Keşkek and Local Dishes at Taşhan 1699 Restaurant

Taşhan 1699 Otel ve Restoran occupies a restored caravanserai at the centre of Amasya's old commercial district on Taşhan Caddesi. The building dates to 1699 and served as a merchants' inn on the Ottoman trade routes through the Yeşilırmak valley; today its stone-vaulted dining room and open courtyard are used for meals built around the regional cooking of northern Anatolia.

The kitchen's principal offering is keşkek, a dish with ceremonial status in Amasya and across Anatolian culture — in 2011, UNESCO added the keşkek tradition to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. At Taşhan 1699, keşkek is prepared from scratch using pounded wheat (döğme) and bone-in lamb slow-cooked together for several hours until the mixture reaches a thick, porridge-like consistency; it is finished with browned butter and seasoned with salt and ground black pepper. This dish defines the tasting experience at the restaurant.

Supporting courses include güveç, a clay-pot stew filled with seasonal vegetables and lamb, sealed and baked in a wood-fired oven. Regional mezes — bean salads, ezme, cacık, and market pickles — arrive with a basket of freshly baked village bread. The meal concludes with dessert, typically a walnut-stuffed pastry or sütlaç (rice pudding), accompanied by çay. Per-person pricing runs ₺350–700 (approximately $7.70–15), inclusive of non-alcoholic beverages, bread, and mezes.

The restaurant seats guests in the stone-arched indoor hall as well as in the open caravanserai courtyard. The courtyard is particularly atmospheric on summer evenings when the stone walls retain warmth from the day. Bookings are made by phone at +90 358 212 1699; walk-ins are accepted subject to availability. The kitchen can accommodate vegetarian guests with advance notice by emphasising the meze and güveç courses and omitting lamb from the keşkek in a limited vegetable version. Service is in Turkish and basic English.