● Index / 40 terms

Turkish food and menu glossary

What the Turkish words on the menu actually mean, in plain English.

Ocakbaşı: A restaurant built around an open charcoal grill set into a counter, with seats around it so you watch the cook. Literally 'by the hearth'.
Mangal: A charcoal grill or barbecue; on a sign, a restaurant that cooks over charcoal.
Ayran: A cold, salted yoghurt drink, whisked until foamy; the standard drink with kebab.
Şalgam: A sour, salty fermented drink of purple carrot and turnip from Adana, drunk with spicy kebab.
Acılı: Spicy; with chilli or hot pepper. Ask for 'acılı' to have a dish made hot.
Sade: Plain; without sugar (coffee) or without additions (a dish).
Orta: Medium: for coffee, a medium amount of sugar; for meat, cooked medium.
Şekerli: Sweet; Turkish coffee made with plenty of sugar.
Açık çay: Light tea: strong brewed tea diluted with more hot water.
Koyu çay: Strong, dark tea with less water added; the way most Turks drink it.
Kahvaltı: Breakfast; in a restaurant, the Turkish breakfast spread of cheeses, olives, eggs, honey and bread.
Serpme: A 'spread' breakfast: the full kahvaltı served as many small plates per person.
Meze: Small cold and hot dishes shared at the start of a meal, with bread and often rakı.
Zeytinyağlı: Cooked in olive oil and served cold; the family of vegetable dishes eaten as starters.
Etli: With meat. Distinguishes the meat version of a dish from the plain or vegetable one.
Izgara: Grilled. On a menu, a dish cooked over the grill.
Dürüm: A wrap: grilled meat rolled in thin lavash bread with salad, onion and sumac.
Yarım ekmek: A half loaf of crusty bread filled with meat; the portion size for kokoreç and köfte on the street.
Pide: A boat-shaped bread filled with cheese, meat, sucuk or egg and baked in a stone oven. Also the round flat bread served with meals.
Lahmacun: A very thin round of dough spread with spiced minced lamb and baked in minutes; eaten rolled up with lemon and parsley.
Künefe: A hot dessert of shredded pastry layered with cheese, baked crisp and soaked in syrup, served with pistachio.
Kaymak: Thick clotted cream, served with honey at breakfast and on desserts.
Pekmez: Grape molasses: a thick, dark syrup used as a sweetener and dipped with tahini at breakfast.
Sumak: Sumac: a tart, deep red ground berry sprinkled on onions, salads and grilled meat.
Pul biber: Red pepper flakes, mild to medium, used on almost everything at the table.
Biber salçası: Red pepper paste: a thick, sweet-hot paste of sun-dried red peppers used in marinades, soups and köfte.
Kaşar: Kaşar: a firm yellow cheese, mild when young and sharp when aged; melted on pide, served at breakfast.
Beyaz peynir: White cheese: the brined sheep's or cow's milk cheese on every breakfast table, similar to feta.
Sucuk: A spiced, cured beef sausage, fried in slices and served with eggs or on pide.
Pastırma: Air-dried cured beef coated in a garlic and fenugreek paste; sliced thin and eaten cold or with eggs.
Kuyruk yağı: Tail fat from a fat-tailed sheep, threaded between pieces of meat on a skewer to baste them as they grill.
Lokanta: A restaurant serving home-style cooked dishes from trays at a counter, mostly at lunch: stews, beans, stuffed vegetables, pilav.
Pastane: A patisserie: baklava, milk puddings, cakes and Turkish delight, sold by weight.
Fırın: A bakery, or an oven. A fırın sells bread, simit, börek and often lahmacun and pide at lunch.
İşkembeci: A tripe-soup restaurant, traditionally open late into the night.
Kebapçı: A kebab restaurant; a kitchen that specialises in grilled skewers.
Pideci: A pide house: a restaurant with a stone oven that makes pide and usually lahmacun, and little else.
Büfe: A snack counter or kiosk: sandwiches, toast, ayran, sometimes döner, eaten standing up.
Afiyet olsun: 'Enjoy your meal'; said when food arrives and as a reply to thanks for cooking.
Hesap lütfen: 'The bill, please.'