Other good options for dinner are the ‘meyhane’ restaurants, or restaurants that usually serve raki and the meze and dishes that often accompany it. Meze are small dishes that usually consist of vegetables or legumes cooked in olive oil, sometimes with cheese or yogurt, and the options are often endless. Some of our favorites are ‘fava’ (fava bean paste or spread with onion and dill), marinated or pickled beets, ‘saksuka’ (fried eggplant and potato in tomato sauce), sauteed greens (ot kavurma) (which sometimes comes with yogurt), and ‘havuc tarator’ (carrot in yogurt sauce), but try as many as you can manage! You can also usually get good mixed salads (try the arugula salad or ‘roka salatasi’) and sometimes vegetarian appetizers like cheesy mushrooms or fried cheese borek in these types of restaurants. They also will often serve tahini-based halva for dessert, a must-try for anyone with a sweet tooth. You’re guaranteed to leave stuffed, even without a main course.

In addition to restaurants, there are multiple street food and fast-food options suitable for vegans and vegetarians. You will often see people with carts selling boiled corn (in the summer) or roasted chestnuts (in the winter). There is always a simit (round, sesame seed-covered bread) to be found close by. In more touristic areas, or places on the coast, you might find ‘buzlu badem’, or almonds on ice. These are all great as a snack, but the real lifesaver of the vegan in Turkey is cig kofte, and you can find it almost everywhere. Cig kofte is a paste made from fine bulgur, tomato or pepper paste, and spices (once made with raw meat, all the cig kofte you find commercially is now meat-free) and is usually served in flatbread with lettuce, pickles, tomato, and sauce. Another option if you need a junk food fix is ‘patso’, fried potatoes in a bun covered with ketchup and mayo; these are often found at stands selling hotdogs or cheap burgers in bigger cities. If you’re sticking closer to the villages of Turkey, you might come across ‘gozleme’, a stuffed flatbread cooked to order on a large metal pan. These are usually stuffed with herbs and cheese, potato, or spinach, just ask for no butter or cheese for a vegan option.

Typical Turkish breakfast consists of tea, bread, cheese, olives, tomato, cucumber, and other fresh vegetables, butter and honey or tahini and pekmez (grape syrup), a variety of jams, and eggs cooked in various ways. A favorite of ours (if you eat eggs) is ‘menemen’ eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce.  Additional plates include fried potatoes or other vegetables and a variety of (usually savory) pastries. Vegetarians will have no problem filling up with a classic Turkish breakfast, but vegan options aren’t necessarily extensive. Vegans will be limited to bread with olives and raw vegetables, fried potatoes if available, and the variety of jams and spreads served. It’s not uncommon to find lentil soup in early morning roadside restaurants or breakfast buffets as well.