Restaurant in Bodrum, Turkey
Gaziantep grills, garden setting, fair price.
A Michelin Plate-recognised grill house in Bitez with two consecutive years of recognition and a serious commitment to Gaziantep kebab tradition. At the ₺₺ price tier, Chef Kemal Karataş delivers regional technique and contemporary touches that put it ahead of most Bodrum grill options. Book for the mezze as much as the kebabs.
If you are deciding between Kurul Bitez and a generic seafood terrace on Bodrum's main strip, book Kurul Bitez. Most restaurants in the Bitez area play it safe with grilled fish and salads for tourists. Kurul is doing something more specific: a Michelin Plate-recognised grill house with a serious commitment to Gaziantep kebab tradition, run by a chef who brings genuine regional technique to the table. At the ₺₺ price tier, it is one of the more compelling value decisions you can make in the area.
Kurul Bitez sits in the centre of Bitez, a quieter coastal neighbourhood west of Bodrum town that draws a more local, repeat-visitor crowd than the marina area. The setting is a large garden framed by olive and lemon trees, which creates a noticeably different atmosphere from the sun-bleached, hard-surface terraces that dominate the Bodrum coastline. The ambient feel here is unhurried: the sound of a bread oven working, the visual of a spit turning at the entrance, and the kind of mid-volume background noise that makes conversation possible throughout the meal. It is not a quiet, candlelit room, but it is not a loud, chaotic summer terrace either. The energy is relaxed and communal, with a garden scale that absorbs a crowd without becoming oppressive.
For a first-timer, that entrance moment matters. The spit and bread oven are not decorative. They are the operating signal that this restaurant is structured around live-fire technique, and they tell you immediately what kind of meal you are about to have. Kebabs are the speciality, grounded in Gaziantep tradition, which is the southeastern Turkish city considered the standard-bearer for this style of cooking. Chef Kemal Karataş works within that tradition while adding contemporary layering, most visibly in dishes like a crisp pistachio roll filled with creamy sheep's cheese, topped with pistachios and nut cream, finished with sour cream. That dish alone tells you this is not a direct grill house.
The mezze programme is worth taking seriously here, not as a preamble to clear before the main event, but as a course with its own ambition. Gaziantep mezze tends toward more complex seasoning than the Aegean norm, and if you are visiting Kurul for the first time, ordering a spread of mezze alongside your grill selection gives you a fuller picture of what the kitchen is doing. Do not skip this in favour of moving straight to the kebabs.
The venue data does not specify a formal cocktail or wine programme, and the structural emphasis on live-fire cuisine and Gaziantep tradition suggests the drinks list is more functional than aspirational. At the ₺₺ price tier in a grill-focused setting, expect a solid raki selection, which is the appropriate pairing for this style of food, along with likely beer options and non-alcoholic alternatives. Raki and grilled meat is a pairing with deep roots in Turkish dining, and Kurul's menu structure is built around food-first logic. If a structured cocktail programme or a deep wine list is central to your evening, this is not the venue to prioritise for that; look toward Maçakızı for a more curated drinks experience at a higher price point. At Kurul, the drinks exist to support the food, and that is the right call for this format.
Kurul Bitez holds a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025. A Michelin Plate does not carry the weight of a star, but it is a meaningful signal: Michelin inspectors ate here and found the food worth flagging. In a region where Michelin recognition is still relatively concentrated, two consecutive Plate awards confirm this is a kitchen operating with consistency, not just a good night. The Google rating sits at 4.0 from 622 reviews, which is a credible floor rather than an inflated average, and 622 reviews for a grill house in Bitez represents a genuine volume of real visits.
Kurul Bitez works well for first-timers to Turkish grill cuisine who want context and quality rather than just quantity. It works for couples and small groups who want a relaxed garden setting without formality. It is a reasonable choice for solo diners, given that the garden format and communal energy make single tables feel less exposed than a small indoor room would. The ₺₺ pricing makes it accessible without requiring a special-occasion justification.
For Bodrum visitors who have already done the coastal seafood circuit, Kurul offers a different register entirely: regional, land-focused, and technically grounded. If your trip includes multiple dinners, this slots in well as the meal that is specifically about Turkish grill culture rather than Aegean produce.
