Top Cocktail Bars in Kas for a Properly Made Drink
Words by
Mehmet Demir
Finding the Top Cocktail Bars in Kas for Someone Who Actually Cares About a Properly Made Drink
I have been coming to Kas for over a decade now, and I will be honest with you. This small Mediterranean town on Turkey's Turquoise Coast was never really known for its cocktail scene. For years, the drinking culture here revolved around raki with meze, cold Efes beer by the harbour, and maybe a rough-and-ready gin and tonic at a beach club. But something shifted in the last five or six years. A handful of bartenders, some of them trained in Istanbul or even London, came back to Kas and decided the town deserved better. Today, if you know where to look, the top cocktail bars in Kas can hold their own against anything you will find in Bodrum or Antalya, and the setting, a narrow stone street with bougainvillea overhead and the mountains dropping straight into the sea, makes every drink taste better than it has any right to.
What follows is not a list I pulled from a booking website. These are places I have sat in, ordered from, argued with the bartender at, and in some cases, helped carry ice to during a busy August night. Kas is a small town, so I know most of the owners by name. That intimacy is part of what makes drinking here special, but it also means standards matter. If you serve a bad Negroni in Kas, everyone hears about it by morning.
The Harbour Strip: Where Kas Mixology Bars First Took Root
The waterfront along Liman Caddesi and the surrounding backstreets is where the cocktail scene in Kas really began. This is the tourist-facing side of town, yes, but do not let that fool you into thinking it is all generic resort drinks. The harbour area has a handful of spots that take their craft seriously, and the competition between them has pushed everyone's game up considerably.
1. HiC (Liman Caddesi, Central Kas)
HiC sits right on the main harbour road, and I remember when it first opened because the owner, a Kas native who spent three years bartending in Istanbul's Karakoy district, told me he was going to do "proper cocktails, not the sugary nonsense." He has kept that promise. The menu changes seasonally, but their smoked rosemary gin and tonic has been a constant since day one. They use a local gin and actually smoke the rosemary sprig tableside with a small handheld smoker, which sounds gimmicky until you taste it. The interior is small, maybe eight tables, with exposed stone walls that date back to when this building was a sponge diver's storage house in the 1940s.
The best time to go is between 6 and 8 PM, before the dinner crowd floods in. On Tuesdays in the off-season (October through April), they run a "bartender's choice" night where you tell the bartender your mood and they build you something off-menu. I have had some of the best drinks of my life on those Tuesday nights. The one complaint I will offer is that the single bathroom is down a narrow spiral staircase that is genuinely treacherous after your third cocktail.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask for the house vermouth. They make it themselves from local herbs they forage on the Lycian Way trails behind town. It is not on the menu, but if you ask the bartender directly, they will pour you a small glass. It pairs perfectly with their olive oil-washed bourbon."
If you only have one night in Kas and want to understand what the local cocktail movement is about, start here. HiC is the proof of concept that convinced other bar owners this town could support craft cocktail bars Kas visitors would actually seek out.
2. Ege Cafe and Bar (Just off Liman Caddesi, near the Marina)
Ege is technically a cafe that transforms into a cocktail bar after dark, and that dual identity is exactly what makes it interesting. During the day, it is a quiet spot for Turkish coffee and breakfast. After about 7 PM, the lights dim, the music shifts, and a young woman named Elif, who studied hospitality in Izmir, takes over the bar. Her mezcal selection is the best in Kas, which is not saying much in absolute terms, but she stocks three labels you cannot find anywhere else in town, including a Del Maguey Vida that she has to special-order through a distributor in Antalya.
The mezcal old fashioned she makes with a float of local thyme honey is the drink that keeps me coming back. The space itself is a converted ground-floor apartment with a tiny courtyard out back where you can sit under a fig tree. Most tourists walk right past because the signage is minimal, just a small wooden plaque by the door. That is part of its appeal. On a Friday or Saturday in July and August, the courtyard fills up fast, and the noise level makes conversation difficult, so aim for a weeknight if you want to actually talk to the person next to you.
Local Insider Tip: "Sit at the bar, not in the courtyard, and ask Elif about the mezcal flight. She does a three-pour tasting for around 450 lira that includes a pour of something she is considering adding to the menu. You get to vote on whether it stays. I have been there for three of these tastings and the crowd has never once picked the same bottle twice."
Ege represents something important about Kas, the way old spaces get repurposed rather than demolished. This building has been a home, a tailor's shop, and now a bar, and you can feel all of those lives in the walls.
