Stop by Türkbükü’s exotic ice cream shop Dogal Dondurma to try seasonal flavors such as peach, coconut, and locally grown mandarin. The shop is on the pier, an easy walk from the Macakizi or Bianca Beach Club.

The restaurant at Maçakizi Hotel seats three hundred on various wooden decks that perch out over the water. It is entirely separate from the lingering day partiers below, a romantic experience with candle-lit corners and the sound of the sea lapping at the decks below. Sip on Anatolian wines and dine on fresh local produce from famed Turkish chef Ayet Sahakyan. The menu might include goat cheese, beets and arugula salad with dill and walnuts, and exquisitely prepared braised lamb short ribs with meat that falls off the bone, accompanied by pumpkin oil gnocchi.

For those who stay on property, the same attention to detail is paid to the extensive buffet breakfast each morning, with overwhelming offerings of breads, spreads, pastries and hot foods. Make sure you don’t miss the famous brunch on Sundays, which offers the revered manti (Turkish dumplings). Even if you’re not staying at Maçakizi, make sure to go for dinner at least one night. Chances are you’ll come back again.

A great destination for dinner or drinks when docked in the Bodrum harbor is the stylish Marina Yacht Club, offering well-prepared Turkish specialities (the chef is considered one of the country’s best) and a sexy rooftop bar scene. Expect a showy yacht crowd and dress accordingly.

This waterfront restaurant in quaint Gümüşlük serves freshly caught seafood and draws an elegant crowd. Arrive at dusk and sip raki, an anise-flavored Turkish drink, while the sun sets over the Greek islands to the west.

Located next to Cipriani, the enormous and bustling Nusr-Et Steakhouse, whose kitchen is run by the supremely talented chef Nusret Cokce, is a carnivore’s delight. Cocke and his partner Mithat Erdem have become known as the ambassadors of steakhouse culture in Istanbul. Their food is worth the wait—which seems unavoidable even with reservations. Given the slabs of meat that serve as décor when you first walk in, it’s best to leave the vegetarians at home. But they are missing out, since the perfectly prepared steaks are mouth-watering. Try to secure one of the coveted tables overlooking the water.

Named after the Turkish word for cactus, Pitahaya is set in a lovely garden as part of the 26-room boutique hotel of the same name. The restaurant has become known as a lovely breakfast spot. Its dinner menu fuses Turkish and Italian cuisines, a tribute to the Turkish chef’s years spent in Italy. The pastas are authentic and delicious, as is the pacanga cheese and pastry, and the produce is grown in the on-site organic garden.

This popular fish restaurant in Yalikavak is a hub for locals and visitors in the summer for its excellent seafood and its sea views. Be sure to book ahead as tables during the dinner hour can be difficult to secure.

Even if you don’t stay at the Marmara, the restaurant merits a trip for the fantastic views from its terrace. Come in time for sunset to get a truly spectacular show: as the light fades, the call to prayer rings out from the local mosques, the Aegean takes on an array of colors, and the lights of the town glitter from across the darkening shores. As if that weren’t enough of a draw, the food’s good, too. The Western options are predictable—truly, who comes to Turkey to eat penne arrabiata?—but the tender calamari and grilled sea bass taste straight from the sea. My favorite dish was Tuti’s upscale version of the traditional iskender kebob; the thinly sliced beef, paired with ripe tomatoes, soft pita and flavorful garlic yogurt couldn’t have been better.