Beyti is a restaurant in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

specialising in roasted meat. It was founded in 1945 in

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhagion'' and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a suburb and district of Istanbul, Turke ...

and since 1983 has been situated in

Florya Florya is a neighborhood ( tr, mahalle) belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater Istanbul, Turkey. It is located along Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. ...

. The establishment is owned by the restaurateur Beyti Güler and run by him together with his sons Cüneyt and Ahmet. The main dining room, with a total capacity of 500 seats, offers traditional

Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...

and various kebabs grilled over oak charcoal. Beyti kebab, a specialty named after the chef, is the most popular. Beyti is a member of the prestigious international gastronomic organization

Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs () is an international gastronomy, gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. The Chaîne is based on the traditions and practices of the old French Royal Guild of Goose Roasters, whose authority gra ...

Background

Beyti Güler is a descendant of

Turkic people The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...

who fled from Samarkand to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

in the 1720s after the assault of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

s. In the 1870s, following the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

the family moved to

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The family immigrated in 1935 to Turkey. In 1945, Beyti and his father opened a small roadside meat restaurant measuring 30 m² with four tables in the suburbs of Istanbul. The restaurant, though it only had 20 seats, became a popular venue and gained fame soon after opening. Notable journalists, top executives and even high-ranked politicians came to taste the

döner kebap Doner kebab (, ; tr, döner or , ), also spelled döner kebab, is a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cook ...

that was rarely available elsewhere. An article published in 1965 in the '' New York Herald Tribune'' led to international fame. From 1966 to 1974, the restaurant catered daily to four

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

airliners. The restaurant served

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

aboard Air Force One during his first official trip to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, an opportunity that helped the Turkish kebap become renowned. To meet the growing demand, Beyti Güler erected a three-story building in

, an upscale residential neighborhood close to Atatürk International Airport. Consisting of eleven dining rooms of various sizes plus a terrace, the building was designed in a modern architectural style by Osman Yılmaz Şanlı. The interior decoration was inspired by Ottoman Turkish art. Construction was begun in 1979 and the new site opened by 1983.

Beyti kebab

During a visit to Switzerland in 1961, Beyti Güler was inspired by the renowned butcher Möller's way of preparing meat. When he returned home, he introduced a dish consisting of roasted lamb fillets wrapped in strips of lamb cutlet fat. It came to be named after him, as Beyti kebab, when the kebab's fame spread internationally. However, the dish made of ground meat, widely sold as street food under the same name, bears little resemblance to his original.

Notable customers

In more than fifty years, many heads of state, high-ranking politicians, top businessmen and celebrities from around the globe have dined in Beyti during their visits to Istanbul.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=35em Buildings and structures completed in 1983 Restaurants established in 1945 Restaurants in Istanbul Bakırköy Turkish companies established in 1945