5 Best Restaurants in Trabzon, The Black Sea Coast and Lake Van

This charming, family-run restaurant is all dark wood and nostalgia, and is said to have been serving the same dishes since 1856. The specialty is buttery rice with either slow-cooked lamb or kuru fasülye (white beans in a tomato sauce). Accompany your meal with a frothy ayran (salty yogurt drink) or another house speciality: a sweet, refreshing drink made from sun-dried apricots.

This busy, counter-serve spot is the place for pide (stone-baked dough with savory toppings). The kavurmalı version, topped with slow-cooked chunks of lamb is especially recommended or, if you can't decide go for the üçlü option, which has three toppings.

In an old stone building on the north side of Atatürk Alanı, Cemil Usta serves a mix of seafood and local dishes like akçaabat köfte (the local meatball specialty) and kuymak (fondue made of cheese and cornmeal). Grab a seat street-side or on the long balcony upstairs, which makes this a great spot for watching the square on a summer evening. The service is typically speedy, sometimes bordering on abrupt, but the free hazelnut baklava dessert provides an excuse to linger.

There's no menu here at Fevzi Hoca, Trabzon's most serious seafood restaurant; you'll simply be shown the fish available and you choose how you want your order to be cooked. The restaurant is decorated with photos of famous Turks dining on the premises, a hint of just how popular it is. Non-fish eaters can order the delicious akçaabat köfte (meatballs).

This modern dining room on lively pedestrian Uzun Sokak is a busy local favorite. It offers all the standard kebabs and pides, plus a few rarer dishes such as talaş kebabı (lamb wrapped in pastry) and orman kebabı (stewed lamb with vegetables).