The Çeşme List
Five editorial picks, ranked by the only filter that matters: why you are dining.
Agrilia at Buradan Vineyards
Melih Teksen's 25-year-old Alaçatı kitchen relocated to a working vineyard. Set menus paired with estate Assyrtiko under chestnut trees.
Ferdi Baba Alaçatı
The Aegean seafood institution. Ferdi Baba has grilled the same whole sea bass since 1981 and still lands his own fish off the Çeşme boats at 06:00.
Arven Restaurant
Candle-lit garden under lemon and pomegranate trees. 200 Aegean wines, a seasonal menu, and the town's most considered wine service.
Olea at Biblos Resort
Biblos Resort's flagship dining terrace. Pop-up sushi nights, a Mediterranean main menu, and the only genuine sunset Aegean view with fine-dining service.
Enginarre
The stone-cottage casual kitchen on Alaçatı's Hacımemiş street. 4.7 stars across 450+ reviews and the peninsula's best-value chef-driven room.
Best for First Date in Çeşme
Intimate, conversation-friendly rooms. Impressive without being intimidating. The tables where first impressions are made.
Ferdi Baba Alaçatı
The Aegean seafood institution. Ferdi Baba has grilled the same whole sea bass since 1981 and still lands his own fish off the Çeşme boats at 06:00.
Arven Restaurant
Candle-lit garden under lemon and pomegranate trees. 200 Aegean wines, a seasonal menu, and the town's most considered wine service.
Enginarre
The stone-cottage casual kitchen on Alaçatı's Hacımemiş street. 4.7 stars across 450+ reviews and the peninsula's best-value chef-driven room.
Best for Business Dinner in Çeşme
Power tables, private rooms, considered wine lists. Where the deal gets done.
Agrilia at Buradan Vineyards
Melih Teksen's 25-year-old Alaçatı kitchen relocated to a working vineyard. Set menus paired with estate Assyrtiko under chestnut trees.
Arven Restaurant
Candle-lit garden under lemon and pomegranate trees. 200 Aegean wines, a seasonal menu, and the town's most considered wine service.
Olea at Biblos Resort
Biblos Resort's flagship dining terrace. Pop-up sushi nights, a Mediterranean main menu, and the only genuine sunset Aegean view with fine-dining service.
The Top 5 in Çeşme
Our editorial ranking. A single punchy line per restaurant. Click through for the full read.
Agrilia at Buradan Vineyards
Melih Teksen's 25-year-old Alaçatı kitchen relocated to a working vineyard. Set menus paired with estate Assyrtiko under chestnut trees.
Ferdi Baba Alaçatı
The Aegean seafood institution. Ferdi Baba has grilled the same whole sea bass since 1981 and still lands his own fish off the Çeşme boats at 06:00.
Arven Restaurant
Candle-lit garden under lemon and pomegranate trees. 200 Aegean wines, a seasonal menu, and the town's most considered wine service.
Olea at Biblos Resort
Biblos Resort's flagship dining terrace. Pop-up sushi nights, a Mediterranean main menu, and the only genuine sunset Aegean view with fine-dining service.
Enginarre
The stone-cottage casual kitchen on Alaçatı's Hacımemiş street. 4.7 stars across 450+ reviews and the peninsula's best-value chef-driven room.
The Çeşme Dining Guide
Forbes once called Alaçatı 'the best-kept luxury travel secret on the Mediterranean.' That stopped being true around 2019 and is not remotely true now. The Çeşme peninsula. Of which Alaçatı is the cultural heart. Has become the Turkish Aegean's most stylish dining scene, with stone-cottage restaurants packed three deep on summer weekends, a half-dozen serious chef-driven kitchens, and a vineyard hinterland that is quietly producing the best Aegean whites in the country.
Dining here splits into two worlds. The old-town of Alaçatı. Twenty-minute drive from Çeşme centre. Is the stylish, walkable street-level scene: Agrilia at the nearby Buradan Vineyards, Arven on a lemon-tree terrace, Enginarre on the main drag. The Çeşme port itself is the classic-seafood register: Ferdi Baba since 1981, Pasifik on the harbour, and the grilled-fish mezes everyone comes for. Between them, a third category. The coastal resort dining rooms like Olea at Biblos Resort and the beach-club restaurants of Alaçatı bay. Caters to the Istanbul crowd who fly down for the weekend.
Reservations are harder than they should be in summer. July and August see Istanbul's stylish class decamp to Alaçatı; the serious restaurants are fully booked 10 days ahead on weekends, three days ahead midweek. Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best dining months. Cheaper, quieter, and the vineyards are at their visual peak. Dress is beach-smart: linen, Aegean whites, no shorts at dinner at the serious rooms but sandals are fine.
Neighbourhoods
Reservations & Practical Notes
The wine to drink is Alaçatı's own. Buradan, Urla, and Ezgi are the three vineyards producing serious Vermentino, Assyrtiko, and Bornova Muscat, all from the peninsula's chalk-rich soil. The fish to order is levrek (sea bass), barbun (red mullet), and the çipura (sea bream) the fishermen land at Çeşme port every morning. Tip 10 per cent; check if the service charge is already on the bill, as it often is.
For a deeper editorial read, see our ongoing Editorial coverage. Including pieces on the Best Restaurants for Every Occasion, and our Impress Clients and First Date occasion guides.