Eighteen restaurants from Cappadocia, İzmir’s historic two-star breakthrough and a wave of new awards signal a powerful truth: Turkish gastronomy is no longer emerging — it is leading, evolving and commanding global attention.
The night everyone had been waiting for all year… On the evening when the heartbeat of Türkiye’s gastronomic world quickened, when chefs had prepared for months, and when the entire industry focused its excitement on a single moment, the Michelin Guide announced its 2026 selection for Türkiye.
The ceremony, which delivers new surprises every year, made history this time as one restaurant in İzmir was honored with two stars. Equally significant was the announcement that, as of next year, the Michelin Guide will expand to cover the entire country. Three restaurants received their first star, three emerging talents were recognized with special awards and yet the most anticipated — and in my view, the most thrilling — question of the night was how Cappadocia, included in the selection for the very first time, would appear on this prestigious stage.
The inclusion of 18 restaurants from the Cappadocia region was an unexpected and delightful surprise. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, explained it this way: “More impressive than the numbers was the spirit these restaurants carry. Beyond Cappadocia’s legendary Turkish hospitality, there is a warmth that invites you to savor life’s simplest pleasures without hurry. This philosophy is reflected in the food as well. Tradition, respect and terroir carry deep meaning here.”
Of the 18 Cappadocian restaurants included, one — Revithia — received a star; five earned a Bib Gourmand for their exceptional price–quality balance and the rest secured places on the recommended list. Yet what struck me most — and what I believe delivered the strongest social message of the year — was that many of these restaurants are run by women or rooted in women-led cooperatives. The fact that these local, women-powered businesses were brought into the spotlight by Michelin marks an invaluable turning point for Turkish gastronomy. This picture tells us something important: Cappadocia is opening not only a geographical but also a cultural chapter in gastronomy. The way this region blends ancestral wisdom with women’s labor signals, quite clearly, the direction of Türkiye’s culinary future.
Another major surprise came from İzmir. Türkiye now has another two-star restaurant: Vino Locale. Chef Ozan Kumbasar’s cuisine brings together Aegean terroir with subtle influences from Thailand, Japan and beyond; while locality remains the foundation, global nuances are woven gracefully into the plates. Set amid greenery just outside the city, the restaurant’s deep sense of belonging to its land was rewarded as İzmir’s first — and Türkiye’s second — two-Michelin-starred restaurant, standing alongside TURK Fatih Tutak on the same stage. And it is worth noting that Chef Ozan’s wife, Seray Kumbasar, received the Sommelier Award last year.
This year, three new restaurants from three different cities earned their first Michelin star, once again proving how strong and distinct Türkiye’s culinary voices are across diverse geographies. Revithia, Cappadocia’s first starred restaurant, revives nearly forgotten recipes through a contemporary lens. Located in the Kayakapı area, it transforms dishes rooted in regional memory—milk-braised lamb, fermented grains, tarhana—into a modern narrative shaped by Chef Duran Özdemir’s vivid and expressive vision. Revithia is not merely a restaurant; it is a culinary stage that reawakens the region’s soil-bound memory.
In Istanbul, Araf — led by Kenan and Pınar Korgan Çetinkaya — creates a minimal yet striking world built around fire. The intimate counter restaurant champions flavor integrity, product respect and precise technique, revealing the depth of Turkish flavors in their purest form.
In Bodrum, Mezra Yalıkavak, under Chef Serhat Doğramacı, delivers a powerful culinary heritage anchored in protected Turkish ingredients and ancestral cooking methods. With its gardens, farm animals and ferment-driven philosophy, it offers a living, breathing farm-to-table narrative.
With these three additions, Türkiye now has 15 one-Michelin-star restaurants.
The Bib Gourmand category, which honors exceptional food at moderate prices, welcomed 16 new restaurants, bringing Türkiye’s total to 39. In İzmir, Kemal’in Yeri Mülkiyeliler Birliği and Partal Kardeşler demonstrated how local traditions can shine through pure simplicity. In Muğla, Mandalya and Mezegi impressed with fresh, honest and affordable cooking. Cappadocia made another strong entrance: Five Bib Gourmands, including Babayan Evi, which received both a Bib and a Green Star for its remarkable sustainability practices. This signaled a gastronomic vision that speaks not only to flavor but also to culture and future-conscious thinking.
The Green Star, awarded to restaurants committed to sustainable dining, went to four establishments this year: TURK Fatih Tutak (Istanbul), Orfoz (Muğla), Teruar Urla (İzmir) and Babayan Evi (Cappadocia). These restaurants do more than serve excellent food—they work toward an excellent future.
Michelin's special awards set the emotional tone of the evening. The Young Chef Award went to 29-year-old Duru Akgül of Yakamengen III in Muğla. In her beautifully restored former olive oil mill, she combines seasonal and local ingredients with her international experience. Her thoughtful use of overlooked species such as blue crab and lionfish reveals her not just as a chef but as a storyteller.
The Sommelier Award was given to Ersin Topkara of Neolokal, whose deep knowledge of Turkish wine and intuitive pairing mastery became one of the ceremony’s standout moments.
The Service Award went to Ezgi Serdaroğlu of Teruar Urla. While her husband, Chef Osman, offers remarkable dishes from the kitchen, Ezgi orchestrates the dining room with a conductor’s precision and warmth — truly an “orchestra leader” of the restaurant experience.
The “Recommended” list expanded with 38 new restaurants, bringing the total to 115. One detail the inspectors emphasized was especially meaningful: They were moved not only by the plates but by Türkiye’s hospitality itself.
Turkish gastronomy has not only evolved in recent years; it has entered a new phase in which it redefines itself for the world. A culinary memory shaped by centuries of cultures, migrations and rituals is now being expressed in a new language. One of the clearest stages of this transformation is undoubtedly the Michelin Guide’s presence in Türkiye. What began in Istanbul expanded to İzmir, Muğla and Cappadocia, and now the world’s gastronomic lens is focusing on Türkiye’s flavor landscape more closely than ever.
From Istanbul’s cosmopolitan energy to İzmir’s terroir-driven sensibility, from Bodrum’s shifting coastal character to Cappadocia’s timeless culinary heritage — all of it strengthens the same picture: Türkiye now stands on the global gastronomic stage with its own voice, its own rhythm and its own unmistakable identity. And as Gwendal Poullennec put it: “The rise of Turkish gastronomy is no longer a trend; it is a reality. Turkish cuisine captures the world’s attention through the strong bridge it builds between past and future. Creative chefs, deep producer relationships, a devotion to locality, a commitment to sustainability and a bold culinary language… And here, chefs
