Doyuran Manisa Kebapçisi: Genuine Manisa Flavors In Izmir

If you ever come across people sitting at their stools in the early morning and, shaded by the ancient trees of Şadırvanaltı, shaving the stems of parsleys with diligence and smiling faces, you should know you’re in front of one of the most popular culinary destinations in Kemeraltı: Doyuran Manisa Kebapçısı which literally means Manisa kebab restaurant that fills up your stomachs.

Doyuran Manisa Kebapçısı was opened in 1970 in Izmir. Breathing life into the restaurant, Nurettin Usta has been dealing with the kitchen with the same constant care for 47 years now, hence he deserves to be called “usta” which means “master” in Turkish.

Nurettin Usta is not working alone in the kitchen; he’s assisted by his two sons. As he says that he is a self-trained chef in the school of life, he continues to talk about the education of his sons with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.

The secret behind the culinary masterpiece created by the father-sons trio is the balance of the mixture of meat used in meatballs. As the chef is friends with almost every butcher in Izmir, he sources the meat from different butcher shops and mixes them. The mixture mostly consists of cuts of meat from suckling veal leg, ribs, breast and, if need be, entrecote. The meat is left to rest for two days in butcher shop and one day in the kitchen. Without using any other spice but salt, the mixture is fried on the grill heated by coal-fire. The taste of the meatballs is so delectable that one can say it’s even superior to the ones made in some of the restaurants in Manisa, where the recipe is originated from.

In Doyuran Manisa Kebap, the usage of prepackaged goods is kept as minimal as possible. Hence one of the most used prepackaged ingredients, butter is sourced from different villages in Izmir. In addition to yoghurt and butter, tomato sauce is another element that takes this taste to new heights. The sour hints in the taste of the tomato sauce proves how natural it is too. Other flavors from the menu that compliments the meal are “piyaz” which is made with beans sourced from Bolu and kemalpaşa dessert which comes with tahini and walnuts duo.

Doyuran Manisa Kebapçısı is one of the places that you should not pass by without visiting if you happen to go to Kemeraltı. By the way, I recommend to go with 1.5 portion size for those who really want to fill up their stomachs as in the title of the restaurant.

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…