Dishes you should try in Menteşe: Muğla Tava Kebabı, Kızılcık Şerbeti and Patlıcan Böreği. This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Menteşe is famous for.
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Famous Dishes of Menteşe
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Muğla Tava Kebabı
Lamb cooked in a copper pan with onions, tomatoes and peppers. It is the best-known local dish of Muğla and a product with a geographical indication.
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Kızılcık Şerbeti
A traditional sherbet made from cornelian cherries that grow in the Muğla mountains. Its tart-sweet flavour makes it a refreshing summer drink.
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Patlıcan Böreği
Roasted aubergine layered with cheese and parsley between sheets of yufka pastry and baked. It is one of the distinctive flavours of Muğla cuisine.
Dishes from Muğla Cuisine
What to eat in Muğla →These dishes are known throughout Muğla province; see the provincial food guide for details.
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Bodrum Çökertme Kebabı (beef on matchstick potatoes and yoghurt)
A kebab with a registered geographical indication, served as meat on a bed of matchstick potatoes and yoghurt.
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Muğla Köftesi (Muğla meatballs)
Meatballs with a registered geographical indication.
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Muğla Saraylısı (Muğla pastry dessert)
A dessert with a registered geographical indication.
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Milas Tepsi Böreği (Milas tray börek)
A börek with a registered geographical indication.
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Bodrum Tırhandili (Bodrum fish dish)
A fish dish with a registered geographical indication.
What to Buy in Menteşe: Local Products
- Muğla Menteşe Zeytinyağı Cold-pressed olive oil made from olives grown in the mountain villages of Menteşe, produced to international quality standards.
- Muğla Kestanesi Chestnuts grown in the high-altitude villages of Menteşe. They are gathered in the autumn and eaten fresh or as chestnut sugar.
What Menteşe Is Famous For: Culture and Traditions
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Legacy of the Menteşeoğulları Principality
The district of Menteşe takes its name from the Menteşeoğulları Principality, which dominated the region between the 13th and 15th centuries. Mosques, madrasas and caravanserais from the principality period form the historic fabric of the district.
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Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University
Founded in 1992, the university has more than 50,000 students and has made Menteşe a lively university city. Its campus makes an important contribution to the social and cultural life of the district.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I eat in Menteşe?
Menteşe is known for 3 local dishes, above all Muğla Tava Kebabı, Kızılcık Şerbeti and Patlıcan Böreği. Lamb cooked in a copper pan with onions, tomatoes and peppers. It is the best-known local dish of Muğla and a product with a geographical indication.
What is Menteşe famous for?
Menteşe is known for Muğla Tava Kebabı, Muğla Menteşe Zeytinyağı and Legacy of the Menteşeoğulları Principality. Its best-known sights include Muğla Arasta Bazaar and Muğla Historic Houses (Saburhane Neighbourhood).
What to buy in Menteşe?
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Menteşe include Muğla Menteşe Zeytinyağı and Muğla Kestanesi.
Menteşe Travel Guide
- Things to Do in Menteşe 4 places to visit
- What to Eat in Muğla All the famous dishes of the province
What to Eat in Other Districts of Muğla
- Bodrum 6 dishes Bodrum Çökertme Kebabı, Bodrum Kebabı (lamb casserole) and Çökertme Kebabı (fried beef with yoghurt and potatoes)
- Dalaman 3 dishes Dalaman Çupra Izgara (grilled gilthead bream), Otlu Gözleme and Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (stuffed squash flowers)
- Datça 3 dishes Datça Bademi ile Yapılan Tatlılar (sweets made with Datça almonds), Zeytinyağlı Ot Yemekleri (wild herbs cooked in olive oil) and Balık Güveç (fish casserole)
- Fethiye 4 dishes Fethiye Tarhanası (tarhana soup), Fethiye Mezes and Kuzugöbeği Mantarı Sote (sautéed kuzugöbeği mushrooms)
- Kavaklıdere 3 dishes Kavaklıdere Tandır Eti (lamb cooked in a tandır oven), Keçi Sütü Yoğurdu and Otlu Gözleme
- Köyceğiz 5 dishes Köyceğiz Kefali, Sığla Yağlı Yemekler (dishes made with sığla oil) and Çıtırma (corn bread)
- Marmaris 4 dishes Marmaris Çam Balı (Marmaris pine honey), Marmaris Ahtapot Güveç (octopus casserole) and Çökertme Kebabı (fried beef with yoghurt and potatoes)
- Milas 7 dishes Milas Ciğer Kavurması, Milas Çıntar Kavurması and Milas Ekşili Köfte
- Ortaca 5 dishes Dalyan Levreği (sea bass), Ortaca Zeytinyağlı Enginar (artichokes cooked in olive oil) and Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (stuffed courgette flowers)
- Seydikemer 3 dishes Yaka Trout, Tandır Ekmeği (clay oven bread) and Keşkek (wheat and lamb dish)
- Ula 4 dishes Ula Bazlaması (thick griddle bread), Akyaka Seafood and Zeytinyağlı Ot Kavurması (wild herbs sautéed in olive oil)
- Yatağan 3 dishes Yatağan Tandır Kebabı (slow-cooked lamb from an earth oven), Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge) and Patlıcan Musakka (aubergine musakka)