Where to eat mantı in Kayseri?

What to eat and where in Kayseri?

Known as the home of pastırma (cured, spiced beef), sucuk (spicy sausage) and mantı (tiny Turkish dumplings), Kayseri has a local cuisine that is just as legendary. From pastries to suet, from the most delicious meat dishes to desserts sweetened with grape molasses, every dish is mouth-watering. Here are the local flavours you must taste when you come to Kayseri:

Kayseri mantı

Everyone knows that Kayseri is famous for its mantı. Traditionally, 40 of the tiny folded squares of dough should fit on a single spoon, although restaurants today make them about the size of a hazelnut. There are 36 different kinds of mantı, including tepsi mantısı (tray-baked mantı), çıtır mantı (crispy mantı) and yağ mantısı. What sets Kayseri mantı apart from other mantı is that it is served in its broth with garlic yoghurt.

If you’re asking “Where can I eat the best mantı in Kayseri?”, here is our answer:

Where to eat mantı in Kayseri?

1. Kaşık-la

Ask anyone in Kayseri where to eat mantı and the answer will be Kaşık-la. People who have tried Kaşık-la’s mantı praise its small size, its flavour and its sauce. The secret behind this praise is that the mantı is made by hand by the restaurant’s women staff.

Besides mantı, you can also taste other specialities of Kayseri cuisine here, such as yağlama (layered flatbread with spiced minced meat), okra soup with meat, hand-cut noodle soup (elde kesme un çorbası), sucuk and yağ mantısı.

For reservations: 0 352 223 99 66

2. Elmacıoğlu İskender

Another place that is just as talked-about as Kaşık-la when it comes to mantı in Kayseri is Elmacıoğlu İskender. Much loved and favoured by the people of Kayseri, this restaurant has “İskender” in its name, but don’t let that mislead you. Starting with İskender kebab, you can find any dish of Kayseri cuisine you want here. Besides the unique Kayseri mantı, of course, you’ll also find yağlama, nevzine dessert with grape molasses, stuffed vine leaves with meat, various kinds of kuru dolma (stuffed dried vegetables), okra soup cooked with meat and suet, and gilaburu juice, which you won’t find anywhere other than Kayseri.

It has 4 branches, but if you want to try Kayseri cuisine and are eating with a large group of friends or have a business meeting, you can go to the Gültepe branch.

For reservations: 0 352 223 99 99

3. Sultan Sofrası

One of the places where you can try mantı in its tiniest form, served with a tomato broth. You can also find traditional home-style dishes at Sultan Sofrası.

For reservations: 0 352 232 64 25

4. Cemens’s Gurme

Located inside the Mix AVM shopping centre, Çemen’s is one of those rare places where you can taste dishes from local Kayseri cuisine made with organic ingredients. They make mantı served on copper plates that you won’t be able to get enough of. Spices, sauces and, of course, garlic yoghurt complete the presentation. Besides mantı, you can also find other local specialities here. The pide with pastırma, yağlama, içli köfte (stuffed bulgur meatballs), sucuk içi (spiced sausage meat), pastırma, nevzine dessert, Circassian mantı and tepsi mantısı are all delicious. There is also a delicatessen counter in case you want to buy something as a gift or to take away.

Address: Melikgazi, Aşık Veysel Blv. No:22, 38030 Melikgazi/Kayseri

For reservations: 0 352 333 72 72

5. Konak Restoran

The mantı is just as delicious at Konak Restoran, where you’ll feel you have travelled back in time in Kayseri and will be captivated by the stonework. It is an ideal spot for a stylish, refined dinner, and its menu also includes cağ kebabı, külbastı, the Kayseri platter, kağıtta pastırma (pastırma baked in paper), kaburga dolması (stuffed ribs) and oltu kebabı. As it is in Kayseri’s Talas district, it is 20 minutes from the city centre, but it is well worth the trip to dine in an 18th-century atmosphere.

For reservations: 0 352 437 72 72