Lukka Bar, Restaurant & Cafe, Çalış Beach

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There’s a bit of a back story to the Lukka Bar Restaurant & Cafe scenario, so we guess we should start there, really.

You see, Lukka is this bar/restaurant that’s been there, sat at the end of the main stretch of Çalış Beach for quite some time.

Over ten years, actually, when we asked owner, Aydın.

And we’d been living in Fethiye for well over ten years before we ventured into the place.

We’d walked by many times but had never stepped foot over the threshold of Lukka Bar, Cafe & Restaurant (to give it its full Sunday name).

Maybe we’re the last little hangers-on of that ‘local pub’ generation.

Where both me and Barry grew up in our respective parts of Wigan, you had your local pubs.

So, when we finally moved into our house together in a different part of Wigan, we had our local pub, The Owl Inn.

There was one pub just as close as The Owl and a good few others just a few minutes’ stroll away.

VERY rare were the times we strayed to other pubs in the locality. No logic or reason to this; you just had your place and that was it.

Lukka Bar, Restaurant & Cafe – Çalış Beach

Maybe that’s why we have certain (illogical) blocks on going to some places.

I mean, it’s not like we didn’t know Lukka Bar Cafe & Restaurant existed.

We’d always seen it as we walked by, en route elsewhere. Usually to catch the dolmuş at the end of the walkway you can see in the photo above.

And then, one day, we met up with one of the Fethiyespor supporters at Cafe Park Teras in Fethiye.

He came along with a friend who introduced him.

Do you now know Lukka, he asked? Ahh, yeah, we’ve seen Lukka, we said. This is the owner’s brother.

Ahhh, right.

And by and by, we got to know ‘brother’ a bit better. Lovely guy.

Saw him at Fethiyespor matches all the time – sometimes a quick wave and sometimes a quick chat.

And all the time, me and Barry doing afterthoughts aloud of eek-we-really-ought-to-go-to-Lukka-sometime.

Not only did we know it was good manners and would be appreciated, we were genuinely becoming a tad more curious as different friends mentioned it.

Scampi & Chips

“They do a great scampi and chips at Lukka Cafe Bar & Restaurant,” said a friend who isn’t generally known for her gushings of eateries.

“Eww, bet it’s processed beige stuff,” we suggested. Well, who was gonna serve scampi in this corner of Turkey?

“Nooooo, proper whole stuff. And you get homemade chips and tartar sauce and peas.”

Okay, now we were proper curious. We’re Brits who had been in Turkey for a good few years without a return to the UK.

We love our Turkish food, but when was the last time we’d enjoyed a good old scampi ‘n’ chips?

And then the perfect excuse came along…

“Are you coming out for my birthday? We’re all going to Lukka Bar. A good excuse to sample that Lukka Bar scampi and chips.”

And so we did.

And you know those situations where you go from never having been to somewhere before and then you find yourself becoming a bit of a regular?

Yeah, that’s what kind of happened.

Lukka Fried Chicken

After speaking to other people we know who were already seasoned pros when it comes to Lukka’s menu, the famous LFC (Lukka Fried Chicken) was highly recommended.

Barry plumped for that option on another visit. And I nicked a couple of pieces, too.

Meaty chicken drummers in a super-crispy coating, real chips (that’s gotta beat a famous fast food joint every time) and a carrot and yoghurt dip.

After a bit of a sojourn LFC has apparently made a come back for 2023.

They also do a very nice Chicken Schnitzel too.

Lukka Cafe & Restaurant – The Turkish Selection

Now, lest you go thinking everything at Lukka is something in a crispy coating served with chips, there are, of course, Turkish options (and lots of other snacks, salads and sides on the menu, too).

In an effort not to just sit and eat the Lukka scampi and chips all the time (it is good), I’ve forced my eyes to other areas of the menu.

I’m a sucker for a Turkish güveç dish (aka the Turkish casserole).

After scanning the options on another visit, I spotted the karides güveç (shrimp casserole) and couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be big fat king prawns, like the ones used for the scampi.

Ohhh, yes, they’re definitely big fat king prawns. Not a little tiny shrimp in sight.

Arnavut Ciğeri

And I’m kicking myself a bit for this photo.

We love Arnavut Ciğeri (Albanian liver), especially when it’s served – as is the norm – with a side of shredded onion and parsley and tossed in oodles of zesty flavoured sumac.

This little salad is on this dish and had oodles of sumac…it just looks a bit obscured.

Anyway, it’s there. A perfect match to the flash-fried liver pieces.

Crisp on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside, just as Arnavut ciğeri should be.

There are lots of other Turkish dishes on the menu at Lukka Cafe & Restaurant (sigara böreği, various other meze dishes and types of güveç, etc, etc), but there’s only so much food three people can eat.

These are just our samplings so far…

And that’s about it, really.

Lukka is our place for occasional lunches in the late winter / early spring sunshine.

There’s nothing posh about the place – it doesn’t pretend to be, either. Just a comfortable, simple bar with no nonsense bar food.

Oh, and if you’re one of those people who needs to keep up with the sport, wherever you are, there are three big screens for this so different sports can be shown.

Lukka Cafe & Restaurant, Çalış Beach – Useful Information

• Lukka Cafe & Restaurant is at the end of the main stretch of Çalış Beach, close to Hotel Seril (see map below).
• Lukka is open year round and there is an open fire inside for the colder winter months. There’s also a few tables with comfortable armchairs for those who like to relax a tad.
• A variety of sports is shown on the big screens inside.
• The beer selection in Turkey is slowly improving and Lukka Bar & Restaurant has a wide variety on offer, including Guinness and cider. Wines and spirits etc are also available, too, of course
• Food at Lukka Cafe & Restaurant is reasonably priced and home cooked. A range of breakfasts, snacks and main meals are all available.
• According to historians, ‘Lukka’ means ‘Land of the Lights,’ referring to Turkey.
• We’ve added Lukka Cafe & Restaurant to the Çalış Beach section of our suggestions of where to eat and drink around Fethiye.

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