Best Restaurants in Side: Eating in the Old Town and Harbour

What Side's restaurant scene is like

Side spreads across a peninsula, and the eating splits with it. The old town, wrapped around the ruined temples and the theatre, holds the restaurants with character, including harbour-front tables looking back at the water; the resort strip outside the old town is where all-inclusive hotels cluster.

The old-town restaurants fill at sunset, when the harbour walk is busiest, and thin out later in the evening. Book ahead for a harbour table in high summer, or eat earlier and walk the ruins afterwards.

Side Orfoz: Turkish and international dishes by the old harbour

Side Orfoz describes itself as serving Turkish and international cuisine with seafood and a bar, and gives its address as Selimiye Mahallesi, Liman Caddesi, Nar Sokak No. 5, in Manavgat. The site sets out separate food and drinks menus and advertises a harbour-facing setting in the historic centre.

That means you can order a seafood main or a Turkish grilled dish at the same table, which suits mixed groups. The site lists a phone number and email for enquiries, so you can confirm the exact lane before you set out. This is a full restaurant with a wide menu rather than a cheap lokanta.

Elia Restaurant & Lounge: fine dining near the harbour

Elia Restaurant & Lounge presents itself as a fine-dining restaurant by the harbour in the heart of Side, with a seasonal menu built on local produce, a wine list spanning different regions and a lounge for drinks.

The venue publishes its own opening hours as 10:00 to 01:00, which makes it usable for a late drink after dinner elsewhere as well as for a full meal. Guests can reserve online by date, party size and time, or call the number on its contact page. Because the menu changes each season, a dish you read about last summer may not be on it this year, so check the current food and drinks menus on the site before you go.

Old-town names visitors mention: Old Town Steakhouse and Gül

On the Side forum, a visitor weighing up Old Town Steakhouse against Gül restaurant asks which to choose for a nice meal in the old town, so both names are on the radar of people planning dinners in Side.

Beyond the names, treat them as leads rather than recommendations: walk past, read the menu board and look at what is actually being served before committing. Old-town restaurants change hands and menus, so a forum thread from one season is a starting point, not a guarantee.

How to compare harbour-view restaurants

Harbour-view tables in Side are a timing decision as much as a food one. Sunset is the busy window, when the waterfront walk fills with people and the best-placed tables go first; booking for slightly before or after that peak gets you the view with less jostling. In high summer, an early dinner also means cooler air on the walk back through the ruins.

Season matters too. Elia states that it revises its menu at the start of each season, and harbour venues adjust opening patterns with the tourist calendar, so a place busy in August may be quiet or shut in winter. Confirm the hours before building an evening around a specific table.

Booking and pickup questions

Reservations are handled venue by venue. Elia takes bookings through a form on its site, by date, party size and time, and says it confirms by phone. Side Orfoz lists a phone number and email on its contact page for enquiries and directions.

Visitors do ask about collection from hotels: a Facebook group post asks for a harbour-side or nearby restaurant that will pick up a family from their hotel. That is a question posed by a traveller, not a confirmed service, so if you are staying on the resort strip, ask the specific restaurant when you call. Many hotels on the strip can also arrange a taxi into the old town.

Turkish and Mediterranean dishes to order in Side

Meze suits a slow table while the sun goes down: share a few plates and follow with a grilled fish or meat main, which is where the harbour restaurants put their emphasis.

For children or cautious eaters, the international side of the menu covers pasta, pizzas and grilled chicken, which is part of why a mixed-menu restaurant works for families. Order drinks separately from the drinks menu, and ask for the bill in Turkish lira rather than letting anyone convert it for you.

Reading the menu and the bill

Turkish lira prices move, so treat any figure you have read online as history rather than a quote. Check the printed menu at the door and confirm whether service is included before you order.

If a price is quoted in euros or pounds, ask for the lira equivalent on the bill so you can compare like with like. Keep the receipt; it is useful if a charge looks different from the menu.

Walking to dinner through the old town

The old-town restaurants are reached on foot, through the lanes between the harbour and the theatre, past the Temple of Apollo and the Roman ruins. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes to walk from the harbour end to Side Orfoz at Liman Caddesi, Nar Sokak No. 5, longer if you stop for photographs. The lanes are uneven in places, so wear shoes you can walk in.

If you are combining dinner with shopping, our notes on shopping in Side cover the old-town shops and what to look for. For the market side of the peninsula, see our page on the Side bazaar; both make a natural pairing with an evening meal on the peninsula.

Harbour table or old-town lane?

Choose Elia for a formal harbour-side dinner with a wine list and a late lounge, and Side Orfoz for a broad Turkish, international and seafood menu in a historic setting on Liman Caddesi. Both sit on the peninsula, so the walk through the old town is part of the evening either way. Book by phone or through the venue's own site before you go.