taste

Known as Anatolia's wheat warehouse since ancient times, Eskişehir is famous for its dishes made with flour. The use of poppy is also very common. Poppy-walnut bread and poppy seed twist are famous.

The cuisine of Balkan and Caucasian migrants has greatly influenced the city’s cuisine. Rich Circassian cuisine is accompanied by many varieties such as Albanian pastry with leek, dızmana, kalakay, curling pastry, open mouth, kelem wrapping, liver wrap, root stuffed meat, wedding meatball soup, göceli tarhana soup, pancake.

Çibörek (deep-fried turnovers filled with mincemeat)

ÇiBörek (deep-fried turnovers filled with mincemeat) is a pastry identified with Eskişehir. It is eaten in many places in Eskişehir in Türkiye, but the taste of ÇiBörek is not easy to find elsewhere. ÇiBörek, which is the work of the Crimean Tatar culture that first settled in Eskişehir, is a traditional pastry made by putting a mixture of minced meat, onion and spices in rolled thin dough and frying it in oil. Usually it is in the shape of a half moon.

Varieties are also available with mushrooms, cheese, potatoes etc. However, it is traditionally made with ground beef. It is a unique taste with cold and foamy ayran. It takes its name from the combination of the words “çi”, which means delicious (lezzetli) in the Old Kipchak dialect, and Pastry (börek).

You should definitely taste this flavor, the fragrance of which comes to your nose a you wander the streets of Eskişehir.

Meth and Nougat Halva

Named after a game played with a stick (meth) and anklebone, met halva is a flavor unique to Eskişehir. The halva, which is made by using flour, oil, sugar, lemon and water, is 2-3 cm in diameter and 6 cm long, is cut horizontally and has cocoa and vanilla flavors.

This famous halvah is reminiscent to the flavor of Turkish fairy floss. Met halva is the product of a tradition that was established when a game of met was played and the party that lost had the honor of making halva on long winter nights. Nougat halvah, summer halva with walnuts, tahini halva and baker’s peel halva made with the help of a soaproot baker’s peel are among other traditional flavors of Eskişehir.

Balaban

Finely chopped pitas are soaked with hot broth, yoghurt and tomato paste sauce is poured over them. Then grilled balaban meatballs and tenderloin skewers are added. Add parsley, tomatoes and grilled peppers. Hot butter is poured on it. With full portions, Balaban means "very big" in Tatar.

Mihallıçık Cherry

Mihaliccik is the last district in Türkiye where cherries are harvested during the year. Mihalıççık cherries, which are exported to many countries, enrich many tables abroad, especially the British Royal family.

Gombo

This soup is made especially in Sivrihisar. It is consumed on special occasions and at the end of wedding meals. It is believed that it facilitates the digestion of a heavy meal.

Ring Candy

This candy used to be distributed in coffeehouses to announce a betrothal. Ring candy was made by throwing hot sugar dough onto a hook on the wall by hand, kneading it, bleaching it, and then decorating it with colored strips and pulling it into wicks.

Sivrihisar Battered Sausage Festival

Sivrihisar battered sausage, made from bovine animals raised in Sivrihisar and its villages, was named battered sausage because our grandfathers used to shred the meat and transform it into minced meat by battering under the conditions of those times.

The famous Sivrihisar Battered Sausage Festival has been organized since 2017 within the scope of Sivrihisar district's promotional activities.

Sivrihisar Kelem Dolması

Sivrihisar’s geographically indicated Kelem Dolması takes its name from the cabbage leaves that wrap the filling and represents the region’s winter table tradition. Carefully balanced spices, a grainy filling, and long, slow cooking gradually deepen its flavor. Its presentation is completed with a simple elegance that reflects the warmth of home cooking.

Sivrihisar Arabaşı

Sivrihisar Arabaşı is a dish that reflects the culture of sharing on winter nights, served with a rich, spicy soup accompanied by dough. The ritual is essential: the transition between bowl and plate turns the meal into a kind of “table game.” This geographically indicated delicacy clearly expresses the distinctive character of Sivrihisar cuisine.

Sivrihisar Muska Baklava

Sivrihisar Muska Baklava takes its name from its triangular shape resembling an amulet. It stands out with its balanced syrup and filling layered between thin sheets of pastry. Its texture is lightly crisp, while its sweetness is measured, allowing layered aromas to be experienced in a single bite. Its geographical indication registration officially records the product’s connection to the region.

Sivrihisar Höşmerim Dessert

Sivrihisar Höşmerim Dessert is a local interpretation of the warm butter-and-flour–based dessert tradition, where the roasting technique determines both aroma and color. Its consistency is neither as dry as halva nor as soft as pudding; instead, it leaves a silky texture that gathers smoothly on the spoon. Its geographical indication status preserves the local mastery behind the recipe.

Eskişehir Met Halva

Eskişehir Met Halva is not only a dessert but also a cultural element associated with the shared traditional game known as “met.” Its finely textured halva offers a light consistency that quickly melts in the mouth, with notes of roasted flour and butter in its aroma. Its geographical indication formally recognizes the place this delicacy holds in the city’s cultural memory.