taste

Local Delicacies

Ankara Simit, Döner and Çubuk Pickles are the most known delicacies. Simit, sesame covered round dough is the most common street food in Ankara, Ankara Simit is smaller and crispier compared to the simits you can find in other parts of Türkiye.

Geographical indication protected pickles of Çubuk owes its popularity to the international festival organized every year in the district of Çubuk. Another geographical indication protected delicacy is Beypazarı Kurusu, which is a double-baked dry buttery biscuit and a great snack with a cup of Turkish tea. 

The cuisine of Ankara offers various delicious dishes worth trying such as Beypazarı güveci (stew), sarma, baklava made from 80 layers of paper-thin, hand-rolled “yufka”, höşmerim dessert and many more.

Local carrots grown in Beypazarı district and various carrot products and are other remarkable delicacies. From freshly squeezed carrot juice as a quick refreshment to authentic carrot jam that can delight your taste buds at Turkish breakfast, all these tasty carrot products are worth a try, though carrot lokum (delight) outshines these. Carrot lokum is not sweet as its counterpart, the traditional Turkish Delight, although it is just as delicious.

Ankara is also home to Türkiye’s largest wine producer, which produce with the principle of “Anatolian Wine” and has improved and introduced indigenous Turkish grape varieties to the world, such as Kalecik Karası. This local Turkish grape is known as Central Anatolia’s highest quality red wine grape variety and derived its name from Ankara’s Kalecik district. It is a dark skinned grape variety used in the production of light- to medium bodied red wines, mostly regarded as the finest examples of Turkish wines.