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–May) and autumn (September–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.