"The 1912 Gaziantep house that invented the pistachio kebab, now on an Ankara rooftop — come for the meat, bring the family."
The Develi family has been grilling kebabs since 1912, when the first house opened in Gaziantep, and the pistachio kebab they are known for was created by Arif Develi himself. The Ankara branch carries that lineage onto a Çankaya rooftop on Nenehatun Caddesi, trading the old Samatya storefront for panoramic city views. It is southeastern Turkish cooking served with a view, not a reinvention of it. See where it sits in our guide to the best Turkish restaurants.
Develi is a family institution rather than a celebrity-chef room, and the kitchen keeps faith with Gaziantep technique: charcoal, lamb, and pistachios from the southeast. The signature is the fıstıklı kebap — the pistachio kebab Arif Develi invented — minced lamb threaded with green Antep pistachios, listed around 309 TL, with the mixed kebab plate near 359 TL and the Adana around 217 TL. Order the içli köfte and a spread of cold mezze to start, and finish with künefe. The house was founded in Gaziantep in 1912 and is counted among Turkey's oldest kebab restaurants; the Ankara dining room sits at 100. Yıl, Nenehatun Caddesi No. 73 in Çankaya. For a different Ankara register, compare Trilye.
The Ankara branch is built for occasion: a large, modern dining room and a rooftop terrace that opens up the Çankaya skyline. Sound runs to a steady hum — this is a busy, sociable room rather than a hushed one, and it fills fast on weekend nights. Lighting is warm, tables seat groups comfortably, and service moves at the brisk, generous pace of a kebab house used to large parties. Dress is smart-casual; the terrace is the seat to request in warm months.
Book this room for a team dinner because it handles a crowd without losing the cooking: the kebabs arrive in shareable spreads, the rooftop gives the evening a sense of event, and the kitchen is fast enough that a large table is never left waiting. Mixed grills and mezze platters scale neatly across six or twelve. See more team dinner restaurants that handle a crowd, or browse the full Ankara dining guide. For how to judge a room before you book, read our seven signs of a great restaurant.
Not for vegetarians or anyone in a hurry — the menu is built around charcoal-grilled lamb, and the rooftop fills fast on weekend nights.
Yes, if you want the benchmark version of Gaziantep kebabs in Ankara. Develi has been cooking since 1912 and effectively created the pistachio kebab, so this is the reference point rather than an imitation. The Çankaya branch adds a rooftop view to that pedigree. Come hungry, order across the mezze and grill, and treat it as a group occasion rather than a quick bite.
Start with the pistachio kebab, the dish the house is named for — minced lamb laced with green Antep pistachios, around 309 TL. Build a table around cold mezze, içli köfte and a mixed grill near 359 TL, with Adana for anyone who wants more heat. Finish with künefe, the cheese-and-pastry dessert, and Turkish coffee. Sharing across the table is the way the menu is designed to be eaten.
Weekday tables are usually easy, but weekend evenings and the rooftop in summer book up, so call a few days ahead for a large group or a terrace seat. Reservations are handled by phone and through the Ankara branch directly. If the rooftop is full, the indoor dining room takes the overflow comfortably and the kitchen output does not change between the two.
Expect mid-range kebab-house pricing rather than fine-dining figures: the signature pistachio kebab lists around 309 TL, the mixed kebab near 359 TL, and the Adana around 217 TL, with mezze and starters on top. A full shared spread with starters, grills and dessert lands in the mid-to-upper hundreds of lira per head, which is fair for the quality and the rooftop setting.
Booking through Develi's Ankara branch directly.
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Develi is the institution other kebab houses measure themselves against — a fixture in our survey of Turkish cooking from Gaziantep to Istanbul.
See the Turkish guide →