Antalya Food Guide: Piyaz, Hibeş & Şiş Köfte, Explained

Antalya's food is the cooking of Turkey's Mediterranean coast: tahini-garlic piyaz (white bean salad), hibeş (a tahini-based spread), and şiş köfte (skewered ground-meat patties), built around citrus, olive oil, and sun-ripened produce. Order them together and you get a tangy, nutty, grilled meal that sits apart from the cooking of Istanbul or the Southeast.

Key Takeaways

• Antalya sits on Turkey's southern Mediterranean coast, so its table leans on olive oil, citrus, tomatoes, and fresh herbs rather than butter and heavy meat stews.
• The city is most associated with tahini-dressed piyaz, a white bean and onion salad finished with a sauce of tahini, garlic, and a sour note.
• Hibeş is a thick tahini-and-garlic spread, comparable to hummus in role; recipes differ from kitchen to kitchen.
• Şiş köfte, ground meat pressed onto flat skewers and grilled, is the classic partner for piyaz.
• You can rebuild the whole Antalya table in a US kitchen with dry white beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and a grill pan.

Picture a long table on a warm evening with the Taurus Mountains hanging blue behind the city. There is a basket of flatbread, a bowl of white beans under a pale, nutty sauce, and a plate of grilled meat still hissing from the fire. Nobody is in a hurry.

That is the Antalya table at its simplest. The city is a Mediterranean port with citrus groves on its doorstep, and the cooking shows it: sharp, garlicky, lemony, and built on ingredients that taste of the season rather than the pantry.

Most Americans meet Turkish food through kebabs and baklava. Antalya food is a quieter story.

It is also a very practical one for a home cook, because almost everything on it can be made from a short shopping list.

This guide walks through the three dishes that define Antalya's table — piyaz, hibeş, and şiş köfte — and the produce behind them. If you want the step-by-step method for the bean salad, our piyaz white bean salad recipe has it, and for the sauce that ties the table together, start with our explainer on what tahini is and how to buy it.

What Makes Antalya Food Different From the Rest of Turkey?

Turkey is a country of regional kitchens, and Antalya belongs to the Akdeniz (Mediterranean) group. The Southeast cooks with isot pepper and lamb. The Black Sea leans on anchovies and corn. Antalya, by contrast, cooks with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and tahini, and it eats a great deal of vegetables.

Geography explains much of it. The city sits between the sea and the Taurus range, and the surrounding province is a major source of fresh produce, including greenhouse vegetables and citrus. When tomatoes, peppers, and oranges are that close, they become the point of the meal rather than the garnish.

The other defining trait is the sauce. Antalya's signature flavors are built on tahini (ground sesame paste) loosened with water and sharpened with something sour. Once you taste that pairing, you can recognize the city's cooking blind.

What Is Antalya-Style Piyaz?

Piyaz is a salad of cooked white beans, sliced onion, and parsley, served at room temperature. Across Turkey it is usually dressed with olive oil and vinegar. The Antalya version, often called tahinli piyaz, swaps in a creamy sauce: tahini, garlic, and a sour element such as lemon or vinegar, thinned with water until it coats the beans like a loose dressing.

The result is richer than a vinaigrette but not heavy. The beans stay tender and mild, the raw onion adds bite, and the sauce brings a nutty, garlicky depth. Many versions are finished with chopped egg, tomato, or a dusting of sumac, and the exact toppings change from one kitchen to the next.

Which beans do you use?

Use dried white beans that hold their shape when cooked. Soaking and simmering them yourself gives better texture than most canned beans, and it is the same base you would use for a pot of kuru fasulye (slow-cooked white bean stew). Cook them until they are soft but intact, then cool them before dressing.

What Is Hibeş, and How Is It Different From Hummus?

Hibeş is a thick, pale spread of tahini, garlic, and lemon that people most associate with Antalya. It arrives with bread or sits alongside the other small plates, and it is eaten the way you would eat hummus: scooped, smeared, and mopped up.

The comparison to hummus is fair but imperfect. Hummus is defined by chickpeas, with tahini as a supporting flavor. Hibeş puts the tahini and garlic first. Recipes vary, and some cooks add chickpeas while others do not, so treat any single formula as one household's habit rather than a rule.

If you already keep tahini in the cupboard, you have the foundation. Stir the jar well before you measure, because the oil separates, and add cold water a spoonful at a time. The paste will seize up and then turn smooth.

Stock the Antalya pantry: start with dried white beans and other staples in our Dry Goods / Pantry collection, and add a good bottle from our Cooking Oils & Olive Oil collection for finishing the table.

