Bolu Akın Lokantası

About Bolu Akın Lokantası

Bolu Akın Lokantası is one of Ankara's longest-running esnaf lokantası (tradesmen's restaurants), and this is its original branch at Etlik's Eski Garajlar, which the family describes as Ankara's first bus garage. Founder Hüseyin Durak, born in Ericek village near Bolu, learned the trade in the kitchen of the well-known Karpiç Lokantası and opened here in 1958. According to the family, he chose the name "Akın" in the hope that customers would come "akın akın", in droves. Until 1986 he cooked and carved Ankara-style yaprak döner himself before handing the kitchen to his sons Uğur and Yüksel Durak; the family now runs further branches at Erciyes İşyerleri Sitesi and in Mustafa Kemal Mahallesi. The cooking draws on the Bolu tradition of cooks, a region whose chefs the restaurant traces back to the Ottoman palace kitchens. Rested lamb is the star: dishes are cooked slowly over coal in copper pots on a historic kuzine range, and some are finished in the oven compartments beneath. Signatures include lamb haşlama (poached lamb), lamb kızartma, lamb shank and çoban kavurma, alongside a long-standing kuru fasulye with pilav. For dessert the restaurant is known for kabak tatlısı (candied pumpkin), and food guide Oggusto also recommends its oven-baked rice pudding. It is a straightforward, family-run place for anyone wanting old-style Ankara home cooking rather than a formal night out. Practical notes: according to the restaurant's website the Etlik branch opens Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 21:00 and is closed on Sundays.