Turkish breakfast—kahvaltı—is fundamentally different. A proper serpme kahvaltı isn't one dish. It's a table-covering array of small plates: cheeses, olives, tomatoes, honey, clotted cream, jams, eggs, breads, pastries, and endless glasses of çay. You graze, you talk, you stay for hours.
🍳 The Anatomy of Turkish Breakfast
Cheeses
- Beyaz peynir — White cheese (like feta)
- Kaşar — Yellow, semi-hard cheese
- Çeçil — Stringy, braided cheese
- Lor — Sweet, soft curd cheese
Spreads
- Bal — Honey (often honeycomb)
- Kaymak — Thick clotted cream
- Tahin-pekmez — Tahini + grape molasses
- Acuka — Spicy walnut and pepper paste
Breads
- Simit — Sesame-crusted bread ring
- Pide — Soft flatbread
- Açma — Soft, buttery roll
- Bazlama — Thick, pillowy flatbread
Hot Dishes
- Menemen — Scrambled eggs with tomatoes & peppers
- Sucuklu Yumurta — Fried eggs with spiced sausage
- Sigara Böreği — Crispy filo pastry cigars
- Gözleme — Stuffed flatbread
Where to Get Turkish Breakfast
Gökyüzü
The Green Lanes Institution | ££
Serves traditional kahvaltı every day from 8am to 4pm. The bread comes from their wood-fired oven—warm, soft, and served continuously. This is where Turkish families come for weekend breakfast. Portions are enormous. Tea keeps flowing.
What to Order: Full Turkish breakfast, add menemen or sucuklu yumurta
Pro Tip: Arrive before 11am on weekends. Unlimited çay included.
Zahter
Central London Elegance | Carnaby Street | £££
Proper serpme kahvaltı just off Carnaby Street—one of the few places in Central London where you can get an authentic Turkish breakfast. The spread (minimum 2 people, £38) includes sivri peppers, feta and çeçil cheese, homemade jams, kaymak with honey, tahini-pekmez, olives, and a bread basket.
What to Order: Serpme Kahvaltı (for 2+), katmer, menemen
Pro Tip: Michelin-recognized. Great for impressing visitors who won't travel to N4.
Leydi
Modern Turkish Brunch | Farringdon | £££
Chef Selin Kiazim (of the much-missed Oklava) brings Turkish breakfast to Central London. Weekend brunch (Saturday and Sunday, 10am-3pm) is an all-day Turkish feast with menemen, house-made sucuk, and stuffed lavash rolls. Includes unlimited Turkish tea.
What to Order: Weekend brunch menu, menemen, stuffed lavash rolls
Pro Tip: Free-flowing prosecco option available. Book ahead.
Hala Restaurant
The Family Favourite | Green Lanes | ££
Hala's weekend breakfast is a proper feast. The spread covers the table: cheeses, olives, honey with kaymak, fresh bread, eggs, and hot dishes. The gözleme is hand-rolled and stuffed with cheese or spinach.
What to Order: Turkish breakfast spread, gözleme (before 4pm)
Pro Tip: Free tea with gözleme order.
How to Eat Turkish Breakfast
- 1Start with tea — Accept the first glass of çay. It's bottomless.
- 2Survey the spread — Don't dive in immediately. Appreciate what's in front of you.
- 3Build your bites — Bread + kaymak + honey. Cheese + tomato + olive. Experiment.
- 4Pace yourself — This is not a race. Eat, talk, drink tea, repeat.
- 5Order hot dishes later — Menemen after you've grazed through the cold spread.
- 6Finish with tea — And possibly Turkish coffee.
Essential Combinations
The Classic
Bread + kaymak + honey
The Savoury
Bread + feta + tomato + olive
The Sweet
Bread + tahini-pekmez
The Indulgent
All of the above + menemen
FAQ
How long should Turkish breakfast take?
Minimum 1.5 hours, ideally 2+. This is not a quick meal.
Is it vegetarian-friendly?
Very much so. The core spread (cheeses, vegetables, breads, honey, jams) is vegetarian. Skip the sucuk dishes if needed.
How much food is it really?
A lot. The full spread plus hot dishes will leave you full until dinner.
Is Turkish breakfast served all day?
Most places serve until 4pm. After that, regular lunch/dinner menus.