Every summer, Bodrum welcomes a new wave of restaurants. Some are talked about only for a season, while others remain in the city’s memory through the tables they create and the evenings they shape. In recent years, Yalıkavak has become one of the strongest symbols of this transformation. Once defined mostly by classic seafood restaurants and marina-side dining, the area now brings together international concepts, contemporary fine dining, refined bar culture and a new generation of restaurants that reinterpret local traditions with a more modern language.
Yet within this growing variety, places that can reinterpret the traditional meyhane culture of the Aegean without losing its emotional core remain relatively rare. Şekerpare Hanım, located directly by the sea on Çökertme Street, enters this space with a clear point of view. It brings together the sharing culture of the Aegean, modern Turkish cuisine and the slow rhythm of long summer evenings around the same table.
Named after a character said to have lived in an old Greek village and remembered for her generous, unifying tables, Şekerpare Hanım does not approach the past as pure nostalgia. Instead, it translates that culture of sharing into a contemporary dining experience. The result feels less like a conventional meyhane and more like a modern seaside table designed for food, music, conversation and memory.
Yalıkavak’s Changing Gastronomic Identity
For many years, Yalıkavak was associated with seafood restaurants, classic fish tables and the familiar rhythm of coastal dining. Today, however, it has become one of the most visible representatives of Bodrum’s gastronomic evolution. Restaurants representing global cuisines, contemporary tasting menus and polished bar programs have reshaped the area’s culinary map.
But as this transformation accelerated, something quieter began to feel increasingly valuable: the sharing culture of the Aegean table. Evenings where meze does not stand alone but gains meaning through conversation. Tables where music supports the mood rather than overpowering it. Nights where dinner does not end quickly but slowly turns into a memory.
Şekerpare Hanım begins exactly at this point. Without rejecting modern gastronomy, it brings the strongest elements of Aegean meyhane culture into today’s dining expectations. That is why the restaurant feels less like another seasonal opening and more like a new gathering point within Yalıkavak’s evolving culinary identity.
A Table Set by the Sea
One of Şekerpare Hanım’s greatest strengths is undoubtedly its location. Positioned directly on the waterfront along Çökertme Street, the restaurant turns Bodrum’s sunset, sea breeze and evening light into a natural part of the experience.
The design favors warmth over spectacle. Natural tones, wooden textures, generous seating arrangements and open spaces facing the sea prepare guests for long evenings rather than quick dinners. Here, the table is not treated merely as a place to eat. It is designed as a social setting where conversation, music and the slow passing of time all become part of the evening.
The atmospheric language shaped by concept creator Cenk Çöteli can also be felt throughout the space. Elegant without becoming distant, polished without feeling rigid, Şekerpare Hanım creates a setting that feels both designed and emotionally accessible. This balance is one of the defining qualities of the restaurant.
A Kitchen Reinterpreting Modern Meyhane Culture
The kitchen at Şekerpare Hanım draws from the culinary memory of the Aegean and Mediterranean. Yet the aim is not simply to repeat traditional recipes. Instead, the restaurant preserves their spirit while reinterpreting them through a contemporary gastronomic lens.
Led by Chef Erkan Özçelik, the menu brings local ingredients together with modern cooking techniques, giving Aegean cuisine a more refined expression. The experience at Şekerpare Hanım is not built around overly theatrical plates. Its strength lies in a table where the quality of the ingredients, the rhythm of sharing and the emotional familiarity of meyhane culture take the lead.
The restaurant’s fixed tasting menu is an important part of this approach. Instead of leaving the evening fragmented across individual orders, the menu carries guests through a natural progression of Aegean flavors. The dinner becomes less about one chosen dish and more about a long, shared gastronomic journey.
The Memory of the Aegean in Meze
As in a classic meyhane, the table at Şekerpare Hanım begins with meze. Yet each plate carries a small but distinctive interpretation of familiar recipes.
