Istanbul Food-Restaurants

Istanbul Food-Restaurants information

Lokanta - Ottoman / Traditional

Asitane ** Kariye Hotel Kariye Camii Sokak Edirnekapi Tel: +90 (0)212-534-8414 Next door to the unmissable Kariye Mosque and an attraction in its own right, Asithane serves up a heady mix of traditional Ottoman specialities and nouveau twists to old recipes, on a regularly changing menu. Live Ottoman classical music some evenings. Cennet ** Divan Yolu Cemberlitas Tel: +90 (0)212-513-1416 This Ottoman style fast food joint serves kebabs, salads, gözleme (essentially an Ottoman crepe) with various fillings and manti (Turkish ravioli). The food is cooked over stoves by women in national costume and served on low tables where patrons are seated on cushions in the traditional manner. Haci Abdullah ** Sakizaga Caddesi 17 Istiklal Caddesi Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-293-8561 Family run for over 100 years, Haci Abdullah Lokanta has survived by serving the best home cooking in Istanbul, in a bizarre fin-de-siecle setting decorated with huge gilt mirrors and oil paintings of fruit. If you think Turkish cuisine stops at kebabs, prepare to be amazed. The menu changes daily but features a selection of stews, roasts, salads and delicious desserts made from the bottled fruit stored on shelves around the dining area. Strictly no alcohol.

Meyhanes - Traditional

Along Nevizade Sok */** Istiklal Cad Beyoglu - On summer evenings Nevizade Sok (a side street off from Beyoglu's ancient fish market) and two adjoining alleys come alive as the dining centre of the city as the twenty odd meyhanes along here move their tables outside. All serve pretty much the same fare of meze, salads, kebabs and fish with beer, wine or raki. The longer established Krependeki and Boncuk tend to fill up quickest in summer while Alem with its huge upstairs dining room is popular in winter. Booking ahead is pointless, just turn up and take a table wherever one becomes free, and prepare to be entertained by Gypsy musicians and hawkers selling everything from fresh almonds to battery operated toys.

Fish - Traditional

Balikci Sabahattin *** Seyit Hasankuyu Sok No 1 Sultanahmet Tel: +90 (0)212-458-1824 Open for nearly 70 years and still serving up freshly caught fish and meze to be washed down with draughts of traditional raki. Although only a stone's throw from Sultanahmet, it's a good place to avoid the crowds, even when seated outside. Kör Agop ** Ördekli Bakkal Cad 7-9 Kumkapi Tel: n/a Run for three generations by an Armenian family, "Blind Agop" is one of the oldest restaurants in the fishermen's quarter of Kumkapi. Fresh fish from the harbour down the road, a good selection of mezes and lashings of atmosphere.

Vegetarian

Zencefil ** Kurabiye Sok 3 Istiklal Cad Beyoglu Tel: n/a Longest running of Istanbul's vegetarian restaurants, whose farmhouse-kitchen ambience disguises a very professionally run operation. Standards include quiche, spaghetti and meat free takes on Turkish dishes as well as daily changing specials. The salads and homemade bread with herb butter are rightfully famous. Reservations essential at weekends.

Persian

Pars Restaurant * Mesrutiyet Cad 187 Istiklal Cad Beyoglu Tel: n/a The only Persian restaurant in town housed in a renovated 19th-century shop. Serves a good range of lightly spiced dishes beginning with breakfast at 07h00, lunch from 12h00-15h00 and dinner from 19h00-01h00.

Indian

Dubb ** Incili Çavus Sok 10 Sultanahmet Tel: +90 (0)212-513-7308 Currently the best Indian in town, and popular enough to warrant reserving ahead in high season, particularly if you want a pavement table. Relaxed atmosphere, good range of curries, rice dishes and bread and reasonably priced to boot. Expect to pay around TRY16-24 including drinks.

Bars

Perhaps surprisingly Istanbul has a vibrant and slightly crazy Western style nightlife scene split over several separate areas. Despite the predominantly Muslim religion, alcohol is widely available or you can head for a more traditional establishment where locals drink strong Turkish coffee and chain-smoke cigarettes. Although usually the first you come across in the city, bars around Sultanahmet can be rather sad affairs with no regular clientele. Most locals and an increasing number of tourists now head for Beyoglu (the former European Quarter) where the backstreets around Istiklal Street are home to a thousand cafés and bars. One point to note though, while usually perfectly safe, Beyoglu does still have a sleazy side. Visitors are strongly advised to avoid anywhere boasting "dancing girls" or a "floorshow", and to pass up invitations to visit "a good bar" from anyone who stops you on the street. Reputable establishments don't need to employ touts. Other interesting venues can be found on the stretch of the Bosphorus between Ortaköy and Arnavutköy, where many of Istanbul's more expensive clubs are located. Also note that most bars provide food, with surprisingly extensive menus of Turkish meze or more substantial meals. Bars and cafés habitually open until the early hour of the morning, at least 02h00 and often until 04h00. Cadde-I-Kebir Iman Adnan Sok 7 Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-251-7113 Pleasant café-bar owned by one of Turkey's better known film directors. Well stocked bar and reasonable range of pasta, salads and chicken dishes. Dulcinea Meselik Sok 20 Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-245-1071 Swish café bar with a rich, trendy clientele. Good place to chill out over a cappuccino or a cocktail or to sample the surprisingly reasonable Turkish menu. A separate dining area in the basement currently offers nouveau cuisine by reservation only. Occasionally doubles as a live jazz and dance venue, or as an art gallery. Myott Iskele Sok 14 Ortaköy Tel: +90 (0)212-258-9317 Not a bar but an old-time café, popular with Istanbul's foreign residents and one of the few places offering European style cereals and fruit for breakfast. Pano Hamalbasi Cad 26 Istiklal Cad Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-292-6664 One-time Greek owned wine-bar recreated as a popular yuppie watering hole. Partake of the extensive Turkish menu seated in the vaulted cellar or quaff beer and wine by the glass leaning on the bar. Book well ahead if you want a table on Friday or Saturday night. Pia Bekar Sok 6 Istiklal Cad Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-252-7100 Pleasant café bar offering a good range of drinks as well as international cuisine from an all-day menu. Soho Bekar Sok 12-14 Istiklal Cad Beyoglu Tel: +90 (0)212-245-0152 Newish café-bar offering good value coffee and a range of meze in a deliciously colourful retro-70's interior. Sultan Pub Divan Yolu 2 Sultanahmet Tel: +90 (0)212-528-1719 Nicely appointed bar, looking out over Aya Sofya and Sultanahmet square. Serves coffee, chilled beer and a range of grills.