Restaurant in Izmir, Turkey
Michelin-recognised meyhane, easy to book.
Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024–2025) and a 4.7 Google rating make Aslında Meyhane the standout value in Urla's dining scene. At ₺₺ pricing, it delivers proper Turkish meyhane cooking — shared meze, Aegean flavours, and a table culture built for long evenings — without the price premium of comparable Michelin-recognised venues elsewhere in Turkey.
If you are planning a special dinner in the Urla district outside Izmir and want a meyhane that earns its place on a Michelin list without charging Michelin prices, Aslında Meyhane is the right call. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) confirm what the 4.7 Google rating across 255 reviews suggests: this is a kitchen producing food that outperforms its ₺₺ price point with consistency. Book it for a celebratory dinner with a partner, a long lunch with friends who appreciate Turkish drinking-and-eating culture, or a solo seat at the table if you want to eat well in Urla without committing to a three-course tasting format.
Aslında Meyhane sits on Dere Sokak in the Yeni Mahalle neighbourhood of Urla, a town on the Izmir peninsula that has become the clearest expression of the region's food and wine identity. Where much of Izmir city proper trends toward seafood chains and tourist-facing meyhanes, Urla has developed a tighter, more discerning dining culture built around local producers, Aegean herbs, and small-batch wines from the peninsula's growing number of serious estates. Aslında Meyhane sits inside that ecosystem, functioning less as a destination restaurant and more as the kind of neighbourhood anchor that a place like Urla builds its culinary credibility around.
The name itself — "Aslında" translates roughly as "actually" or "in fact" , signals something about the kitchen's posture. This is a meyhane that takes the traditional format seriously: shared meze, raki-friendly cold dishes, warm plates that arrive when they are ready, and a table culture built around extended eating rather than efficient turnover. That format is well-suited to a special occasion precisely because it encourages slowing down. If your group is used to ordering everything at once and settling the bill inside ninety minutes, a traditional meyhane may require adjustment. If you go in understanding the rhythm, the evening builds naturally.
Bib Gourmand recognition from Michelin is awarded specifically to restaurants offering good cooking at a price that represents value relative to quality , it is not a consolation prize below the stars but a distinct category that Michelin takes seriously. Winning it two years in a row at Aslında Meyhane places the kitchen among a small number of Turkish venues the guide considers both consistent and fairly priced. For context, the Bib Gourmand list for Turkey includes venues in Istanbul that charge considerably more for a comparable quality signal. At ₺₺ pricing in Urla, Aslında Meyhane is among the more affordable ways to eat at a Michelin-recognised table in the country. Comparable Michelin-tracked Turkish cooking in Istanbul , at places like Turk Fatih Tutak or 29 , operates at a substantially higher price tier.
The Urla setting matters for practical planning. This is not a central Izmir address. Dere Sokak is a residential street in a town that takes about forty minutes to reach from the city centre by car. If you are staying in Izmir proper, build in travel time and consider whether you want to drive back after a meyhane-length dinner. The surrounding area also has accommodation and several other strong restaurants, so an overnight stay in Urla is a legitimate option if you are building an itinerary around the peninsula's food scene. See our full Izmir restaurants guide and our full Izmir hotels guide for planning context.
For a special occasion dinner, the meyhane format gives you more control over the table experience than a fixed tasting menu would. You are not locked into a sequence; you build the table with meze, pacing the meal to the conversation. That flexibility makes it well-suited to celebrations where the mood matters as much as the food. The 4.7 rating across a substantial number of reviews suggests the kitchen delivers this experience reliably, not just on occasion. Consistency is the harder thing to achieve, and two Bib Gourmand cycles indicate Michelin's inspectors agree.
If you are visiting the wider Aegean coast, Aslında Meyhane is worth comparing against other Michelin-tracked Turkish venues in the region: Maçakızı in Bodrum and Ahãma in Göcek both operate in a similar Aegean register but at higher price points and in more resort-facing settings. Aslında Meyhane's neighbourhood character in Urla is a different kind of experience , less polished in a hotel-dining sense, more embedded in local life. That is a genuine asset if authenticity in a local setting matters to you.
