Vibrant flashes of color and an injection of life and activity into a usually sleepy route along the Fethiye Canal: Welcome to Fethiye street foods – Fethiye street foods.
This is the canal that runs past Fethiye’s Tuesday market and flows into the sea at the corner of the harbour.
And unless you walked along the path on a Tuesday (where you also find the local artisan stalls seen in the photo above) or Friday, when the Friday farmers’ market is underway, there was never much to do there.
Virtually deserted; give or take away some teenage school kids during lunch break at school.
Welcome to Fethiye Street Food Vans
In 2024, everything changed when, one day, the local belediye (council) positioned a row of cute, brightly colored retro-style street food vans along the grassy verge.
We were excited to see that we were about to have lots of new food stalls, but the usual hot summer weather meant we hadn’t been exploring the area since it opened.
Either way, the cooler weather means more wandering, more appetite and time to peruse Fethiye’s individual street food stands.
There are some famous Turkish street food delicacies. And a couple of other options too.
What’s on offer?
We walked along the canal on market day, so there was a nice buzz in the area.
Köfte and burgers
We had spotted the köfte stand on Instagram and identified this as the place to try first – well, we love good quality köfte half bread!
However, there was no room in the inn at the time we went.
Tables and chairs of various styles, colours, shapes and sizes are located on the opposite side of the avenue, along the canal railing,
The köfte tables were full and the meat was sizzling on the griddle.
That can wait another day…
Besides köfte and burgers, you can also eat locally sourced sucuk, homemade turşu (pickled Turkish vegetables) and homemade ayran!
Shish Wrap
If you’re craving a dürüm (wrap), this is the van for you.
The meats are cooked on a skewer (skewer) and you can choose between Adana skewer, liver skewer or chicken skewer.
pilafci
We are happy that this place is here because “pilavcı” doesn’t have a huge presence in Fethiye, unlike some cities and towns.
This guy serves dishes like tavuklu nohutlu pilav (rice and chickpeas with chicken) and delicious, delicious kuru fasulye!
Rice and Turkish beans go hand in hand.
Although the street food trucks are uniformly shaped, they are all different colors and vendors are customizing them with their own branding, seating styles and cute plant pots outside.
Decorative furniture and lights are hung in a zigzag pattern above the path and Instagram pictures show us that this creates a beautiful evening atmosphere.
Fish Bread
You can’t have a row of street food trucks and not have a balık ekmek (fish in bread) stand.
In Fethiye, the fish is most often mezgit (whiting), but this stall offers üskümrü (mackerel) and sardalya (sardines).
Bao buns and noodles
Obviously not traditionally Turkish, but that doesn’t mean it bao buns and noodles are not very popular among young Turks these days.
We had never had a bao bun, so we opted for this stand the day we were there.
Bao sandwiches with a local twist; you can have a filling of tavuk (chicken), kaburga (the beef rib meat) or shrimp.
Barry had the kaburga and I had the prawns fried in lightly spiced panko breadcrumbs.
Two stuffed bao buns served with french fries – luckily we were hungry!
Patso burger
I have to admit, we had to look it up! It seems to be more and more popular, late night fast food favorite in Istanbul.
Brits, we’ve been at it a long time with this!
Your patso burger is fries in bread – It’s a chip butty!
We also saw some with cheese – cheese fries! The food of our student days. Nostalgia.
Many
We absolutely love tantuni: small fried cubes of meat or chicken, usually served in a wrap but sometimes in bread.
The meat is usually left to rest on the edge of a tantuni pan and then reheated in the “gravy” in the center before being served with fresh herbs and spices.
So juicy!
For the greedy brigade
Again, not traditional Turkish desserts, but still extremely popular desserts for many, here.
We are talking about waffles and everything that goes with them: fresh fruit, ice cream and sauces.
Oh, and not forgetting the chocolate fondue.
This stand seemed popular the day we passed through the area.
For the thirsty
Each individual van has its own soft drinks for sale.
But if you just want to stop to cool off, on a hot day or evening, you can grab a kar şerbeti (the original Turkish frozen drink) and there are also specialist coffee stalls.
Good luck everyone
Each small van is a business in itself with its own opening hours.
We love this colorful little area now, and really hope it works for all of them.
As far as we’re concerned, a great addition to the Fethiye food and wine scene.
On Tuesday market day, the local Lykia Women’s Association also has artisan stalls at the start of the canal route, where you can buy handmade crafts.
A gigantic choice for outdoor shopping and street food, supporting the venue all in one large area.
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