Why Does Şiş Köfte Show Up Next to Piyaz?

Şiş köfte is ground meat mixed with onion, parsley, and spices, pressed around a flat skewer, and grilled. In Antalya it is the traditional partner for piyaz, and the two are often ordered together. If you want the wider family of meatballs, our guide to Turkish köfte types and how to cook them sorts out the differences.

The pairing is a matter of balance. Grilled meat is salty, fatty, and smoky. Piyaz is cool, creamy, and sour. Each resets your palate for the next bite, and a plate with only one of them feels incomplete.

The usual side dishes are simple: grilled tomato and green pepper, flatbread, and a glass of ayran (salted yogurt drink). Some people add a pinch of sumac or chili flakes at the table. That is the whole formula, and it has not needed much improvement.

How Does Antalya's Citrus and Mediterranean Produce Shape the Menu?

Walk through an Antalya market and you will see why the cooking tastes bright. Narenciye (citrus fruit) is part of the local landscape, and the province includes Finike, a district known for its oranges. Lemons and oranges end up in salads, dressings, drinks, and desserts, and a squeeze of lemon is assumed on almost every plate.

Olive oil carries much of the rest. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts are olive country, and the style of cooking they share is built on vegetables dressed in oil and eaten at room temperature.

That cold-table habit is the heart of the region. A spread like hibeş, a bean salad like piyaz, and a few vegetable plates make up a meal that needs very little cooking and is nearly always better after an hour in the fridge. For more of that style, our guide to Turkish summer mezze and cold dishes is a good next read.

Round out the table: browse olives and tangy pickles in our Pickles & Olives collection, or explore everything else for a Turkish dinner in our Shop Turkish Groceries Online collection.

How Do You Build an Antalya-Style Meal at Home in the US?

Start with the cold dishes, because they improve with time. Cook the beans a day ahead, dress them an hour before serving, and make the hibeş the same morning. Both keep well in the refrigerator, and neither needs more than a pot and a bowl.

Next, handle the köfte. Chill the meat mixture so it holds to the skewer, wet your hands, and shape it into long, flat patties. A grill, a cast-iron pan, or a broiler with a rack all work. Cook until browned and cooked through, and rest it for a few minutes before serving.

Finally, set the table the Turkish way: everything at once, shared, with plenty of bread. Add sliced tomato, a small bowl of chili flakes, and a dusting of sumac for the onions. A pitcher of ayran or a glass of strong tea finishes it.

What should you buy first?

Buy a jar of tahini, dried white beans, good olive oil, lemons, and fresh parsley. Those five items cover piyaz and hibeş, and the same tahini and lemon will carry other dishes later. Meat for the köfte comes from your regular butcher.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Antalya famous for eating?

Antalya is most associated with tahini-dressed piyaz, the hibeş spread, and şiş köfte, along with fresh vegetables, citrus, and olive-oil dishes typical of Turkey's Mediterranean coast. These dishes are common across Turkey, but the tahini-forward style of piyaz is the one people most often connect with the city.

What is the difference between piyaz and hibeş?

Piyaz is a salad of cooked white beans, onion, and parsley with a dressing, while hibeş is a thick spread of tahini, garlic, and lemon that you scoop with bread. Piyaz is eaten with a fork as a side or meze, and hibeş is eaten as a dip, so they serve different jobs.

Is hibeş the same as hummus?

Not exactly. Hummus is built on chickpeas, with tahini as one ingredient among several. Hibeş puts tahini and garlic at the center, and cooks differ on whether to add chickpeas at all. The two are close cousins that play the same role on the table, but they are not identical dishes.

What do you serve with şiş köfte?

The traditional partner is piyaz, plus flatbread, grilled tomato and green pepper, and a cold glass of ayran. Raw onion with sumac and a small dish of chili flakes also appear often. The idea is to balance the smoky, fatty meat with something cool, sour, and creamy.

Can you make Antalya-style piyaz with canned beans?

Yes, though dried white beans cooked at home usually give a better texture. If you use canned beans, drain and rinse them well, warm them briefly, and dress them once they cool. Taste the sauce before adding it, since the tahini, garlic, and sour element should balance the mild beans.

Where can you buy tahini and white beans for Turkish dishes?

Check the pantry and dry goods shelves at a Turkish or Middle Eastern grocery, or shop online from a Turkish grocery store that ships across the US. Look for tahini with a short ingredient list, and choose dried white beans that look uniform and unbroken. Store both in a cool, dry cupboard.