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.'