Booking is direct. There is no complex reservation system or multi-week lead time required. Walk-in availability in a garden of this scale is realistic, though advance booking is the safer choice in peak summer months when Bitez fills up. The restaurant is located on 1936 Sok No:2 in Bitez, a short drive or taxi from central Bodrum.
For Turkish grill cuisine in Bodrum at the ₺₺ level, Kurul sits in a distinct position. Kitchen By Osman Sezener is in the same price bracket but leans toward modern cuisine rather than regional grill tradition. Bağarası offers Turkish cooking at ₺₺, and Arka Ristorante Pizzeria drops to ₺ for those watching spend more carefully. None of these are doing what Kurul does with Gaziantep technique and live-fire specificity. Maçakızı is the obvious splurge alternative at ₺₺₺₺, with modern cuisine in a more polished setting, but it is a different category of evening entirely.
For broader context on what Michelin-recognised Turkish cuisine looks like elsewhere in the country, Turk Fatih Tutak in Istanbul and Narımor in Izmir represent the higher-end end of that spectrum. Closer to the grill tradition, Damini Macelleria & Affini in Arzignano and Carcasse in Sint-Idesbald show what serious meat-focused restaurants look like in a European context. Kurul is operating at a competitive level within its category and price tier.
For more options across the peninsula, see our full Bodrum restaurants guide, and if you are planning the wider trip, our Bodrum hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kurul Bitez | Meats and Grills | ₺₺ | In the heart of the bustling centre of Bitez, there is a large garden where you can unwind amid olive and lemon trees while enjoying delicious food. Welcome to Kurul Bitez, where kebabs are the speciality of the house. You can see this for yourself at the entrance, where the spit is always turning and the bread oven is working at full tilt. Chef Kemal Karataş gives Gaziantep cuisine a contemporary twist, as in the crisp pistachio roll filled with creamy sheep's cheese, generously topped with pistachios and a nut cream, and accompanied by a quenelle of sour cream. Be sure to try his aromatic mezze, too – they are simply too good to be missed!; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Maçakızı | Modern Cuisine | ₺₺₺₺ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kitchen By Osman Sezener | Modern Cuisine | ₺₺ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| İki Sandal | Traditional Cuisine | ₺₺ | Unknown | — | |
| Arka Ristorante Pizzeria | Italian | ₺ | Unknown | — | |
| Beynel | Turkish | ₺₺ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes. A garden restaurant built around a spit and live bread oven has natural counter-style pacing that suits solo diners watching the kitchen work. The ₺₺ price range means you can eat well without over-ordering, and the mezze format lets you build a complete meal without needing a group. Chef Kemal Karataş's Gaziantep-rooted menu is readable even if you are new to the cuisine.
For a different approach at a similar price level, Kitchen By Osman Sezener leans more contemporary and less focused on live-fire tradition. İki Sandal shifts the format toward seafood. If you want the Michelin-recognised grill experience in a garden setting with spit-roasted kebabs as the main event, Kurul is the clearest option in Bitez specifically.
It works for a relaxed, food-focused celebration rather than a formal one. The olive and lemon tree garden provides atmosphere without ceremony, and two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) give you a credible reason to choose it deliberately. Couples and small groups will get more from it than large parties expecting a set-menu event format.
The kitchen is built around Gaziantep-style kebabs, so that is where to focus: the spit at the entrance is turning for a reason. Start with the mezze, which Michelin reviewers flag specifically, and look for Chef Kemal Karataş's pistachio-and-sheep's-cheese preparations, which represent the contemporary-twist side of the menu. At ₺₺ pricing, over-ordering is easy and affordable.
At ₺₺, yes. Two Michelin Plates in consecutive years at a mid-range price point is a strong value signal in any market. You are getting a chef-driven take on Gaziantep cuisine — live-fire kebabs, serious mezze, a recognisable kitchen identity — without paying fine-dining prices. For comparison, reaching a similar quality benchmark on Bodrum's main strip typically costs more and delivers less culinary specificity.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
