In Turkey, breakfast is not "a cup of coffee and a croissant." It is serpme kahvaltı — a "spread-out" breakfast that lasts 2–3 hours and involves 15–25 plates on the table at once.
The essentials
- Beyaz peynir — white brined cheese made from sheep's milk.
- Kaşar — aged yellow cheese.
- Zeytin — two plates of olives: green and black.
- Domates, salatalık — tomatoes and cucumbers from the local market.
- Bal kaymak — honey with buffalo-milk clotted cream. The centrepiece of the table.
- Menemen — scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers and cheese.
- Sucuk — a spicy Turkish sausage.
- Çay — black tea in tulip-shaped glasses, endlessly topped up.
Where to try it in Alanya
- Limon Bahçe Cafe (Mahmutlar) — a 28-plate serpme, 350 TL for two.
- Kahvaltı Bahçesi (Dim River) — breakfast in a garden by the river, with homemade fig jam.
- Köşk Cafe (old town) — a view of the Red Tower, the classic spread for 420 TL for two.
Tip: come hungry and don't plan on lunch. After a real kahvaltı, lunch is superfluous.