Celebrated table

Cotmeh

Chef Bülent Öztürk translates his Urfa heritage into thin-crust lahmacun and herbaceous eggplant dishes at this Le Fooding listed Antwerp spot.

The story

Cotmeh in Antwerpen brings Urfa family recipes to modern Turkish cooking

The kitchen and its origins

Cotmeh in Antwerpen serves contemporary Turkish cuisine through the lens of chef Bülent Öztürk’s family kitchen in Urfa. He abandoned a film directing career to launch the restaurant in October 2022, naming the space after his favorite month. This deliberate pivot toward regional flavors earned a spot on the Le Fooding 2026 list. The placement confirms how carefully sourced Urfa ingredients drive the daily menu.

Signature plates and techniques

Thin-crust lahmacun anchors the menu, arriving never burnt despite their delicate construction. The Siyele version layers spinach, halloumi, egg and roasted almonds over the dough. Another staple features marinated lamb, ginger, hot peppers and arugula for a fragrant finish. The kitchen handles Turkish culinary tradition with restraint, letting fresh produce and precise baking carry the weight alongside fried bulgur wheat croquettes and oven-roasted eggplant.

The dining room and ambiance

Exposed brick walls and potted greenery fill the main dining area, which shares its building with Pain Pidou bakery. A curated Turkish soundtrack plays throughout service, occasionally featuring tracks like Disko-Kebap by Urfali Babi. The layout encourages quiet conversation while chefs prepare each order in the adjacent open kitchen. Sweets conclude the meal with crisp Urfa pistachio baklava or soft date and nut confections.

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2026

Le Fooding

Listed

Details

At a glance

Le Fooding 2026 — Listed

History

On the record

2026

Le Fooding — Listed

October, or “cotmeh” in Kurdish, is Bülent Öztürk’s favorite month. It’s also the month when the movie director (Blue Silence, 2017) opened this restaurant in the Wilrijk neighborhood back in 2022. This dramatic career change was inspired by the Urfa-native’s family recipes. A brick-walled dining room is filled with plants, shared with the Pain Pidou bakery, and brought to life by a Turkish playlist, in which we recognized Disko-Kebap by Urfali Babi. Alone in the kitchen, he passionately serves up all of the following: fried bulgur wheat croquettes stuffed with lamb; zikvekirî (stuffed and marinated eggplant cooked in the oven and served with sliced lamb and eastern herbs); and a series of lahmacun, the main attraction, aka those extremely thin-crust pizzas that are never burnt, like the Siyele version, topped with spinach, halloumi, egg and almonds, or the Traditionnelle version with a melee of marinated lamb, ginger, spicy vegetables and arugula – all delightfully fragrant and herbaceous. For dessert, there’s crispy baklava made with pistachios from Urfa, or tender pistachio and date balls. // Alain Belon

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Established

Location

Find us

Eglantierlaan 97, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
Antwerpen, Belgium