The Old Town Backstreets: Craft Cocktail Bars Kas Locals Actually Frequent
If you walk uphill from the harbour into the old Greek quarter, the streets narrow, the cats multiply, and the tourist density drops noticeably. This is where Kas residents actually live and drink, and the bars here have a different energy. They are quieter, more personal, and the bartenders have time to talk to you about what you are drinking rather than just pumping out volume.
3. Sutta (Küçük Sakar Sokak, Old Town)
Sutta is the bar I recommend to people who tell me they "do not really like cocktail bars." It does not feel like a cocktail bar. It feels like someone's very stylish living room, which is essentially what it is. The owner, Can, converted the ground floor of his family's old stone house and kept almost all of the original architectural details, including a Ottoman-era archway that now frames the back bar. The cocktail list is short, maybe ten drinks, but every single one is dialed in. Their Kas Mule, made with local citrus, ginger beer they brew in-house, and a vodka distilled in Ankara, is the best version of that drink I have had outside of Moscow.
Can sources almost all his produce from within 30 kilometres of the bar. The mint comes from a farm in Gelemis, the citrus from a grove near Demre. This hyper-local approach is not a marketing gimmick here. It is just how people in Kas have always eaten and drunk. The bar only seats about 20 people, and on summer weekends there is often a wait. The one real downside is that the sound system is not great. Can plays vinyl, which I love, but the speakers are small and if the room is full, you lose the music entirely under the conversation.
Local Insider Tip: "Go on a Sunday evening in September or October. Can does a weekly 'market cocktail' where he takes whatever he bought that morning at the Kas bazaar and builds a drink around it. One week it was a fig and walnut sour. Another time it was a pomegranate and black pepper margarita. It is always the best thing on the menu and it is never repeated."
Sutta is the bar that made me believe Kas could develop a genuine craft identity rather than just copying what Istanbul was doing. Can is not trying to impress anyone. He is just making the best drink he can with what is around him, and that philosophy runs through the whole town if you pay attention.
4. Oburus Cafe (Hastane Sokak, Old Town)
Oburus is a name that confuses visitors because it sounds like a chain, but it is very much a one-off. The bar is on a steep street behind the old hospital building, which is how it gets its name, and the terrace has what I consider the best sunset view in Kas. You are looking west over the rooftops of the old town, across the water to the Greek island of Kastellorizo, and the light in the evening is the kind of golden that makes you understand why half the artists in Turkey have ended up here.
The cocktail program is solid if not spectacular. They do a very competent Aperol Spritz and a solid gin-based menu, but the real reason to come is the setting and the fact that the owner, a retired schoolteacher named Aylin, treats every customer like a guest in her home. She will sit down at your table, ask where you are from, and before you know it, she has brought out a plate of homemade börek and a glass of her private-label raki that she bottles herself. The drinks are well-made, but the hospitality is what you remember. My only gripe is that the terrace has no shade during the day, so if you come before 5 PM in summer, you will be baking.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask Aylin about the raki. She makes it from grapes grown on her family's land near Kalkan and ages it in small oak barrels for at least a year. She sells bottles to regulars for about 350 lira, which is a fraction of what you would pay for a comparable artisanal raki in Istanbul. Bring a bag because the bottles are not travel-friendly."
Oburus is a reminder that in Kas, the line between a bar and someone's home has always been thin. The town was built on hospitality, and places like this carry that tradition forward even as the drinks get more sophisticated.
The Beach Club Scene: Best Cocktails Kas Offers With Your Feet in the Sand
I know what you are thinking. Beach clubs and craft cocktails do not usually go together. And you are mostly right. The beach club scene in Kas is dominated by daybed-and-DJ operations where the drinks are overpriced and underthought. But there are two exceptions that I genuinely respect, and they deserve mention because the experience of drinking a well-made cocktail while looking at the Mediterranean is not something you should dismiss.
5. Kumlu Beach Club (Kumlu Beach, 3 km east of town)
Kumlu is the beach club that locals actually go to, which tells you something. It is about a ten-minute dolmus ride from the centre of Kas, and it sits on a pebble beach with water so clear you can see the bottom at five metres. The cocktail menu was redesigned two years ago by a bartender who came over from a well-regarded spot in Bodrum, and the improvement was immediate. Their watermelon basil mojito, made with actual smashed watermelon and fresh basil from the club's small garden, is the perfect beach drink. Cold, refreshing, not too sweet.
The best time to arrive is around 11 AM, grab a daybed, and settle in for the afternoon. By 3 PM, the music gets louder and the crowd shifts from families to a younger party crowd, which changes the vibe considerably. If you want the best cocktails Kas beach clubs can offer in a relaxed setting, come early and leave before the DJ takes over. The one thing that frustrates me is the service once it gets busy. After about 2 PM on a summer weekend, you can wait 20 minutes for a drink, which is unacceptable when you are paying premium prices.
