Beyti (Istanbul)

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Beyti is a roasted meat restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1945 in Küçükçekmece and has been situated since 1983 in its original designed building complex in Florya.^[1] The establishment is owned by the restaurateur Beyti Güler and run together with his sons Cüneyt and Ahmet.

The grand restaurant with a total capacity of 500 seats^[2] offers traditional Turkish cuisine dishes in addition to various kebaps grilled on the oak charcoal. Beyti kebap, 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.^[1]

1 Background
2 Beyti kebap
3 Notable customers
4 References

[edit] Background

Beyti Güler is a descendant of Turkic people, who fled from Samarkand to Crimea in the 1720s after the assault of Persians. In the 1870s the family followed the Crimean War then went from there to Dobruja in Romania. After that, they came under Ottoman rule and finally, the family immigrated in 1935 to Turkey.^[1]

In 1945 Beyeti and his father opened a roadside small meat restaurant of 30 m² with four tables in the suburb of Istanbul. The restaurant having place for 20 people only became a popular venue, gaining fame in couple of years after opening. Notable journalists, top executives and even high-ranked politicians came to taste the döner kebap that was rarely available around.^[1]

An article published in 1965 in the New York Herald Tribune opened for Beyeti the avenue towards international fame. The restaurant catered daily to four Pan Am airliners for more than eight years, starting from 1966 and on. He also served U.S. President, Richard Nixon, aboard Air Force One during his first official trip in Europe, an opportunity that helped the Turkish kebap become renown.^[1]

To meet the growing demand, Beyti Güler erected a three-story building composed of eleven compartments of various size and a terrace in Florya, in an upscale living neighborhood close to Atatürk International Airport. The building was designed in a modern architectural style by Osman Yilmaz Şanlı.^[2] The interior decoration is inspired by Ottoman Turkish art. Construction was completed in 1979 and he new site opened by 1983.^[1]

[edit] Beyti kebap

During a visit to Switzerland in 1961, Beyti Güler was inspired by the renowned butcher Möller's way of preparing meat. Following his return, he introduced a dish consisting of roasted lamb fillets wrapped in strips of lamb cutlet fat. It came to be called after him when the kebap's fame spread all over the world.^[1]

[edit] Notable customers

In more than fifty years, many heads of state, high-ranked politicians, top businessmen and celebrities around the globe dined in Beyti at their visit in Istanbul.^[3]