Afet, prepared with Mexican pepper, green pepper, butter and walnuts, stands out with its intense aromatic structure, especially for those who enjoy heat. Tahini Eggplant gives the classic roasted eggplant profile a deeper, richer character, while Artichoke Sauté and Şevketibostan bring the seasonal identity of Aegean cuisine to the table.
The common thread among the meze is restraint. Instead of relying on excessive presentation, the plates focus on product quality, balance and shareability. Each dish is designed to sit naturally within the flow of a long table.
Signature Plates
Among the warm starters, Şekerin Mantısı offers a seafood-led reinterpretation of mantı, one of Turkey’s most familiar comfort dishes. Prepared with shrimp, it reflects the restaurant’s ability to approach traditional forms through unexpected ingredients without losing their emotional familiarity.
Etli Pare, a stuffed vine leaf prepared with sliced meat, also draws from the language of meyhane cuisine while presenting it with a more refined structure.
On the main course side, Çökertmeden Çıktı is one of the most talked-about interpretations on the menu. Inspired by Bodrum’s famous Çökertme Kebabı, the dish revisits a regional classic through a different lens. Another standout, Bademli Yakamoz, brings sea bass together with almond textures and delicate sweet notes, offering a contemporary tribute to the Aegean’s seafood tradition.
The meal closes with the dessert that gives the restaurant its name: Şekerpare. Revisited in a lighter and more refined form, this traditional sweet becomes the most direct reference to the story behind the restaurant.
Cocktails, Music and Sunset at the Same Table
Şekerpare Hanım is shaped not only by its kitchen, but also by the atmosphere that develops as the evening unfolds. The rhythm begins quietly at sunset and gradually takes on a different character as music, conversation and cocktails move naturally through the space. The restaurant becomes less of a simple dinner address and more of a social setting designed for long hours by the sea.
The bar menu plays an important role in this transformation. Signature cocktails move beyond classic formulas and bring the spirit of the Aegean into a more contemporary mixology language. Names such as Kuzu Kuzu İç and Laf Arası are not only playful choices; they also reflect the restaurant’s warm and slightly mischievous personality.
Music is another defining part of the experience. The selection brings together Turkish and Greek songs from the 1980s and 1990s, creating a cultural bridge between the two shores of the Aegean. Rather than turning the evening into a loud entertainment format, the music supports the table, gently raising the rhythm without taking the place of conversation.
Thanks to its waterfront location, sunset becomes one of the restaurant’s most memorable moments. As the sun slowly lowers over the water, the evening begins to shift. Later, with shared plates, cocktails and familiar songs, Şekerpare Hanım blends into the long summer nights of Bodrum.
Before You Visit
As Şekerpare Hanım is one of the notable new restaurants of the summer season, advance reservations are recommended, especially for sunset hours and weekends. The restaurant is open daily from 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM.
Located on Çökertme Street in Yalıkavak, directly by the sea, the restaurant works well both for dinner and for those who want to continue the evening with cocktails. A smart casual dress code fits the atmosphere of the space.
Address: Çökertme Street, Yalıkavak, Bodrum, Muğla
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM
Reservations: Recommended, especially during summer evenings and weekends.
The VOGGIA Perspective
Every season, Bodrum sees new restaurants arrive. Yet only a small number manage to build a lasting story with a clear culinary identity. Şekerpare Hanım attempts to do this not only through its dishes, but through atmosphere, music and the culture of sharing.
The aim here is not simply to serve good food. It is to make long tables feel valuable again, to let sunset unfold without hurry, to bring friends together and to translate the slower rhythm of the Aegean into a contemporary dining language. This is where the idea of a modern meyhane begins to make sense.
For VOGGIA, Şekerpare Hanım’s strongest quality lies in the way it brings the past into the present without reducing it to nostalgia. It combines the Aegean culture of sharing with modern gastronomy, choosing warmth over spectacle. In Bodrum’s fast-changing restaurant scene, that may be its most distinctive quality.
Some restaurants simply serve good food. Şekerpare Hanım turns the time spent around the table into part of the menu. Perhaps that is what makes a dinner truly memorable.
