Selcuk Restaurants

I cannot remember the name of this cop sis place, but it is near Cengiz Topel Caddesi, but on the busy main street through Selcuk. It is beside the small mosque and has an outdoor seating area behind it, covered in vines. It serves mostly locals, their English is not so good, but a lot of tourists go there as well. They specialize in meatballs, cop sis, and meatball sandwiches, which are my favorite! Their salads, which come standard with every meal, are also excellent and they have lovely, fresh bread. Everything is under 10TL. My favorite meatball sandwich is huge and is only 5TL. Their beef is fresh and they use beef, not a little bit of mince mixed with bread. Great spices make for a great meatball! I am not crazy about the cop sis (small bits of beef on a stick), but some locals say this place has the best. It just wasn't my thing.

Favorite Dish: The meatball sandwich is served on a half loaf of fresh bread, lots of meatballs seasoned to perfection, and fresh vegetables of your choice. Mustard, mayo, whatever you want. Only 5TL. Such a bargain!

Efe Pide is on the main road that runs through Selcuk - the big four lane road, not the pedestrian streets. It is across the street and down a bit from St. John's Basilica, in the direction of Izmir. It's a place for locals, but some tourists find there way there as well. I lived in Selcuk for a year and ordered my pide from Ali at Efe Pide because his was the best in town and he delivered to my house! It's cheap, it's good, service is fast, and there is no hassle from shop owners because he is not on the tourist streets. Ali doesn't speak English, but it doesn't matter. Some of the waiters know a bit of English and the menu is in English. Pide is not the only thing on the menu. He has several other traditional dishes as well.

Favorite Dish: Mince meat pide and I always ask him to add a bit of crushed red pepper to make it spicy! Crispy crust, fresh, a bit of spice. Perfect.

Now, let me tell you a story:

In my first visit to Turkey arriving to Kusadasi by boat from Samos, we were asked to pay a price for a guided visit, and dragged to a line of buses, without any details about where to go except the visit to Ephesus, and who was leading us.

The visit was well planned, the time as used as possible, and by lunchtime we were taken to a confuse and ugly place in Selcuk where we ate... something, that was described as a mix of four local dishes, that didn't make justice to Turkey's food.
The visit continued and we were dropped in the harbour just in time to enter the boat back to Greece.
Looking at the picture took at the "restaurant"'s entrance, I read "Social Democratic Party".
What a strange tourist operator...

We were there out of season but got a good welcome,warm and friendly.Wooden build made it feel warmer.We had soups, grilled kebabs, rice and pasta all good.With a few warming drinks we enjoyed it.Check their web site for more.

AH, FOOD IN TURKEY... I should put it as “what is your fondest memory” of Turkey in every single tip.
Look... There are too many stories going around about how: “the european (read west-european) stomachs cannot handle the Turkish food. It is major BS if you ask me. All the places, and I mean ALL, that we visited and sat down to have a meal at were absolutely great. I love their salads, as I was told (since I am a vegetarian) their meat (meatballs, the shish-kebab which is made with lamb meat, the chikcen kebab, the beef) was great, the bread that they serve is tasty... so please, do not freak out and by all means AVOID any of the famous fast-food chains if you happen to see one.
Two people can have a pretty decent meal for 15 turkish lira, which is 10 euros, drinks included if they drink ayran. If one wants a beer, then the price goes slightly up. Let’s say that between 15 and 20 turkish lira you really can enjoy a great meal, in most Selchuk restaurants.
A slightly cheaper version is if you eat PIDE or turkish variation of a pizza. I LOVED the vegetarian one. I loved it.

LOOK AT THE PHOTO - Doesn't my facial expression tell you everything?

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This is a very nice restaurant in the town centre where I actually had a pizza and not seafood which features mostly on the menu. There were a couple of guys playing and singing inside at a table beside mine whilst I ate which added to the atmosphere but I don't think this happens every night. Good food and entertainment thrown in for good measure.

This is a fast food place in the town centre where I sat outside for lunch and had a good Doner kebab sandwich. They have a menu that consists of the useful fast food dishes such as burgers, pizza, kebabs etc. Very well priced as well.

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What's with ice cream and tourists? or what's a tour without an ice cream, i'd say an icecreamless tour!

My palate is craving for sumthin sweet and i passed by this huge picture of ice cream in the morning so i went out looking for it before we left Selcuk in the afternoon. I found it near the municipality/belediye building beside a painting and frames store and some furniture shops. The ice cream parlour is owned by a nice old man.

2 tables and chairs outside, so we ordered 3 cups and sat outside while waiting for our bus. TL5 a cup and really tastes good, kinda chewy like most turkish ice creams, though the hard bits - maybe cacao or its cover in the ice cream annoys me.

Favorite Dish: dandurma