Local Insider Tip: "There is a small bar at the far eastern end of the beach, away from the main club area, that most people do not know about. It is just a wooden counter with four stools, run by a guy named Serkan who used to work the main bar. His espresso martini is better than anything on the official menu, and it costs about 30 percent less. Walk past the last row of daybeds and look for the blue umbrella."
Kumlu represents the tension in Kas between the old fishing-village character and the tourism economy that now sustains the town. The beach clubs are part of that economy, and Kumlu handles the balance better than most.
6. Dalga Beach Bar (Dalga Beach, near Büyük Çakıl)
Dalga is smaller and less polished than Kumlu, and I mean that as a compliment. It is essentially a beach bar with a thatched roof, a sand floor, and a bartender named Deniz who has been making drinks here for four years. Deniz does not have formal training, but she has an instinct for balance that some certified mixologists lack. Her signature drink is a Kas Sunset, a layered cocktail of pomegranate juice, Aperol, and prosecco that actually looks like a sunset when she pours it. It is photogenic, yes, but it also tastes genuinely good, which is not always the case with Instagram drinks.
The beach itself is rocky, not sandy, so bring water shoes. The bar opens at 10 AM and closes at 8 PM, which means you get the full arc of the day, from morning calm to evening golden hour. I prefer the late afternoon, around 5 or 6, when the light hits the water at an angle that makes everything look like a painting. The only real issue is that Dalga does not take reservations, and in July and August, the limited seating fills up by noon on weekends.
Local Insider Tip: "Deniz makes a non-alcoholic version of the Kas Sunset that is just as beautiful and honestly just as satisfying. She uses a house-made pomegranate shrub with soda water and a float of fresh orange juice. If you are the designated driver or just taking a night off, order this and you will not feel like you are missing out."
Dalga is the kind of place that could only exist in Kas. It is too small to be profitable by any normal standard, but it survives because the people who run it love the beach and the bar in equal measure, and that sincerity comes through in every drink.
The Rooftop and Elevated Spots: Kas Mixology Bars With a View
Kas is a town defined by its relationship between mountain and sea, and the best way to appreciate that geography is from above. A few bars have figured out how to put a rooftop to good use, and the combination of elevation, view, and a well-made drink is hard to beat.
7. The View at Marina Hotel (Atatürk Bulvari, Harbour Front)
This is the most "upscale" spot on this list, and I include it with a small caveat. It is a hotel bar, which means it caters primarily to guests, and the prices reflect that. A cocktail here will run you 500 to 700 lira, which is roughly double what you would pay at Sutta or HiC. But the terrace is genuinely spectacular. You are elevated above the harbour road with an unobstructed panorama of the bay, the mountains, and Kastellorizo floating on the horizon. The bartender, a quiet man named Ozan who has worked here for six years, makes a very precise martini that he stirs for exactly 40 seconds and serves in a glass chilled to minus four degrees.
The crowd is older and quieter than at the other bars on this list, which can be either a pro or a con depending on your mood. I come here when I want to read a book and drink something cold while watching the fishing boats come in. The best time is between 5 and 7 PM, when the harbour is busiest and the light is at its warmest. The one thing that bothers me is the music playlist, which leans heavily into generic lounge covers of pop songs. For a bar this well-designed, they could do better.
Local Insider Tip: "You do not need to be a hotel guest to come here, but you do need to dress like one. They are not strict, but shorts and flip-flops will get you a table near the back with a partially blocked view. Wear something you would wear to a nice dinner, and Ozan will seat you at the railing where the view is best. Also, ask him about the barrel-aged Negroni. He ages it himself in a small oak cask behind the bar and only makes about two litres a month."
The View at Marina Hotel is proof that even in a small town like Kas, there is room for a more polished, hotel-grade cocktail experience. It is not my personal favourite, but it is the one I take visitors to when they want to be impressed.
8. Enli Cafe and Bar (İbrahim Serdengeçti Bulvari, Uphill from Harbour)
Enli is the newest addition to the Kas cocktail scene, opening about 18 months ago, and it has quickly become my regular spot. The owner, a woman named Pelin who previously managed a wine bar in Antalya, has a background in chemistry, and it shows in her approach to drinks. She measures everything, uses a jigger for every pour, and has a temperature-controlled ice program that most bars in Turkey cannot be bothered with. Her clarified milk punch, which takes three days to prepare, is the most technically ambitious cocktail I have had in Kas. It is silky, complex, and completely unlike anything else on the menu.
