Havuş Deli: Shop reminding Istanbul of what it forgot

Ebru Erke

Ömür Akkor’s Havuş Deli project redefines the concept of fast food through Anatolian techniques: Real ingredients, accessible pricing and a producer-centered table culture

When I went to Havuş Deli, I was expecting a new-generation gastro shop. What I encountered, however, was something far beyond that. Yes, the shelves are filled with high-quality products. But what truly stood out was how this quality is framed not as an unattainable luxury, but as an accessible everyday habit. In Ömür Akkor’s own words, the mission is very clear: “To bring high-quality products to guests at more accessible prices.” This approach touches a long-standing gap in Turkish gastronomy. Good products often remain either boutique and limited or confined to showcases that only speak to a certain income group.

The starting point of Havuş Deli is, in fact, highly symbolic: Türkiye is an olive oil country, yet in Istanbul, it is almost impossible to find potatoes fried in olive oil. Akkor describes the place like this: “A fast food shop where everything is cooked with olive oil, children drink soups made with bone broth, potatoes are fried in olive oil and food is prepared using traditional methods… I can say we have created one of the healthiest fast food concepts in the world.” This statement matters because the term “fast food” is still associated with industrial production and unhealthy eating. What Havuş Deli does is to redefine this concept through local techniques, traditional methods and real ingredients. 

Ömür Akkor is a chef, yes — but another defining aspect of his identity is that he is a true ingredient hunter. For 32 years, he has traveled across Anatolia, from province to province and town to town. This journey is reflected on Havuş Deli’s shelves through carefully selected honey molasses, olive oil molasses, sun-dried spices and tomato pastes sourced from all corners of the country. In essence, this summarizes the spirit of Havuş Deli: Instead of chasing trends, it brings forgotten truths back onto the shelves.

This is not just a place for shopping. It is also a space where you can see ingredients transform into food. They not only sell good products but they also serve dishes made with those very ingredients. Bone broth soups, yogurt and ayran made from fresh farm milk, fruits offered as complimentary treats… This approach brings the “shelf + plate” relationship together in one single space. It is a model still rarely practiced in Türkiye: Not only selling the product, but convincing the palate.

Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of Havuş Deli is its refusal to obsess over “innovation.” The example Akkor gives of Külek Molasses is particularly striking: This year’s molasses is fermented and thickened together with last year’s molasses and honey, creating a traditional form that has nearly been forgotten. Instead of constantly launching new products, they take on the responsibility of bringing old products back into daily life. This is a rare attitude in today’s gastronomy world. While the industry often focuses on what is “new,” the real loss is the forgetting of what is right.

At the center of Havuş Deli stands the producer — but not in the conventional sense of a supplier. They do not ask producers to increase volume. They ask them to continue producing with traditional methods, at their own natural rhythm. When necessary, they secure products by paying in advance for the following year’s production. The goal of this model is not expansion, but preservation. Not selling more, but sustaining the same level of quality. This is what sustainability truly means. The very reason Havuş Deli exists is to reconnect Istanbul with the ingredients it has lost touch with.

And then there are the dishes you will remember long after you leave: Bone broth, pumpkin tarhana soup served with sourdough bread (275 Turkish Liras); hot Sham-style simit sandwiches with grilled cheese and tomato paste filling (295 liras); pizza-like flatbreads topped with halloumi, rib meat and za’atar (390–540 liras); and a wide selection of mezze to accompany your chosen baked goods (49 liras per portion). 

Havuş Deli reminds us that frying potatoes in olive oil is not a luxury but normality, bone broth is not an “alternative” for children but tradition and good ingredients are not niche products but basic necessities. And perhaps most importantly, it tells us this: The future of Turkish gastronomy lies not in inventing new things, but in rebuilding what is already right.