Let’s talk best restaurants for expats in this city of no expats. I realize that not everyone wants a “bizarre food” experience all the time. Or even most of the time. If you want to stick with the familiar, then rest easy that Adana has chain places here like Starbucks, Popeyes, Little Caesars, McDonalds, but just remember that they will not have pork products. Otherwise, a translator app will help you in most places. Here are my recommendations for expat-friendly places. These places serve good food. I do not mention the many shiny places that serve bad food.
Okay, with all those caveats, let’s begin. I have been to over 90 eateries in Adana. The list is in descending order from best to worst food, sort of.
Croma, Sayhan Apt, Cemalpaşa, 63005. Sk. 17/D, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, in the Gazipasa neighborhood. Parking is awful so take an uber (just type in the name of the restaurant in uber and it will pull it up) or walk. The food is farm to table, the waiters speak English, and the place makes their own pasta. Avoid the rice and chicken dishes. Excellent salads. Beer and wine are available as well. You will feel like you are not in Adana. So far, this is my top pick for best restaurant in Adana. I have now eaten there quite a few times and I still like it.
Vill Kitchen, Güzelyalı Mah. Uğur mumcu Blv, 81151. Sk. Enver Özkan Apt No:2 / E, 01170 Çukurova/Adana, in north Adana, has a nice vibe, excellent creamy desserts, Turkish breakfast, and other trendy items like avocado toast. Eggs are good here. Staff speak some English.
Güneşer Bakery, Güzelyalı, 81161. Sk. VELİ İŞLEK APT SİT. 5A, 01170 Çukurova/Adana, is an organic, gluten free famous, mom and daughter bakery that would not be out of place in Berkeley, California. If it was there, the line would go out the door and around the corner. Sunday Turkish breakfast requires a reservation. The mom makes all the food from the jams to the purple colored gluten free bread.
Pizzeria Povera, Turgut Özal Bulvarı Doğal Park Karşısı G4 Nest Altı, 01170 Çukurova/Adana, in north Adana, is run by a chef who ferments his pizza dough for 72 hours. He also has tiramisu but it’s best to ask him via direct message on Instagram, if there is any that day or you will be disappointed. The chef speaks English. Limited menu.
Pizzeria Regna, Kurtuluş, 64009. Sk. No:8, 01130 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, ferments their pizza dough for 48 hours. Chef speaks English. Limited menu.
Maki Uğur Mumcu, Bayram Apt, Güzelyalı, Uğur Mumcu Blv. 30/A, 01170 Çukurova/Adana, in north Adana, serves sushi, cocktails, salads, and everything in between. Staff speak English. I like the stuffed potato skins.
Maki Gazipasa, Vali Yolu Caddesi, Cemalpaşa, Ethem Ekin Sk. No:2/A, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, has excellent salads and everything else. Also sushi. Staff also speak English. I like their salads. Salad! The other Maki restaurants have more limited menus.
Sipsters, Reşatbey, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, is a healthy bar with a San Fran feel. Run by two sisters who both speak good English. Excellent French style creamy scrambled eggs. The place feels a bit hippy and the sisters also sell produce, including from their farm.
Bobo Franco, Cemalpaşa, Bahar Cd. Topaloğlu Apt No: 17/1, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, has a wide variety of dishes from pasta, steak, salads, fish carpaccio, and so on. Also has theme nights like Mexican or movie night. I don’t think their food is beyond good but it’s got a glam vibe. Even if the music is too loud. Almost no English spoken so use a translator app.
Wispy Pizza, Kurtuluş, 64003. Sk., 01010 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, on a side street from the main food drags. It is a casual place with only one table indoors. The owner speaks a bit of English and he will use an app to communicate. Good pizza in the Boston Upper Crust style. The advantage of this place is that there is lots of parking. Limited menu.
Focawich, Reşatbey, Gazipaşa Blv. Yunus Bey Apt Altı. No:9, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, is like any brand chain upmarket sandwich place in London, New York, so on, but it is not a chain — yet. Staff speak English. Limited menu.
Bark’s Burgers, Cemalpaşa, Toros Cd. Çiğdem Apt No: 6/B, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, on the famous Toros street in Gazipasa, has possibly the best burger and fries (for expats) in Adana. Fairly sure the staff speak English. Limited menu but they have beef burgers and fried chicken.
Pizza Locale, Kurtuluş Mh. Şinasi Efendi Cd. No:8A, Şinasi Efendi Cd. 8A, 01130 Seyhan/Adana, a chain outpost in Gazipasa, has thin crust pizza in three sizes, large salads, beer and wine, and English speaking staff. Brand new so very clean looking and lots of outlets for charging your phone…
Nas Kitchen, Reşatbey, Stadyum Cd Reşatbey Concept Apt D:41/C, 01120 Seyhan/Adana, (it is not located in the intersection as Google maps indicates but one block west, on the south side of Stadyum, across from a grocery store, Better to look for Elif Çiçekçilik, a florist, at Reşatbey, 62024. Sk., 01120 Seyhan/Adana), in Gazipasa, has excellent croissants. Also Turkish breakfast. Elegant bakery.
Quick China, Kurtuluş, Mithat Saraçoğlu Cd. No:3 D:3, 01130 Seyhan/Adana, in Gazipasa, is an all-round Asian restaurant for when you want Asian food. Staff speak a bit of English. Oddly, the kimchi here is the best in the city. This place looks the part with its imitation statues and red walls.
