culture Center. It is a small place with just three tables indoors and a couple of tables outdoors, if the weather permits. Open until 1 am, it is a perfect eatery to satisfy the traditional Turkish craving for a kokoreç after a night out. (After living in Izmir for almost two years, I’ve somewhat fallen into the same habit.)

The kokoreç that Göz Göz offers is easy on spices but generous with meat and is probably one of the most delicious examples of this Turkish delicacy that I’ve tried so far. Read more…

Asansör: New chef, new taste

Asansor Restaurant opens for dinner at 7:30 pm

When I first visited Asansör in December 2007, it was a half-empty restaurant with a breathtaking view and shockingly average food. For a prime location as this, any gustatory disappointment was unforgivable.

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. In February 2009, the Izmir Municipality took charge of the historical Elevator, presently turning it into one of the hottest dining places in the city. The new administration also introduced a new chef, Mr. Mehmet Sirkeci, a choice we cannot but commend. Read more…