Beyond Michelin: Story behind Urla’s rise

EBRU ERKE

If Urla is now regarded as one of Türkiye’s most exciting gastronomic destinations, its success cannot be explained solely by chef-driven restaurants that have appeared in recent years. Some places do not become destinations overnight. They evolve slowly, shaped by the vision, patience and persistence of people who recognise their potential long before anyone else. Urla is one of those places.

For decades, it was little more than a stop on the road between İzmir and Çeşme, often passed through but rarely explored. Yet Can Ortabaş always saw something more. Today, as Urla is celebrated for its vineyards, wine, gastronomy, art and nature, it is worth remembering that much of this transformation began nearly thirty years ago.

When Ortabaş established Uzbaş Arboretum in 1996, he was not simply creating a botanical collection. He was studying the landscape, its climate and its rhythms while imagining what kind of lifestyle this region could one day sustain. When he planted his first vineyards a few years later, the ambition was never just to produce wine. His vision was to help build a destination where gastronomy, agriculture, viticulture, culture and nature could coexist throughout the year.

The emergence of vineyard culture became one of the defining moments in Urla’s evolution. As wineries gradually appeared across the region, the Urla Wine Route naturally took shape. Ortabaş often says that wine travellers are discerning travellers. Vineyards tell the story of a landscape through climate, craftsmanship, patience and seasonality. They create an identity that can be understood internationally while remaining deeply rooted in local culture. This wine culture became one of the strongest foundations of Urla’s gastronomic identity.

As restaurants began to flourish around the vineyards, international attention followed. Michelin’s arrival further accelerated this visibility. Yet despite its growing reputation, Urla still lacked one important element: Accommodation that reflected the same philosophy as its restaurants. KeyUrla was created to fill that gap.

Ortabaş’s long held ambition of developing a hospitality project worthy of Relais & Châteaux standards eventually became reality through a partnership with Selim Özgörkey and Askar Alshinbayev. More than a hotel, however, KeyUrla represents a vision for the future of the region. Built with respect for nature and local culture, it connects hospitality with gastronomy, gastronomy with viticulture and viticulture with the landscape itself.

Its restaurant, An Urla, completes that vision. Rather than functioning as a conventional hotel restaurant, it was conceived as a place balancing the warmth of a neighbourhood restaurant with the precision of Michelin level dining. Led by chef Ali Çakmak under the consultancy of Seray Kumbasar, the kitchen places seasonal and local ingredients at the centre of the experience. Handmade pasta, wood-fired pizzas, seafood and carefully crafted recipes reinterpret the flavours of the Aegean in a contemporary yet approachable way.

What ultimately distinguishes Urla today is balance. Traditional tradesmen’s restaurants, fishermen, olive oil producers and family-run vineyards continue to exist alongside Michelin-starred restaurants without competing against one another. This coexistence is what gives Urla its character. Michelin did not create Urla. It simply illuminated what was already here.

That is a view shared by many of the people who helped shape the region. Osman Sezener believes Michelin transformed Urla from a place known for good restaurants into a genuine gastronomic destination. Osman Serdaroğlu describes its impact not as transformation but as acceleration. Ozan Kumbasar of Vino Locale, which earned its second Michelin star this year, shares the same perspective. Michelin did not invent Urla’s story. It simply made the rest of the world notice it.

For years, fine dining in Türkiye was largely associated with major cities, especially Istanbul. Urla proposed a different model. It demonstrated that world-class restaurants could thrive in the middle of vineyards, olive groves and farmland, where agriculture is not a backdrop but the very foundation of the culinary experience.

Perhaps Urla’s greatest luxury is the way these different worlds exist together. You can spend the morning walking through vineyards, have lunch in a modest local restaurant where the same family has been cooking for decades and finish the day with a world-class tasting menu. Few destinations offer such a seamless dialogue between tradition and innovation. Looking ahead, what gives Urla the greatest hope is the shared vision among the people who have shaped its future. From Can Ortabaş to Osman Sezener, Osman Serdaroğlu and Ozan Kumbasar, the message is remarkably consistent. The region does not need to grow faster. It needs to protect what already makes it unique.

Not more buildings, but deeper roots. Not more signs, but greater consistency. Because what makes Urla truly special is not simply the quality of its restaurants. It is the fact that it still moves to the rhythm of its land.

 Where to eat in Urla

-Beğendik Abi: One of the pillars of Urla’s traditional tradesmen’s restaurant culture. Honest, deeply local and one of the best places to experience the region’s culinary heritage.

-Aslında Meyhane: A warm neighbourhood meyhane where fish soup, kokoreç and classic Aegean mezes come together in an authentic atmosphere.

-Hiç Lokanta: Located in a former Greek theatre, Hiç combines contemporary cuisine with local ingredients and its own olive oil, creating one of Urla’s most distinctive dining experiences.

-Hus: Set among the vineyards, Hus beautifully reflects the connection between Mediterranean cuisine, wine and Urla’s vineyard culture.

-OD Urla: One of Türkiye’s leading farm-to-table restaurants, sourcing much of its produce from its own gardens while celebrating open fire cooking and seasonality.

-Yelve: One of Urla’s newest restaurants, where chef Serkan Anavatan presents refined ingredient-driven cuisine in a calm Nordic-inspired setting.

-An Urla: Located within KeyUrla, An Urla offers contemporary Aegean cuisine under the guidance of consultant chef Seray Kumbasar and chef Ali Çakmak.

-Teruar Urla: Chef Osman Serdaroğlu’s restrained style allows the ingredients and the landscape to remain at the heart of every dish.

-Narımor: Chef Atilla Heilbronn interprets local ingredients through a contemporary lens in one of Urla’s most intimate fine dining restaurants.