Enginarre

Enginarre means 'artichoke' in Turkish — the vegetable that gave Alaçatı its original fame before tourism arrived, grown in the salt-marsh fields east of town and still the symbol of the Çeşme peninsula. The restaurant takes its name seriously: the menu features six separate artichoke preparations in season (April–June), and the logo is a hand-drawn heart in the classic artichoke shape.

Chef Can Demirhan, 34, runs the kitchen from a stone cottage on the quietest block of Hacımemiş — one street back from the main Alaçatı drag, with a small walled courtyard that opens in summer. The menu is tight (30 dishes total) and changes six times a year with the Aegean growing calendar. Main courses run a grilled-lamb kofta with pomegranate molasses; the slow-braised artichoke heart with fava and dill; a whole sea bream on a bed of wild samphire; a celery-and-lime slow-cooked lamb stew the house has become known for.

The wine list is shorter than Arven's but thoughtful — 85 labels, two-thirds Turkish, with the Çeşme-peninsula Urla and Buradan producers featuring prominently, and a small natural-wine section from the Şirince valley. Corkage is charged at TRY 500 (€13.50), which is fair for the region. House cocktails include a raki-and-green-tomato that sounds strange and works.

The dining room holds 45 covers; the courtyard adds 25. It gets booked out in August but is walk-in-friendly in April–May and September. Service is young and bilingual. This is the Çeşme restaurant the locals go to when they are paying for themselves.

Team dinners on the peninsula need a room that can seat 6–10 without the price going out of control, and food that stays conversational. Enginarre does both: the shared mezze format, the sensible wine list, the walled-courtyard intimacy, and the €70-per-head ceiling make it the easiest corporate dinner in Alaçatı. Request the long-table in the courtyard, order three family-style mains, skip the tasting menu.