SushiCo, 1Z M1 AVM Adana, Yeni, 87071. Sk. No: 15 K Blok, 01200 Seyhan/Adana, in (front of) the M1 mall, is also an all-round Asian place. Staff speak a bit of English.
In addition to these places, there are many coffee shops and cafes that are much like places one would find in London or San Francisco. Too many to mention actually but I’ll try: Blumind, Fein, The Mia-Glamm (Glamm has multiple locations), La Patte, Proper Coffee, Mingogo, Bonn in the Garden,…
Korean Cultural Center, Koreliler Cafe Kore Kültür Merkezi, Toros, 78178. Sk. NO:3 A, 01170 Çukurova/Adana, in north Adana. I include this place because one of the staff speaks excellent English (she is a English teacher) and this place has the only authentic bubble tea that I know of in Adana (Most of the bubble tea stands use juice pearls). Excellent tapioca pearls here! I have been to all the Korean restaurants in Adana and do not think much of the food served in them. They mainly serve fast food so pasta and fried things. But this place is probably one of the better places.
Muze Kebab Hestat. Yeşiloba, 46253 sok No.21, 01100 Seyhan/Adana, in west Adana (try not to be put off by the industrial neighborhood), serves Turkish food. I do not know if their staff speaks English but this is worth a visit because the decor is that of a museum. It is like eating inside a museum. The decor is all faux archeology, but the experience is real.
In terms of price, most of these places are on the more expensive side for Adana. But not too pricey for an expat.
Finally, as an expat, you may be longing for some of the international foods that you are accustomed to such as Thai food, Indian food, Chinese American food, or the ever popular Mexican food. While there are a few places to get a semblance of Chinese American food, most of the other flavors are not here. While most menus offer curry sauce, Korean sauce, Mexican sauce, these are not what you expect. Except maybe in color?
But, there is a solution. Although you will have to leave the fancy expat part of town and go over to the “village” outside the front gate of the air force base. Over there, you will find places that grew up because of the military folk posted to Incirlik. The two places I want to mention are Royal Restaurant and Bar (as I like to say about Royal, “They will try to make you whatever you want, however you want it) and Moonlight (best fries in town). These two places have catered to English-only-speaking American service men and women for the past 30 years… so the staff speak English. The menus are in English and the prices are in dollars, although you can pay in Turkish Lira (and, of course, by credit card).
These are the places to go if you are desperate for American tasting food (like sweet and sour chicken, curry, etc. BUT with a more gringo taste), then be daring and ignore the grubby worn out decor of these two places. I repeat, they can make you what you want and how you want it, whether it be Turkish food or something else.
End of part one about expat-friendly places.
In the future, I will also write a list of places that I recommend in Adana, even if they are not expat friendly. There might be a few from this list…
Normally, I would have done lots of googling before moving to a new country but with Peru, I’m playing catchup. Here are some expat sites from a quick trawl on Google:
The following are some of the items that I have found hard to find, and where to find them:
Mexican food in Bogota? This is one of the most common questions I get. Americans (gringos) are obsessed with “Mexican food” and cry about how they miss Chipotle (an American fast food chain specializing in large burritos etc.). Well, too bad. Or take yourself to Gringo Cantina on Calle 80, 12A-29 (behind the Atlantis mall — or go south on Carrera 11, turn right on Calle 80, and it will be on your left.) The facade is painted in pale pink and blue with large letters that declare: NO MAMES.
This Mexican cantina that has been open for a month now and it doesn’t suck (This is a reference for those who speak Mexican slang). The owner is an Californian with some Colombian roots. He started La Xarcuteria but has sold that concept and no longer has a connection to it. This cantina is his third concept in Bogota. Way to go, entrepreneur!
The owner, Mike, came over to talk to us. His tacos, both corn and flour, are made in house. He is excited to be in Bogota for the start of its culinary revolution (and education). His dishes are small, refined, and fresh. The best dishes are the taco al pastor, the tongue taco (get over it, it’s delicious! Look up, as it is the first one shown in this posting) which he serves so it looks nothing like a tongue for the queasy. Make his day and ask for the taco al pastor without the pineapple (it is too sweet and overpowers the meat).
The sauces are interesting with one made from eggplant/aubergine. The warm tacos are served on warm Colombian pottery which helps keep the freshness. The cold smoked scallop dish was subtle and fresh for those who do not like tacos (and those that do). I would not order the shrimp salad again and the owner admits that this dish is only there to cater to local tastes. I liked the quesadillas with their crunchy fried exteriors and greasy, cheesy, and REAL steak inside (no ground beef, no shredded beef). I enjoyed when Mike and I commiserated about the difference between hard and crunchy as I told him that I like his chicharone/pork rind tostada (an open tortilla that is toasted). Ah, the thrills of foodie geeks!
Dishes came out at a heady speed and Mike left us to eat before coming back for a chat about flavor, sous vide, freshness, seafood, and where to eat in Bogota (so I have a few more to try!). He also kept sending out free dishes for us to try (full disclosure — although this didn’t influence my opinions — it just let me try even more of the menu).
This is a new place so let’s hope it does well. And, yes, he does make a chipotle sauce.
Also: I apologize for the blurriness (and awfulness — the one above which I took quickly as I waited for tacos — to show where the restaurant is situated) of some of the photos… it’s hard to aim and eat at the same time. But, I wanted to post this as soon as possible for the masses… all 37 of you, my readers…