Antepliler

Antepliler offers a taste of the cuisine of Gaziantep, Turkey, with its incredible diversity and fresh ingredients, serving dishes steeped in history and rich in flavour.

Ahmet Ustunsurmeli from Gaziantep set up a bakery in 1993, making the first authentic baklava in London, before opening the restaurant Antepliler in Green Lanes ) in 1993.

Antepliler means ‘from Antep’, the area known as Gaziantep. Located in the southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey, Antep is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Its long gastronomic history is influenced by the Arabs, Persians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans, who all left behind influences on the local cuisine.

Being an important city along the ancient Silk Road and its proximity to the Syrian city Aleppo (an administrative centre of the Seljuk and Ottoman empires) helped shape the tremendous diversity of its local cuisine.

Today Gaziantep remains an important agricultural centre in Turkey, incorporating a wide variety of fresh produce in its cuisine. Famous for its pistachios, it is also known as the baklava capital of Turkey.

The city is considered home to Turkey's richest regional cuisine, attracting a great deal of food tourism, and UNESCO recognises it as a 'capital of taste'. With over 400 dishes from this area, food has long been the centre of Antep's cultural identity.

The cuisine is known for being slightly spicier than in other parts of Turkey. The Aleppo pepper is commonly used (similar to the ancho chilli but with medium heat), and paprika.

With a passion for cooking and showcasing the region's specialities, Ahmet has implemented many of the unique cooking techniques of Antep. Fresh ingredients are carefully selected, and sade yag(ghee) olives and pistachios are imported from Turkey. You cannot go wrong with a visit to Antepliler.

Please click through to their website for bookings.

Afiyet Olsun ( Bon appetit)