Belek is best known for its five-star all-inclusive resorts and championship golf, but there is a real food culture just beyond the hotel gates. From charcoal-grilled fish beside the sea at Bogazkent to the buzzing terraces of Kadriye centre and long, lazy Turkish breakfasts in shaded gardens, the eating here rewards anyone willing to step outside the buffet. This guide covers where to go, what to order, and how the hotel-versus-going-out question really shakes out over a week's holiday.
We are a Belek-based fixed-price transfer company, and we run guests to these restaurants year-round, so this is a practical guide as much as a tasty one. You will find honest notes on the fish restaurants, the Kadriye dining scene, village breakfasts, and the local lokantas in Belek town, plus current transfer fares so you can plan the outings that matter. Everything is bookable on WhatsApp, with cash paid to the driver and free child seats for family meals out.
Table of Contents
- Fish at Bogazkent
- Kadriye Centre Dining
- Turkish Breakfast
- Hotel vs Eating Out
- Belek Town Lokantas
- What to Order
- Cafes and Sweets
- Getting There
Fresh Fish at Bogazkent
Bogazkent sits on the coast just east of Belek, where the Acisu stream meets the Mediterranean. It is the go-to spot for fresh fish, with a cluster of family-run restaurants serving sea bass, bream, and the daily catch grilled simply over charcoal. Order a spread of cold meze first - stuffed vine leaves, smoked aubergine, and creamy haydari - then let the waiter recommend whatever came in that morning. Prices are keyed to weight, so ask before you commit. Tables sit close to the water, and the pace is unhurried, which makes a long lunch here one of the region's quiet pleasures. It is an easy private transfer from any Belek hotel, and drivers will happily wait while you eat.
Dining in Kadriye Centre
Kadriye is Belek's liveliest dining hub, a walkable centre of pedestrian streets, small squares, and terrace restaurants a short hop from the Land of Legends. Here you will find everything from proper Turkish grill houses to Italian, seafood, and international menus aimed at hotel guests wanting a change of scene. Evenings are busy and sociable, with live music drifting between terraces and shops staying open late. Portions are generous and menus are usually printed in several languages, so ordering is straightforward. It is one of the few places near Belek where you can stroll, browse, and pick a restaurant on the night rather than book ahead. A private transfer from your hotel costs from €15 per vehicle each way.
The Turkish Breakfast Experience
No visit is complete without a proper Turkish breakfast, known as serpme kahvalti - a scattered spread that covers the whole table. Expect a dozen small plates: white cheeses, olives, honey with clotted kaymak, tomatoes, cucumbers, spicy sucuk sausage, and baskets of warm bread, all washed down with endless tulip glasses of black tea. Village-style breakfast houses on the edge of Belek and towards Kadriye do this best, often in shaded gardens. It is filling enough to carry you through to an early dinner, and far more memorable than a hotel buffet. Go late morning at weekends when Turkish families make an event of it. Two people can eat very well for a modest, shared price.
Hotel All-Inclusive vs Eating Out
Most Belek hotels are all-inclusive, and the buffets are genuinely good, which tempts many guests to never leave. Staying in is easy and already paid for, but the menus repeat across a week and the atmosphere is resort-uniform. Heading out, even once or twice, is where the real flavour lives - a fish lunch at Bogazkent, a lively evening in Kadriye, or a village breakfast. The trade-off is cost and transport, though a private transfer to Kadriye from €15 per vehicle each way is modest split between a family. Our advice: keep breakfast and a couple of dinners at the hotel, then book two or three outings for the meals you will actually remember. Balance beats either extreme.
Belek Town and Local Lokantas
Belek town itself, set back from the beach hotels, has a down-to-earth strip of lokantas, kebab houses, and bakeries where locals and staff eat. A lokanta serves ready-cooked home-style dishes from a steam counter - point at what looks good, from bean stews to stuffed peppers and slow-cooked lamb. It is quick, cheap, and authentic, ideal for lunch. You will also find pide (Turkish flatbread pizza), lahmacun, and proper doner carved to order. Prices here are a fraction of the tourist terraces, and portions are hearty. Pair it with a fresh ayran, the salted yoghurt drink, and you have a satisfying meal for a few pounds. It is a short, inexpensive transfer from the hotel zone.
