Meze is the Turkish version of "small plates": dozens of cold and hot appetizers served with rakı or wine. In Alanya there are 6–7 good meze houses, and each has its own signature style.
The essential dozen
- Haydari — thick yogurt with mint and garlic.
- Acılı ezme — a spicy tomato paste with peppers and walnut.
- Patlıcan salatası — a salad of roasted aubergines.
- Şakşuka — fried aubergine, peppers and courgette in tomato sauce.
- Cacık — a cold yogurt-and-cucumber soup-salad.
- Atom — a spicy mix of yogurt, garlic and pepper flakes.
- Fava — a purée of split broad beans with olive oil and lemon.
- Çiğ köfte — "raw" bulgur patties with tomato paste and spices.
- Topik — an Armenian appetizer of chickpeas, onion and tahini.
- Lakerda — lightly salted bonito (in season).
- Midye dolma — mussels stuffed with rice and pine nuts.
- Beyaz peynir & zeytin — the finale: cheese and olives, "an appetizer to the appetizers."
The average bill for two, with 8 meze and a carafe of rakı, is around 1,200 TL (€35).