We love Turkish breakfast, and we’ve sung its praises before. We also stand by our suggestion that Cumalıkızık is probably the neatest place in the Bursa area to get an authentic, traditional Turkish breakfast in a genuinely Ottoman-Turkish village atmosphere. We always enjoy our visits to Cumalıkızık. But with our recent discovery of Derebahçe Restaurant, we have found a place that now ranks very near the top of our list of preferred breakfast eateries—and is closer to the city than Cumalıkızık.

Nestled on a quiet hillside in Bursa’s residential Dobruca neighborhood, Derebahçe (lit. “stream garden”) is a sprawling outdoor café straddling both sides of a mountain stream that flows from Uludağ down to the valley below. Tables line both banks of the tree-shaded stream as well as a couple wooden bridges that span the waterway. A large grassy area and a children’s playground provide entertainment for the kids. The cobblestone walkways, wooden tables, tall trees, fresh mountain air, and running stream all come together to provide a rustic, relaxing atmosphere in a natural setting.

While Derebahçe’s atmosphere is certainly nice, the breakfast is even better. During our recent visit, the waiters filled our streamside table with more than 20 traditional Turkish breakfast items. Four types of cheese, meat, fried cheese pastries, fried potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, three types of olives, cucumbers and tomatoes, pickled peppers, candied figs, Turkish salsa, raspberry jam, sweet cream and honey, nut butter, chocolate spread, a sesame paste cake called helva, and a dense village bread were served alongside the standard bottomless çay danlık of Turkish tea.

On our quiet, beautiful morning at Derebahçe, my wife and I and our guests relaxed at our wooden table on a rustic bridge while the stream ran its course below us. For more than two hours, we slowly enjoyed breakfast and conversation to the background sound of singing birds and rushing water.

As we made our way back up the stone-paved trail toward the parking lot, we vowed to return to Derebahçe Restaurant someday soon to again enjoy a fantastic traditional breakfast in a lovely natural setting.

Notes on Derebahçe Restaurant
-The restaurant is located in Dobruca Mahallesi at number 7 Akdemir Caddesi. The easiest way to get there is by car or taxi, but you can also take bus #1/A from the city center to Dobruca Sosyal Tesisleri.
-In addition to breakfast, Derebahçe also offers a complete Turkish grill menu in the afternoons and evenings.
-Visit the Derebahçe Restaurant website for more information.