While Istanbul already had four Michelin-starred restaurants in its mix, and a two-star restaurant to boot, this year two new restaurants made the accolade and are Arkestra in Etiler and Sankai by Nagaya in Bebek. The restaurants that retained their stars from the year prior were Araka, Nicole, Mikla and Neolokal. Araka’s kitchen is run by Pınar Taşdemir Serkan Aksoy at Mikla chef Mehmet Gurs and Neolokal Maksut Askar, whose restaurant also has Istanbul's sole green star. Many of these figures have become household names for most foodies and aficionados. The only chef in Türkiye to have gotten two stars which he did last year is chef Fatih Tutak for his restaurant Turk.

So who are the newbies on the list? Now, there is Arkestra, which is housed in a former villa built in the 1960s in Etiler and in addition to cozy circular leather-clad booths and dim lighting also has the Listening Room, a space with its own snack menu, where customers can listen to the record collection of chef Cenk Debensason and his wife Debora. As for the menu, Debensason’s focus is on seasonal products with an international twist. The menu has dishes from all over the world as well as pastas with the snack bar menu including specialties such as duck croquettes and katso sando.

Sankai by Nagaya is an authentic Japanese restaurant housed on the third floor of the Bebek Hotel. This restaurant was created in Istanbul in partnership with chef Yoshizumi Nagaya, whose restaurants Nagaya and Yoshi by Nagaya, both of which are in Dusseldorf, are also the recipients of a star each. While chef Yoshizumi Nagaya is at the helm, it is sushi specialist and chef Hiroko Shibata, who also deserves the accolades for the day-by-day deliverance of top-end service at this high-end and just 25-seating culinary transport to Japan. Chef Hiroko is the only woman to be awarded a star and Sankai by Nagaya the only restaurant awarded that is a complete departure from Turkish cuisine.

Chef to watch out for

This year’s Young Chef Award went to Ulaş Durmaz of The Red Balloon, which offers a sleek and upscale chic dining experience in Sarıyer. As per the chef’s childhood spent in Ayvalık, the dishes pay homage to the local products this region of the northern Aegean is famed for.

The chef’s to put Urla and Bodrum on Türkiye’s culinary map!

Chef Osman Sezener of OD Urla

Born in Izmir in 1982, Osman Sezener, ignited his gastronomic odyssey through a deep-rooted interest in his family's restaurant business Ristorante Pizzeria Venedik, a wonderful classic Italian Restaurant located in the heart of Izmir’s Konak district. I have made it a point to dine in their sunken booth on pizzas pastas and salads many a time when in the city. Nonetheless, Sezener went abroad after studying tourism and hotel management at Bilkent University, followed by a stint at the New York French Culinary School. Infused with a passion for blending Turkish ingredients with diverse global flavors, Sezener ventured into various countries and renowned kitchens before returning to Izmir and opening Od Urla in 2018, which is a stylishly industrial chic restaurant in a rural setting in Urla.

The venue, which also has seating around the centrally-placed kitchen, has embraced the "farm-to-table" and zero waste philosophies since its inception and was also awarded a Michelin Green Star in that regard. But OD Urla is mostly famed for Sezener’s specially curated seasonal recipes using top-quality produce and products, either grown on-site or sourced locally. It can easily be said that the opening of OD Urla and Hic Lokanta in 2018 set a precedent for elevated cuisine with an emphasis on sustainability that has resulted in placing Urla as a destination on any culinary map of Türkiye.

OD Urla’s pioneering chef Sezener is also the mastermind behind Kitchen Bodrum, which is one of Bodrum’s new Michelin Guide entries to have garnered a Michelin Star at last week’s announcements of new ranking venues in Izmir and Bodrum. This means that in essence Sezener now has two stars for his two different restaurants.

Chef Osman Serdaroğlu of Teruar

Chef Osman Serdaroğlu received his training in Italy where he also worked at Michelin-star restaurants "Ristorante Torre del Saracino" near Sorrento and "Ristorante La Madia" in Sicily. Having relocated to Urla, in July 2020 Serdaroğlu opened Teruar Urla. His focus is on supporting small-scale local producers and presenting ingredients and dishes inherent to the region. Housed in a huge estate-like property in Kuşçular Köyü, a village fast becoming known for its rural yet fine dining experiences and vineyards.

Ozan & Seray Kumbasara Vino Locale

Chefs Ozan Kumbasar and his wife Seray run Vino Locale, a chateau-like restaurant in Urla’s Kuşçular Köyü. Considered the region’s first chef restaurant, Vino Locale has also been given a Green Star for their sustainability practices. Theirs is a 30-person restaurant that focuses on utilizing ingredients inherent to the Izmir region. Housed in a traditional stone building with seating indoors and out, the regularly rotating menu offers an elevated tasting experience of rural Turkish specialties from the artichokes the region is famed for to local seafood and cheeses and other delights.

Aret Sahakyan of Bodrum’s Maçakızı

Long hailed as the most upscale and trendy destination on the Bodrum peninsula, it is comforting to know that as per the Michelin Guide the prices that make the headlins from this place may in fact be worth it. Yes, it is the well-known Maçakızı where the rich and famous and the paparazzi that follow them spend their summer holiday in Bodrum’s Göltürkbükü. While this is both a hotel and restaurant, chef Aret Sahakyan’s creative techniques of serving Turkish traditional classics with a twist, has rightfully garnered Bodrum a Michelin-Star restaurant and has crowned Maçakızı’s reputation as truly being the best of the best in Bodrum.