Ankara's Great Vegetarian Eats
This place is exclusively vegan and have great variety of vegan tastes. They have many dishes including a Turkish classic Lahmacun(extremely thin crusted pizza with spicy vegan protein mix), Sucuk( turkish vegan chorizo), Tempeh dishes, Tofu based crunchy pub foods and a delicious Falafel. It is one of the few vegan pubs you can find in Ankara
Poche is a classic neighbourhood quick eat cafe with an unpretentious yet impressive kitchen. They have mostly meat based sandwiches but their Kaşarlı Tost (cheese melts toastie) with Kars Cheddar and Falafel bowls do not disappoint the vegetarians.
This quick eat place is run by all young women and they are LGBTQ+ ally. They have great Lahmacun, Hatay Durum Doner (tofu based), Salcali Soslu Döner(seitan based) and many other street foods and pub plates. My personal favorite is Hatay Durum Doner and their almond based Ayran 👌
Gabo is a vegan cafe perfect for trying Turkish wholesome comfort food in vegan versions. Their vegan Manti, Eksili Kofte, Poched Tempeh and many other dishes worth trying. You can also stroll around the Bahceli neighbourhood which is mostly occupied by students.
It is one of the best pizza places in Ankara. They have sourdough pizza with authentic pizza oven and heavenly delicious mezes like humus, and mouth watering Lorlu Zeytin Salatasi (Turkish cottage cheese salad with olives). Their tiramisu is also not to be missed.
This Croissant cafe is one of the most popular in town. They have great selection of savoury and sweet croissant sandwiches (santewich) and open sandwiches with great coffee and mocktails. Just make sure to arrive earlier than you want to eat because they are almost always full ;)
This Italian style Pizza restaurant is in the top 3 of Ankara's best pizza places. They are more on the fine dining route rather than a regular Italian Trattoria but their sourdough pizzas with seasonal recipe options are simply the best. They have a great selection of wine and a Napolitan and Roman mash-up desert called Babamisu (a mixture of tiramisu and baba). I have to say that they are a bit on the more expensive side of the list but it truly worths every penny.
Make sure you book ahead they are always booked a week in advanced.
This meyhane is definitely one kf the most popular ones among the locals. They have a great service and gazillion amount of delicious mezes. If you can book a head you shoudl definitely try their mezes, especially the hot fried oyster mushroom pot with yogurt on top, atom, köpoglu(mixed fried vegetables with tomato sauce and yogurt), beatroot kısır with pomegrante, humus, fava, muhammara and many others.
If you are on the mood you can also enjoy them with raki or variety of wines.
The interior is not big but its very cozy and they have french toast and other deserts for you to enjoy in an afternoon too.
Just dont take too long to get there because they often close at 15:00
This family Manti joint delivers a very local vibe. They have great manti including vegetarian options, other simple pasta options, zeytinyagli dishes (cold vegetable dishes cooked with olive oil) and grandma style local deserts. The whole atmosphere is like you are in your grandmas kitchen and she is serving you a wholesome meal in an afternoon. Ask for çay after your meal and before you leave your nanas house 🥧
This Japanese Ramen house is quite simple and minimalistic in decoration but eclectic in taste. They are one of the few(if not only) ramen places in Ankara who serves a vegetarien/vegan ramen. The ordering takes place online and service is pretty quick. With miso paste and seaweed ingredients their ramen is quite authentic. Just dont add too much of the hot chili sauce it is deadly 🥲🌶(even for me)
If you are a fancy pants you wont like this self service place beacuse you take your food on a tray yourself and you leave it on the cart yourself ;)
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