Where to eat in Istanbul
 

Husband and I are going to be in Istanbul for 5 days in the end of May.
I would like to know about some good authentic places to eat at while we are there.
Thanks :)

You should indicate what part of the city you will stay in.

Istanbul is a city of 15 million people; getting around is not always easy. You should plan on dining relatively close to where you are staying -- or to the sites you will be visiting.

If you are staying in or near Sirkeci, I have a few suggestions

I'll be staying in Sirkeci, I'd love to get your recs

http://sirkecirestaurants.com

Never had a bad meal choosing from this blog.

It is rare that we dine twice in the same restaurant on a trip. We did just that at Imbat, atop the Orient Express Hotel in Sirkeci.

Address: Hudavendigar Caddesi (Street), No: 34
Phone: 0212 520 71 61
E-Mail:[email protected]

This rooftop restaurant with fabulous terrace views constantly scores high on Tripadvisor.com.

To a food snob like me, this is usually a red flag. But it really is a lovely, unfussy, comfortable restaurant with fine, uncomplicated, very fresh food made with the best ingredients.

They seemed to "take" to us. On our last visit, the hostess asked us to wait a moment, then popped into a store room and emerged with a present for us -- a miniature tea set.

The same owner runs nearby Pasazade (in the Erboy Hotel, one of the Sirkeci Hotel group). We ate there one night and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the very knowledgeable waiter who explained the ingredients and regional origin of our dishes. It was like a tutorial but not at all sententious.

We had another good Sirkeci rooftop meal at the (perhaps over-lit) Olive Restaurant in hotel Yasmak Sultan. It is at
Ebusuud Caddesi No:18

Phone : +90 212 528 1343;
E-Mail : [email protected]
http://www.hotelyasmaksultan.com/en/...e-restaurant-7

Further away: We had a reservation at Asitane, near the Chora Church, that we were forced by heavy rain to cancel. I regretted that a lot. All their dishes are based on historical recipes -- the only menu I have ever seen online that has dates beside the menu items.

I had a bunch of listings for other, farther away places, esp across the bridge in Kadakoy (e.g. the hard-to-get-into Lokanta Maya) but really, we ate very well within a couple of blocks of our hotel on Hudavendigar Caddesi.
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Lokanta Maya review: New York-trained female chef Didem Senol offers what could be called "nouvelle Turkish" cuisine, based on seasonal, local, and primarily organic ingredients. A changing menu features tasty appetizers like grilled octopus with red onions and such main course options as caramelized sea bass with apricots and is served in warm, contemporary surroundings in a not-yet-gentrified area of Karaköy.

Address: Kemankes Caddesi 35A, Karaköy
Phone: 212/252-6884
Website:www.lokantamaya.com
Reservations essential
Closed Sun. dinner, Mon. dinner

Asitane review: One of Istanbul's most character-filled restaurants serves seasonally changing menus based on the traditional cuisine of the Ottoman court, which the restaurant's owners have carefully researched over the past two decades. Dishes feature unusual combinations of ingredients, such as eggplant stuffed with quail and baked melon with a pilaf and ground meat filling; the historical versions of more familiar contemporary Turkish dishes also make appearances. The atmosphere is elegant, service exceptional, and there's a pleasant, shaded courtyard open in summer. Asitane is located next to the Kariye Müzesi.

Address: Kariye Camii Sok. 6, Edirnekapi
Phone: 212/635-7997
Website:www.asitanerestaurant.com
Location: Sultanahmet
Reservations essential.

I also ate at Imbat (once) and Pasazada (twice) and enjoyed the food and service at both restaurants.

For a fun outing, check out istanbul eats.com and their culinary walks at http://www.culinarybackstreets.com/c...alks/istanbul/ We did the kabob tour and had a great time.

More local than gourmet, but a great time.

Oddly, we had a really good Korean meal in Instanbul.

Ditto on the recommendation for Istanbul Eats- you will be introduced to all kinds of wonderful local places as well as get a copy of their book to many of the best and authentic places to eat in Istanbul. We took one of their tours on our first full day in Istanbul and it proved to be one of the highlights of our entire stay, as well as steering us to places we returned to after the tour.
We also had two excellent and reasonably priced meals at Khorasani in the Sultanahmet area.

I wrote a blog page with a big list here : http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...ocia-and-urfa/
And here : http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/973446
Neyzade and cig kebab places are my favorites.

we had some good food in istanbul... but we most enjoyed eating at Cankurtaran Sosyal Tesisleri, which is in a tiny local 'park' looking out at the water (and highway) not too far from topkapi. it was filled with 'local tourists'... families out for the evening. it is run by the local commune/ maybe their equivalent of the parks department? not the best food in the world... but good food, and a wonderful place to be. also, they have my FAVORITE turkish dessert... piping hot baked helva. don't miss it!