Aravan Evi Restaurant was recommended to us, and we stopped by for lunch (options are limited in the tiny village of Ayvali, Turkey). Without prior reservations we would have been out of luck, but another small group was coming for lunch and they had enough to feed us as well. The kitchen only cooks enough food for reserved tables, and... More

We stopped here for lunch (pre-arranged) as part of a hiking tour. This place deserves much wider recognition. Okan (and his mother, who does a lot of the cooking) produce really excellent traditional Turkish food, including the best stuffed grape leaves we ate during 3 weeks in the country. Soups were nicely flavored, roasted red peppers and shepherd's salad well-prepared... More

Our family of 5 stayed in the family guesthouse, we were greeted with a warm welcome from Okan. We're given directions to good local sites to visit, with excellent English. Returned to a lovably traditional dinner which we were able to eat on their traditional lounge it included walnut stuffed apricots organically grown on their own farm. They also organized... More

Our guide took us here for lunch on our first day there. Food was good and set in a fairly traditional environment. No real frills but it was a nice change of pace.

We had trekked about 6k as part of a longer walk and had booked for lunch. We arrived rather hot, dusty and dishevelled but we're given a courteous welcome and after a quick wash up sat and enjoyed a most delicious lunch. I am vegetarian and the young owner joked with us over what I could eat - which turned... More

Found out about the place online. Very attentive service and good food. The setting is nice. Good wine, was able to easily talk to other visitors during dinner.

I first read about Aravan Evi in a Conde Nast Traveler article written in 2010. (The author of that article also deemed it one of her favorite meals in Turkey.) It is not a typical restaurant: Because things are prepared fresh every day, you need to call and make a reservation for the standard set menu. It is a small... More

1. For the uninitiated, Turkish food is kebab and kebab. But at Aravan evi, you can discuss the menu that is being served to be as close to a home style cooking of urgup family or what you would feel like having for the night. 2. Our first dinner was a set menu of four course meal prepared by the... More

A gem of a tiny eating establishment (attached to a rural hotel). Don't expect menu choice but who needs it if you want what we imagine was a true taste of Anatolian home cooking.  Cook is mum, waiter is her friendly and welcoming son Okan who speaks excellent English. Without a menu and prices we were concerned that we would... More