Where Istanbul Eats

We're going to go out on a limb here, and say that this is our favourite lokanta in the city. We love the simple modern interior and ever-friendly staff, and we adore the food — everything from the yogurt soup to the stuffed artichokes, the perde pilavı (traditional chicken dish), and the self-servi

After checking out the pastries and cakes on sale in the ground-floor patisserie, make your way up the stairs to the roof terrace café, where you can order anything from a large and varied menu. For breakfast try the excellent menemen (eggs cooked with tomatoes, peppers and white cheese) or the supe

It's a hard call to make in a city with so many fabulous eateries, but Hamdi would certainly be one of them. Its rooftop setting on a hill near the Spice Bazaar with panoramic views across to Galata, the Golden Horn and the Old Istanbul skyline is wonderful, and its food is among the best in town —

Not just a dürüm — an art form. This tiny İstiklal side-street counter wraps the crispiest, most perfectly seasoned dürüm in Beyoğlu. The Adana and the beyti are legendary. Open late, perfect post-bar fuel.

The most famous meyhane strip in Istanbul — a narrow lane off Çiçek Pasajı where every building is a restaurant or bar. On Friday and Saturday nights the street fills with drinkers and diners, waiters compete for your attention, musicians strum between the tables, and rakı flows freely. If you only

This tiny corner bakery on Bahariye has been quietly turning out some of Kadıköy's best pastries since 1958. You'll walk past it if you're not looking — just a small shopfront packed floor to ceiling with fresh hamurişi. The ballı is what everyone comes for, a sticky honey-soaked pastry that's impos