The space is on the first floor of a renovated building uphill from the harbour, with a balcony that catches the evening breeze. It is cooler up here than at sea level, which matters in August when the harbour area can feel like an oven. The crowd is a mix of locals and long-term visitors, the kind of people who have been coming to Kas for years and are tired of the same old harbour bars. The only complaint I have is that the menu descriptions are almost too brief. Pelin assumes you know what you are ordering, and if you ask for a recommendation, she will quiz you on your preferences before suggesting anything, which some people find off-putting.
Local Insider Tip: "Pelin keeps a 'lab notebook' behind the bar with experimental recipes she is working on. If you go on a slow night, usually a Monday or Tuesday, and show genuine interest, she will let you try whatever she is developing. I have had an early version of a saffron and cardamom old fashioned from that notebook that was better than most finished cocktails I have had anywhere. Be respectful of her process and she will reward your curiosity."
Enli represents the future of the top cocktail bars in Kas. Pelin is not just making drinks. She is building a culture of precision and curiosity that will, I think, influence every other bar in town within a few years.
When to Go and What to Know
The cocktail bar scene in Kas operates on a seasonal rhythm that you need to understand before you plan your visit. From mid-June through early September, the town is at full capacity. Bars are busy, waits are long, and the energy is high. This is when you want to be here if you like a crowd. From October through May, the town quiets down dramatically. Some bars reduce their hours or close entirely, but the ones that stay open, HiC, Sutta, Oburus, Enli, are often at their best during this period. The bartenders have time to experiment, the prices sometimes drop, and you can actually hear yourself think.
Cash is still king in Kas. Most bars accept cards, but a few of the smaller spots, Dalga, Oburus, prefer cash, and the card machines occasionally go down when the internet is slow, which happens more often than you would expect. Budget between 400 and 700 lira per cocktail depending on the venue, with the hotel bar at the top end and the beach bars at the lower end. Tipping is not mandatory but rounding up or leaving 10 percent is appreciated and remembered. Kas is a small town, and bartenders talk to each other. If you are generous and respectful at one bar, the next bartender you visit will already know your name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kas expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.
A mid-tier traveler in Kas should budget between 2,500 and 4,000 Turkish lira per day, covering a double room in a boutique pension or small hotel (1,200 to 2,000 lira), two meals at mid-range restaurants (600 to 1,000 lira), and two to three cocktails at the bars listed above (800 to 1,400 lira). Transport within town is cheap, a dolmus ride costs around 30 lira, and most central locations are walkable. Costs drop significantly from November through March, when accommodation can be 40 to 50 percent cheaper.
Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Kas?
Kas is relaxed and tourist-friendly, but it is still a small Turkish town with conservative undertones, especially in the old quarter. Swimwear is fine at beach clubs but should be covered up when walking through town. At upscale spots like The View at Marina Hotel, smart casual attire is expected. When visiting someone's home or a family-run place like Oburus, it is polite to remove shoes if you see others doing so. Public drunkenness is frowned upon, and while alcohol is widely available, being loud or disrespectful outside a bar will draw disapproval from locals.
Is the tap water in Kas safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?
The tap water in Kas is technically treated and safe by municipal standards, but most locals and long-term residents drink filtered or bottled water. The mineral content is high, and visitors with sensitive stomachs may experience mild discomfort. Most bars and restaurants serve filtered water or bottled water by default. A large bottle of water costs about 15 to 25 lira at local markets. Carrying a reusable bottle and refilling at one of the public filtered water stations around town is the most practical approach.
How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Kas?
Vegetarian options are widely available in Kas, as Turkish cuisine includes many naturally vegetable-based dishes like stuffed vine leaves, lentil soups, and grilled vegetable mezes. Fully vegan options are more limited but growing. Several restaurants in the old town now mark vegan items on their menus, and places like Sutta and Enli can accommodate dietary requests at the bar, offering vegan-friendly cocktails without dairy or honey. Dedicated vegan restaurants are rare, but asking at any restaurant will usually yield a creative and willing response from the kitchen.
What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Kas is famous for?
The one thing you must try in Kas is fresh grilled fish with a glass of raki at a harbour-side meyhane, specifically the local sea bream or sea bass served with a simple salad of rocket, red onion, and lemon. Kas does not have a single signature cocktail, but the local raki, especially artisanal versions like the one Aylin bottles at Oburus, is the spirit most closely tied to the town's identity. Pairing raki with a plate of cold meze, octopus salad, stuffed squid, and fresh bread while watching the sun set over the harbour is the quintessential Kas experience, and no cocktail, however well-made, quite replaces it.
Enjoyed this guide? Support the work
