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This city is a food lover's town and restaurants abound, from humble kebab joints to fancy fish venues, with a variety of excellent options in between. Owing to its location on the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, Istanbul is famous for its seafood. A classic Istanbul meal, usually eaten at one of the city's rollicking meyhanes (literally "drinking places"), starts off with a wide selection of tapas-style cold appetizers called meze, then a hot starter or two, and then moves on to a main course of grilled fish, all of it accompanied by the anise-flavored spirit rak?, Turkey's national drink. The waiter will generally bring a tray over to your table to show off the day’s meze and you simply point to what you’d like. Note that the portions you get are often larger than the samples shown on the tray, so don’t over-order; you can always select a second—or third—round later. When it comes to the main course, fish can be expensive, so check prices and ask what's in season before ordering. In Istanbul, fall and winter are the best seasons for seafood.
Istanbul's dining scene, though diverse, was once mostly limited to Turkish cooking, but a new generation of chefs is successfully fusing local dishes with more international flavors and preparations. Some are trained in the United States and Europe and bring home the contemporary culinary techniques they've learned abroad, and the result is a kind of nouvelle Turkish cuisine. Interest in little-known specialty foods and regional dishes from around Turkey is also taking hold, as chefs increasingly look at home, rather than abroad, for inspiration. Over the past few years, a handful of restaurants have opened where the chef-owner defines the vision and personality of the venue—though this may be old hat in Europe or North America, it represents an exciting new trend in Istanbul.
Istanbullus take their eating seriously, holding establishments to a very high standard; they expect their food to be fresh and well prepared at even the most basic of eateries, and are likely to feel that few places can hold a candle to "Mom’s cooking." That said, at restaurants catering to a trendier, more upscale crowd, style sometimes seems to pass for substance, and consistency can be elusive; the fanciest venues may not necessarily offer the best food.
Sultanahmet might have most of the city's major sights and many hotels, but sadly, these places cater mostly to tourists and are the ones most likely to let their standards slip. Save for a few standouts, the area is sorely lacking in good dining options, though you can find some good food if you follow the locals to the no-frills eateries lining Gedik Pa?a Caddesi (near the Beyaz?t tram stop, across Yeniçeriler Caddesi from the entrance to the Grand Bazaar) or to Hoca Pa?a Sokak near the Sirkeci train station. Overall, though, you'll have much better luck if you head across the Golden Horn, where the lively Beyo?lu district has everything from holes in the wall serving delicious home cooking to some of Istanbul's sleekest restaurants, while Karaköy and Galata also have an increasing range of dining options. Or head to some of the small, charming neighborhoods along the Bosphorus, which are famous for their fish restaurants; while these establishments tend to be more upscale and expensive, there are some affordable options as well.
Since Istanbullus love to go out, reservations are essential at most of the city's better restaurants. In summer, many establishments move their dining areas outdoors, and reservations become even more important if you want to snag a coveted outside table. For the most part, dining is casual, although locals enjoy dressing smartly when they're out. You may feel terribly underdressed if you show up in a restaurant dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, even in summer.
Despite Islamic proscriptions against alcohol, beer, wine, and the local spirit rak? are widely available, and at more upscale venues you can also find cocktails. Because of high taxes, however, alcoholic drinks—particularly anything imported—tend to be considerably more expensive than in North America or Europe. The national lager Efes is the most widely available beer; venues may carry two or three other domestic and international labels, but don’t expect a wide selection. Yeni Rak?, a state-run monopoly until not long ago, has remained the most popular rak? brand despite a recent proliferation of new companies producing the spirit. Wine consumption in Turkey has traditionally lagged far behind that of beer and rak?, but that’s been slowly changing in recent years as the quality of local wines has started to improve. The local wine industry is still in its fledgling stages compared to other parts of the world, but there are some very drinkable domestic wines on the market, most priced at only a fraction of what you’d pay for an imported label. Turkish wines are made from foreign grapes as well as indigenous varietals, of which the most noteworthy are the reds Öküzgözü, Bo?azkere, and Kalecik Karas? and the whites Emir and Narince.
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, restaurants that cater primarily to tourists, and most venues in cosmopolitan parts of Istanbul such as Beyo?lu, continue to operate normally. In more traditional neighborhoods some restaurants close altogether or change their hours of operation. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to go to restaurants for iftar—the evening meal that breaks the daily fast—instead of having it in the home, as was traditionally done.