What to Order: Local Dishes
Beyond the buffet staples, look for the dishes the region does well. On the coast, grilled sea bass and bream are the safe bets, alongside calamari and prawns in garlic. Inland and in town, order a mixed grill (karisik izgara), Adana or Urfa kebabs, and testi kebab, a stew dramatically cracked open at the table. Start with meze and a warm pide, and finish with baklava or kunefe, the hot cheese pastry soaked in syrup. Vegetarians are well served by mezes, gozleme, and vegetable guvec. Whatever you choose, the bread and tea keep coming. Ask your driver or restaurant for the day's speciality - the best plates are often not on the printed menu.
Cafes, Sweets and Turkish Tea
Turkish food does not end with the main course, and Belek has a sweet tooth worth indulging. Seek out a proper baklava shop for pistachio-layered pastry sold by weight, or order kunefe, the warm cheese dessert under a crisp shredded top and syrup. In summer, kiosks sell dondurma, the stretchy mastic ice cream vendors love to tease you with. For a quieter afternoon, a tea garden serves endless glasses of black tea, thick Turkish coffee, and fresh gozleme cooked on a griddle while you wait. Cafes around Kadriye also do good filter coffee and cake for a Western-style break. It rounds off a day of eating, and a private transfer back to your hotel from €15 per vehicle keeps the evening easy.
Getting to the Restaurants
The dining spots worth the trip sit a short drive from the hotel belt, and a private transfer takes the hassle out of it. Kadriye is from €15 per vehicle each way, Bogazkent a similarly short hop, and Side, with its harbour restaurants and old town, from €35 one-way. Book on WhatsApp, and the driver meets you, waits if you ask, and returns you after your meal - no haggling with taxis or worrying about the drive home. Payment is cash to the driver in euros, dollars, or lira. For groups, a Mercedes Vito from €35 or a minivan from €45 keeps everyone together. Child seats are free, so family meals out are simple to arrange.
Practical Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, at least a few times. The buffets are good but repetitive, and the region's best meals - fresh fish at Bogazkent, lively Kadriye terraces, village Turkish breakfasts - are outside the gates. A private transfer to Kadriye is from €15 per vehicle each way, which is modest split across a family, and you come home with the meals you actually remember.
Bogazkent, on the coast just east of Belek, has a cluster of family-run fish restaurants serving the daily catch grilled over charcoal, with tables near the water. Fish is priced by weight, so ask before ordering. It is a short private transfer from any Belek hotel, and drivers will wait while you enjoy a long lunch.
Kadriye is a short drive from the Belek hotel belt, and a private transfer costs from €15 per vehicle each way. Book on WhatsApp and the driver drops you in the centre, waits if you ask, and returns you after your meal. Payment is cash in euros, dollars, or lira, and child seats are free.
Serpme kahvalti is a generous shared spread of cheeses, olives, honey and kaymak, tomatoes, sucuk sausage, and endless tea. Village-style breakfast houses around Belek and towards Kadriye do it best, often in shaded gardens. Go late morning, especially at weekends, and two people can eat very well for a modest shared price.
It depends where you go. Local lokantas and kebab houses in Belek town are cheap and authentic - a hearty meal for a few pounds. Coastal fish restaurants and Kadriye terraces cost more, but still less than resort extras. Add a fixed-price transfer from €15 and an evening out stays good value for a family.
Yes. Child seats are free on every transfer, and a Mercedes Vito from €35 or a minivan from €45 keeps larger groups together. There is no night surcharge on standard transfers, so a late dinner in Kadriye or Side costs the same as a daytime run. Just message us on WhatsApp with your hotel and timings.