By Hannah Barricks
Photography by Thanin Viriyaki
What many diners know as a gyro takes a different form here. In Türkiye, it’s called döner: thin slices of beef and lamb layered tightly onto a vertical rotisserie, marinated and roasted slowly throughout the day. At Beren, it forms the foundation of the restaurant’s Homemade Döner and İskender Plate, a dish owner Çağlar Ünlü — better known as Charlie — calls essential to understanding Turkish cuisine.
“It’s something you can’t leave Turkey without eating,” he says. “It’s iconic.”
The kitchen itself is built around family. Charlie works alongside his wife, Leman Ünlü, who leads the restaurant’s pastry program and desserts. Their daughter, Ellen Eylül Ünlü, is married to Ethan Erhan Arslan, the restaurant’s head chef and Charlie’s business partner, who oversees the savory side of the kitchen.
“We do everything the Turkish way,” Ünlü says. “And we do it together.”
That philosophy carries into the food itself. Beren’s homemade döner begins with a blend of 60% beef and 40% lamb, marinated for 24 hours in milk, onion and Turkish spices before being layered carefully onto a traditional vertical rotisserie.
As the meat slowly turns and roasts, thin slices are shaved to order and served over fresh bread in a traditional clay dish. The İskender Plate is finished with tomato sauce, melted butter and cool yogurt — a balance of richness, acidity and texture that has made the dish one of Türkiye’s most enduring staples.
“The beauty of İskender is the balance,” Ünlü says. “Everything works together.”
Nearly everything at Beren is made in-house, from breads to desserts, reflecting the family’s commitment to traditional technique and a fully homemade approach.
“We don’t like to use anything commercial or mass-produced,” Ünlü says. “That’s our goal.”
The family-run restaurant first gained attention inside FunkyTown Food Hall before expanding this spring into a larger standalone space in Fort Worth’s Near Southside district.
Now, the ambitions are growing alongside the restaurant itself.
“We study Michelin chefs day and night,” Ünlü says. “That’s where we’re going.”
For many guests, the İskender Plate is an introduction to Turkish cuisine.
For the family behind it, it is the standard.
Find the recipe for Turkish döner here.