Chef-owner Musa Dağdeviren, who hails from the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, is something of a culinary anthropologist, offering truly unique dishes made using recipes from around Turkey. This restaurant, Çiya Sofrası—the original of the three no-frills branches along the same street—is known for its seasonal meat- and vegetarian-based daily specials that feature unusual flavor combinations. Nearby Çiya Kebap serves top-notch kebabs along with home-style dishes.
One of Sultanahmet's most outstanding restaurants emphasizes the Arab- and Kurdish-influenced cuisine of southeastern Turkey, including mezze like hummus, muhammara (hot pepper and walnut spread), and thyme salad, as well as tasty kebabs like lamb shish. One of the interesting non-kebab main dishes on offer is the chicken stew, which has chunks of meat in a thick sauce of onions, mushrooms, and sweet pumpkin.
Drawing on historic palace recipes, Matbah presents beautifully plated Ottoman cuisine. There is both an a la carte and a tasting menu that note the century each dish originated from, and the dining room is airy and elegant, evoking the palace setting that has inspired the food.
Rising chef Civan Er puts a unique and contemporary twist on traditional Turkish dishes, using ingredients sourced from local producers in different regions of the country. The menu consists mainly of starters or small plates that offer innovative flavor combinations, like kofte tartare with sumac and chilli, or braised beetroot with walnuts, sour cherries, hazelnuts, and ezine cheese (a rich, white, cow's milk cheese).
Popular with locals, this restaurant specializes in the Arab-influenced cuisine of Hatay (originating near Turkey's border with Syria), which features delicious meze like hummus, baba ghanoush, muhammara (a spread of mashed chile peppers and walnuts), kısır (a spicy version of tabbouleh), and a wide range of uncommon kebabs. The venue's famous "meter kebab" serves several people and requires advance ordering, as does the salt-shell-baked chicken and lamb.
This restaurant with exposed brick walls in the popular Tünel area of Beyoğlu offers specialties of Turkey's Arab-influenced southeastern Hatay province. The menu includes a variety of meze and kebabs with intense flavors and served with Antiochia's uncommonly tasty chile pepper–rubbed flatbread.
Fresh-grilled fish with raw onions encased in a lightly grilled, oily wrap is the perfect lunch-to-go, and while the seaside is dotted with many balık dürüm (fish wrap) vendors, this small storefront on a Karaköy side street is the best of the bunch.
This charming little restaurant is best known for its mantı—a ravioli-like Turkish pasta traditionally stuffed with ground meat—and specifically Feraye (a name the restaurant has trademarked), a fried variation filled with cheese and spinach, potato and cheese, or chicken. The atmosphere is casual, and diners can either sit at sidewalk tables on a lively pedestrian side street lined with other restaurants and shops or at tables looking onto a quiet garden in the back.
Tucked among the antique stores of Cukurcuma, Cuma is a casual café by day and a cozy place to sip wine at night. Its seasonal menu uses local produce and offers a range of day-to-night options, along with fresh-baked bread and a comprehensive wine list.
Doy-doy serves a fairly standard array of kebabs and pide—a type of Turkish pizza baked in a wood-burning oven—with different toppings, but at lunchtime, local workers come for the cheap daily specials, such as meat-and-vegetable stew or baked beans (displayed on the steam table to the left of the entrance). The two-level rooftop terrace, open in summer, has fine views of the area, but don't expect to savor them with a drink in hand, as no alcohol is served.
This tucked-away lunch spot specializes in one dish: the horizontal slow-roasted cağ kebap with layers of lamb meat and fat cooked slowly in rotation over a flame.
This Beşiktaş restaurant is a family affair, serving home-cooked Turkish cuisine with a twist and run by a brother-sister-mother team. Like a typical Turkish lokanta (a cafeteria-style restaurant, usually for workers), the food is prepared ahead of time, and you can choose many options to fill your plate.
The main attraction here is home-style kuru fasulye, white beans slow-cooked in tomato paste and oil. Located centrally on a bustling Karakoy corner with a two-story dining hall chock-full of communal long tables, there is always a spot and always a crowd enjoying local cuisine.
Part of a new wave of small cafés, craft shops, restaurants, and antiques dealers popping up in the atmospheric but long-neglected neighborhood of Balat, Forno distinguishes itself with owner Yona Grunberg’s short, high-quality menu of freshly prepared pides, pizzas, salads, and soups. With its brightly colored geometric tiles, exposed-brick walls, and large wooden communal table, this is an equally pleasant place to just relax for a while over a coffee or tea, and the weekend breakfast gets raves.
