Balmumu Dükkan Lokanta: A Story from Izmir that Touches the Soul of Local Food

If I wanted to open a restaurant today, I would go with the Italian concept of “chilometro zero” and fashion a cozy place where I could shake the shackles off the need to offer year-around menus, and offer different flavors varying monthly or weekly based on the local ingredients that my beautiful Aegean soil provides us with. That is exactly what my dear friend Ahmet Güzelyağdöken has been doing at his place Balmumu!

Ahmet Güzelyağdöken comes from a family tradition of cheese-making and olive cultivation. He was encouraged by late Tuğrul Şavkay to start his adventure with gastronomy. Famous for his passion to explore and share his knowledge with anyone else, Güzelyağdöken is an invaluable person who promotes street food restaurants via Izmir Gourmet Guide and puts in effort to keep them alive.

Opened its doors last year, Balmumu is a small and cozy restaurant where you can find the kinds of nostalgic grandma’s recipes that have faded into oblivion in the hustle and bustle of modern life.

Depending on what he can source form bazaar, auctions and butchers, my friend welcomes his customers everyday with different types of offerings. While some days you will find Söke goose, pumpkin sinkonta, goat tandoori and Jerusalem artichoke with olive oil, the other days you may taste 4-Anatolian bulghurs, Moroccan-style escargot, sweet peas and local morchella mushroom (manguta), or a menu featuring tripe, veal tongue, kelle paça (sheep’s feet and head) and oxtail soup!

Of course, there is an exception to every rule; hence the dishes you will find in the menu all year round. Alaşehir kapama, which is reminiscent of Russian dumplings, and Aydın’s famous dish paşa böreği are among these evergreen dishes.

The new local rival of lasagna, paşa böreği is marred by one flaw: the texture of its phyllo loses its crunchiness throughout the day, that is unless the restaurant does not come up with a solution to fix this.

If it is not a busy day, you will hear interesting stories related to each food from Chef Ahmet who narrates them while serving the dishes. At the end of each meal, a refreshingly delicious ice-cold grape hoşaf with sweet purple basil pearls is served as a nod to the earlier times of Turkish food culture.

As the name of the restaurant includes the word “dükkan” meaning store in Turkish, it is also possible to buy exclusive cheeses, olives and waxed grey mullet roe that are displayed in a glass fridge.

Among the mushrooming restaurants with boring year-round menus, I believe Balmumu is filling a huge gap in the gastronomy landscape of Izmir with its focus on offal, an important ingredient in Turkish cuisine, and with an effort put into keeping the old recipes alive. Given this, I would definitely recommend dropping by Balmumu if you happen to be in the vicinity of Alsancak. Since the restaurant does not offer a fixed menu, it is advisable to check its Instagram profile @balmumulokanta for the menu of the day before your visit!

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

Konak Mahallesi, 1388 SOKAK NO: 5/C, Kültür Mah. Alsancak
Izmir, TURKEY
+90 232 421 20 24