Captain İbrahim

The family has welcomed guests here since 1983. It began as a village coffeehouse, then started feeding locals and the tour boats that called at the pier, which made it one of the first restaurants in the bay. A Turkish sailing guide calls it the oldest business in Çökertme, in the middle of the beach.

Its founder, Captain İbrahim, grew up in Çökertme and worked as a ship’s boy and a sponge diver before becoming a captain. The family says he is the grandson of Çakır Ayşe, who appears in Cevat Şakir’s stories and the Blue Voyage books about this coast. The next generation now helps run the business.

The family has two fishing boats and brings in fish every day, so ask what was landed that morning and have it grilled. Start with the local meze, made with produce from the restaurant’s four fruit and vegetable gardens. Breakfast is served as well, which suits a slow morning at anchor.

Çökertme is open to southerly winds but largely sheltered from the meltemi. The restaurant offers mooring lines in front of it and also takes food orders from boats. Most of the bay’s fixed piers were removed in 2017, and a sailing guide notes that the buoy moorings off the restaurants are only comfortable in calm weather. In a fresh breeze, anchor off and come ashore by tender.

Call or send a WhatsApp message before you arrive to ask about a mooring and a table, especially in July and August. The family also runs a guesthouse in the garden and holds summer events such as music nights. Opening days change through the season, so check ahead.