Maçakızı's intimate eighteen-cover fine-dining counterpoint, by Aret Sahakyan, Turkish classics rewritten as memory and terroir
Sahir Erozan named Ayla after his mother, Maçakızı's matriarch, and gave it eighteen seats and five tables, hidden behind the main hotel. Aret Sahakyan runs the kitchen, reinterpreting Turkish classics through the lens of the Aegean: carob bread with Memecik olive oil, fermented fennel manti, blue crab from Datça, honey from Çömlekçi. Two-and-a-half hour seatings, single tasting menu, the kind of quiet room where you can hear the wine being poured.
Eighteen covers, one seating. Book three weeks ahead in high season. Sahakyan's fermented fennel manti is the dish that explains the project, order the full tasting, not à la carte.
At a Glance
View Type
Aegean Sea Panoramic, Bay View
View Quality
Exceptional
Sunset
***** (5/5)
Quick answers about Ayla, reservations, hours, dress code, and price range.
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