Within Izmir's broader dining options, the city also has strong addresses worth knowing before you decide where to centre your evenings. Narımor, Levan, and Beğendik Abi all offer different entry points into Izmir eating. For traditional breakfast and börek culture, Ayşa Boşnak Börekçisi is a practical daytime stop. For a budget-end Turkish meal without the Bib Gourmand mark-up, Adil Müftüoğlu holds its own at a lower price tier. And if your itinerary extends beyond Izmir, Aravan Evi in Ürgüp and Agora Pansiyon in Milas round out Turkey's wider regional dining map. For a comprehensive view of what to do around the peninsula, our full Izmir wineries guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are worth reviewing before you travel.
The bottom line: Aslında Meyhane is a reliable, Michelin-validated meyhane in a location that rewards the effort of getting there. Book it when you want a proper Turkish table in the Aegean rather than a hotel dining-room approximation of one. Booking difficulty is low , reservations should be achievable without a long lead time , which removes the usual pressure that comes with Michelin-tracked venues in major cities. If you are in Urla or planning to be, this is where you eat dinner.
Aslında Meyhane is located at Dere Sk. No:26A, Yeni Mahalle, Urla, Izmir. Booking difficulty is rated easy, so you do not need weeks of lead time to secure a table, though calling ahead is advisable for weekend evenings and for groups. No phone or website is currently listed in our data, so the most practical approach is to ask your hotel concierge to assist with the reservation or to check current booking channels on arrival in Urla. Dress code information is not available, but at a ₺₺ neighbourhood meyhane in a coastal Aegean town, smart-casual is a safe default. There is no formal dress expectation at this price point and in this setting.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Aslında Meyhane | ₺₺ | — |
| OD Urla | ₺₺₺ | — |
| Teruar Urla | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Vino Locale | ₺₺₺ | — |
| Adil Müftüoğlu | ₺ | — |
| Asma Yaprağı | ₺₺ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Groups are manageable here given the easy booking difficulty and ₺₺ price range, which keeps the bill predictable for larger parties. Call ahead or book early to confirm space, as meyhane-format dining in a neighbourhood setting like Yeni Mahalle, Urla typically means limited covers. For a private event, contact them directly — no online booking system is listed.
This is a Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognised meyhane, which means the Michelin inspectors flagged it for good value rather than fine-dining formality — so expect Turkish meyhane hospitality and shared-table culture, not a tasting-menu production. It sits on Dere Sokak in Urla, about 45 minutes from central Izmir, so plan your transport. Booking is rated easy, meaning you do not need weeks of lead time.
Specific menu formats are not confirmed in available data, so assume the meyhane model: meze-forward sharing plates rather than a structured tasting menu. The ₺₺ pricing and Bib Gourmand status both point to value-driven eating rather than a multi-course chef's menu format. If you want a tasting-menu experience in the region, OD Urla is a stronger fit.
Meyhane dining is built around sharing, which can feel awkward solo, but the easy booking environment and neighbourhood-scale venue on Dere Sokak suggest a relaxed atmosphere rather than a formal one. Solo diners who are comfortable ordering a few meze independently should be fine. For a more counter-friendly solo format, check alternatives in central Izmir.
Within the Urla area, OD Urla offers a more polished, destination-restaurant experience at a higher price point, while Teruar Urla and Vino Locale both lean into the region's wine scene alongside food. Asma Yaprağı and Adil Müftüoğlu are closer comparisons for traditional Turkish cooking at accessible prices. Aslında Meyhane is the only one in this peer group with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024–2025).
Specific dishes are not documented in available data, so specific recommendations cannot be made here. As a meyhane, the format typically centres on cold and warm meze followed by fish or grilled mains — lean into whatever the server recommends as seasonal. The Bib Gourmand recognition signals that the kitchen delivers consistent quality at the ₺₺ price level.
No dress code is specified, and the Bib Gourmand designation combined with a neighbourhood address in Urla suggests an informal, come-as-you-are setting. Dress practically for a relaxed Turkish meyhane rather than a fine-dining room. Overly formal attire would be out of place.
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