BODRUM – Hürriyet Daily News | 4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | CHRIS DRUM BERKAYA

Weekend brunching and lunching on Bitez beach is the thing to do in the quieter seasons on the Bodrum Peninsula, in southwest Turkey, and the Lemon Tree Restaurant is one of the best places for the top cuisine of the many restaurants along the beachfront.

Located quite easily along the quaint, beachside Bitez Yalı mosque, the restaurant is bright and airy, decorated in white, with white wooden chairs, modern lime green furnishings giving it a light airy feel. There is wall-to-wall glass framing the impressive view over Bitez beach and across its bay to the green peninsula to the east, as well as the closer modern homes and hotels above the beach to the west.

In winter, summer or spring, sitting and looking out to sea is a pastime that never gets old and with comfortable dining chairs or large cushioned benches on the beachside, there is no shortage of places to enjoy the view. Sipping a soft drink, a cold beer, an excellent coffee or a bottle of wine with friends never seems such a bad idea on Bitez beach.

Sunday Brunch

Even on a brisk and fitfully sunny Sunday afternoon, the benches are out on the beach and couples, families and groups of friends gather to relax for an hour or so. At least one group has moved out from the interior dining tables after enjoying a long Sunday brunch and/or celebrating a birthday. It seems to be that sort of place.

Brunches are the focal point of the weekend. The Lemon Tree restaurant has been offering a brunch for 15 Turkish Liras per person with bottomless cups of tea and juice all winter and into spring. The diners can help themselves to a varying buffet that caters for both traditional Turkish breakfasts and more general tastes.

A variety of cereals, with honey, pekmez molasses and yogurt stand next to bowls of three different types of olives, platters of freshly cut tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and white cheese, as well as a variety of semi-hard tasty cheeses such as “tulum” and “kaşar.” Cold meats and a variety of jams complete the cold section. Further along the buffet there are hot “sigara böreği” pastries, sausages, beans and köfte. Finally, alongside this, is the meze selection. The local popular meze of samphire “deniz börülcesi” sit beside crumbled cheese with tomatoes and parsley, yogurt, fresh beetroot, piyaz beans, single-leaf lettuce, roka and green onions.

Fresh bread loaves lie in a baskets ready for cutting and toasting while the juices, teas and coffee are lined up for replenishment. Most diners cannot resist a second helping.

Self-service does not mean there is lack of service; three of four waiters bring tea to the tables and also hot pans of fried eggs that are made to order. Through the hatchway view into the kitchen, the chefs busily prepare the food.

The manager of the Lemon Tree Restaurant, Serkan Yaşarbaş, said the restaurant was open seven days a week throughout the year. They have four chefs in winter and take on an additional three chefs in summer to cover the 16 hours a day that the restaurant is open for.

The chefs have a vast menu that caters for the international visitors to Bitez beach. The Turkish guests are generally well-traveled and young, coming from all over Turkey with their own regional tastes, while the Bodrum Peninsula’s resident international community boasts up to 10 nationalities. In summer of course, the tourists and summer residents add to the eclectic mix, enjoying the beach life.

© Hurriyet Daily News article about The Lemon Tree Restaurant in Bitez

Other Recommendations

But it’s not just the Hurriyet Daily news who is recommending Bitez as the ideal Brunch destination – Bitez featured in Eljay’s Top 5 list, as THE place to enjoy brunch, and there’s a good collection of reviews on Trip Advisor for the Lemon Tree.

Information Block for the Lemon Tree Restaurant:

Open Times: 8 a.m.-midnight, seven days a week.

Address:  Yalı Boyu No.28, Bitez Yalı Cami Yanı, Bitez/Bodrum

Telephone:  (0 252) 363 95 43

Location:  Situated next to the Mosque