Cem Mirap
Istanbul, TR · 1 known investors
Mirap Group is a hospitality company founded by Cem Mirap that operates restaurants, bars, and cafes in Istanbul and Bodrum, Turkey. Its venues include the Lucca restaurant-bar-cafe concept along with beachfront and fine dining editions and a brasserie.
Also known as Lucca · Lucca Style · Mirap Group
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Cem Mirap is a Turkish restaurateur and the founder, owner and operator of the Lucca, Lucca Beach, Lucca by the Sea and Cantinery venues, which are run under Mirap Group. The original Lucca (presented as Lucca Style) opened in the Bebek district of Istanbul in 2004 as a combined restaurant, bar and cafe. A second Istanbul venue, Cantinery, opened in 2014 as a modern urban brasserie serving modern Mediterranean and European cuisine with local products, paired with a bar programme focused on mixology.
The group subsequently extended the Lucca brand to Bodrum with two seasonal properties: Lucca Beach, a beach edition set among olive trees in Cennet Koyu operating in the summer season, and Lucca by the Sea, a fine dining restaurant and bar at the Mandarin Oriental in Bodrum offering seafood-led Mediterranean and international cuisine with a seasonal kitchen. Each venue maintains its own website (luccastyle.com, luccabeach.com, luccabythesea.com, cantinery.com). The founder is described as managing Mirap Group with more than 20 years of restaurant and bar experience and as a board member of TURYİD, a Turkish food and beverage industry association.
Founding story
Cem Mirap, born in 1974, attended T.E.D Ankara College and graduated from Bilkent University with a degree in business administration, then completed a master's degree in advertising at CUNY Baruch College in New York. His interest in the food and beverage sector developed during the years he lived in New York. After a round-the-world trip, he returned to Turkey in 2003 and opened Lucca in Istanbul's Bebek district toward the end of 2004.
Business model
The group owns and operates its own branded hospitality venues — restaurants, bars, cafes, a beach club and a fine dining restaurant — across year-round Istanbul locations and seasonal summer locations in Bodrum.
Traction
Four operating venues across Istanbul and Bodrum and more than 20 years of restaurant and bar operating experience, per the company's own site.
Latest developments
Mirap Group is currently operating its four venues, and the founder serves on the board of the Turkish hospitality association TURYİD.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company's own site states that Lucca Style is cited as a reference by numerous domestic and international authorities and is among the best-known venues in its district and in Istanbul, and that Lucca by the Sea has won various awards.
The Lucca brand spans a single concept across multiple formats — an urban restaurant-bar-cafe in Istanbul, a beachfront edition in Bodrum and a fine dining seafood-oriented restaurant within a luxury hotel — complemented by the separate Cantinery brasserie positioning.
Go-to-market
Diners and bar guests in Istanbul and, seasonally, visitors to Bodrum, including fine dining and beach club clientele at a luxury hotel location.
Geography
Turkey: two venues in Istanbul (Lucca Style in Bebek and Cantinery) and two in Bodrum (Lucca Beach in Cennet Koyu and Lucca by the Sea at the Mandarin Oriental).
History
Lucca opened in Bebek, Istanbul, in late 2004 as a restaurant, bar and cafe. Ten years later, in 2014, the founder opened his second venue, the urban brasserie Cantinery, in Istanbul. The brand was later expanded to Bodrum with Lucca Beach in Cennet Koyu and the fine dining restaurant and bar Lucca by the Sea at the Mandarin Oriental. The venues are operated today under Mirap Group.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsThe founder's second venue, Cantinery, an urban brasserie serving modern Mediterranean and European cuisine with a mixology-focused bar, opened in Istanbul.
The first venue, Lucca (Lucca Style), opened toward the end of 2004 in Istanbul's Bebek district as a combined restaurant, bar and cafe concept.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Cem Mirapcemmirap.com · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Cem Mirap do?
- Istanbul-based hospitality group operating the Lucca restaurant-bar-cafe brand and the Cantinery brasserie in Turkey.
- Who founded Cem Mirap?
- Cem Mirap was founded by Cem Mirap.
- Who are Cem Mirap's investors?
- Cem Mirap's investors include Techmine Gsyo.
- Where is Cem Mirap headquartered?
- Cem Mirap is headquartered in Istanbul, TR.