Occupying several rooms and storefronts on both sides of narrow Kallavi Sokak, this down-to-earth restaurant is best known for Turkish standards and Circassian specialties, including the signature fıccın, a savory pastry filled with ground meat. The menu, which changes daily, always includes a range of mezes—many of them vegetarian—as well as a handful of simple meat and fish dishes, and prices are extremely reasonable.
This grill house is an Istanbul institution, with a huge selection of kebabs, as well as appetizers like mini lahmacun (thin flatbread topped with spicy ground meat); although the food may not be too different from other kebab houses, Hamdi's three dining floors still tend to be packed with both tourists and locals. This makes for a lively, even boisterous, atmosphere, and service can be a bit harried; make sure that you get—and pay for—exactly what you order.
The menu at this very affordable restaurant changes daily, but it has at least a dozen home-cooked dishes, including both meat and vegetarian options. The atmosphere is laid-back, and the easiest way to order is to simply point at what you want from the day's specials, which are displayed in front of the open kitchen; ask for a mixed plate if you'd like to try several small portions.
One of the best places to eat on any of the islands, Heyamola offers a daily selection of fresh vegetable and seafood meze, salads, and seafood, including specialties of the house like a sardine casserole or mezgit (whiting) cooked with white wine and ginger. The charming indoor-outdoor garden has a relaxing Aegean air.
Drawing on Istanbul’s cosmopolitan past, this cozy spot offers meze and mains made from Armenian recipes, along with Greek, Ottoman, and Circassian dishes. With its white tablecloths and bookshelves in a low-ceiling space that opens out onto the street, Jash makes you feel as if you’ve stepped into someone’s home kitchen to taste all of Istanbul’s history.
By day, this sleek, airy restaurant with a large outdoor dining area offers a changing menu of reasonably priced Turkish vegetable and meat dishes. At night, it becomes a classy meyhane, serving an excellent variety of meze.
A homey, pretention-free spot on the busy main stretch in Balat, Mitis Mantı only serves homemade mantı, small Turkish dumplings in garlic yogurt sauce. Unlike most other mantı places in town, Mitis Mantı has a vegetarian option on its menu.
Seasonal Turkish cuisine is served here with a contemporary twist, from cacık with smoked yogurt, charred garlic, and pickles to tender octopus slow-cooked for hours to fresh fish—all artfully plated. It is not surprising that Mehmet Gürs, the famous chef behind Mikla, is a consultant to the restaurant. Eat in the warm, spacious interior or on the large, all-season patio that affords sweeping Bosphorus views.
In business for three decades on Ortaköy's waterfront square, unpretentious Çınaraltı ("under the sycamore") has a massive sycamore tree growing up through its center and shading its upstairs terrace. The balık böreği (a spring roll-esque fish pastry) is a highlight of the wide though fairly standard meze selection, and the fish is mainly served grilled or fried (make sure the price quoted is per fish or serving, not per kilo).
One of the many fish restaurants along the water, Nissi stands out with its nautical decor and straw ceiling that makes the place feel like a fancy beach hut. The meze is the usual fare with a few surprising options mixed in.
Above the Spice Bazaar, this well-established restaurant has distinct turquoise tiled walls, white tablecloths, and low hanging chandeliers. The menu features local meat and fish dishes, including balık köfte (fish meatballs) and hünkar begendi (slow-roasted lamb over eggplant puree), as well as a selection of hot and cold starters.
Located in the heart of Kadıköy, this welcoming patisserie has windows full of colorful cakes and traditional sweets. It's the perfect place to have a cup of tea and a sweet or savory Turkish pastry.
The meze, meatballs, salads, grilled fish, and other mainly Turkish fare are fresh and well prepared, but the hospitable service and lovely, secluded setting are what really make this restaurant attached to the Ada Palas hotel stand out. Seating is in a quaint, greenhouse-style structure or the lush garden, where one outdoor table is romantically draped in a filmy canopy. A lavish breakfast spread and assorted coffee and alcoholic drinks are also available.
Like pizza for New Yorkers, humble köfte (grilled meatballs) inspire countless arguments among Istanbullus about who makes the best. Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi wins with a simple menu—meatballs, lamb kebab, lentil soup, piyaz (boiled white beans in olive oil), rice, and salad—that has remained virtually unchanged since 1920. Service is somewhat perfunctory, and this bustling place is not somewhere to linger, but the location just steps from the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya makes it ideal for a quick lunch.
