The following is a very brief but considered list of some of the recommended eating establishments in our country, prepared to allow you to enjoy a variety of styles of Turkish cuisine at a variety of price ranges as you explore different neighborhoods in Istanbul. We have focused on those where men and women both will be comfortable and where you will find both Turkish and foreign guests. The neighborhood names will become familiar to you as you explore more. The hotel will be able to help you arrange transportation through the hotel desk for those restaurants, which are more than walking distance from your hotel.

Symbols: $: inexpensive, $$: moderate, $$$: pricey                                   

The Bill (hesap): Service charges are usually only included in large commercial establishments or the hotels. There is an 18% tax called KDV (VAT) which is not a tip. If you are pleased with the service, you may leave 10-15% in cash as a tip for the serving staff on the table as you leave.
 
Sultan Ahmet

The Sarnic Restaurant is located in a Roman cistern close to your hotel. It has a very romantic atmosphere (entirely lit by candles), but it can be very noisy. There is frequently a classical musician playing in addition to the cacophony caused by being in an underground vault of brick and stone, and by the need to shout to people sitting opposite at the huge, oversized tables. The food is Ottoman inspired but it is not excellent. If you can, do go in and have a look, and find a pretext to leave before you are ushered to a table. Open for dinner only. 512.4291 $$$ all Credit Cards are accepted.

The Yesil Ev (The Green House) is in a nearby small hotel of the same name. It is a restored Ottoman house and has a lovely garden built around a plashing fountain. It is rather expensive yet lunch can be reasonable. On the other hand it can be a lovely place to rest and have a drink or take tea or coffee when wandering our neighborhood. The shops in the adjacent former medresse (Islamic School) are interesting in that they demonstrate many of the crafts of Ottoman times (calligraphy, miniature painting, china painting & Ebru (paper marbleizing), which are for sale at reasonable prices for good quality. Telephone: 517.6785 $$$. All credit cards accepted.

Arslan is a restaurant near the Nurosmaniye Camii entrance to the covered bazaar (a few doors off to the left where Nurosmaniye Caddesi ends and up a flight of stairs) and frequented by rug dealers and high end bazaar merchants and their clients.. It is a typical lokanta of the old style (you go into the kitchen and point out what you would like), excellent food, clean and orderly room, very, efficient, friendly service. Serves lunches and accepts cash only.

Konyali Restaurant at Topkapi Palace is another recommended ‘institution’ probably to be avoided unless by some miracle you find hardly anyone there. It once was known for its food, but all that remains is its wonderful location on a terrace of Topkapi Palace, on the point that TS Elliot described as the still point of the turning world, where the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn and Bosphorus meet. It gets very crowded with bus tours, but for an early lunch or coffee, the cafeteria section provides a pleasant break when visiting Topkapi. Telephone: 513.9696 $$ Visa only. Closed Tuesdays when the museum is closed.

Along The Bosphorus

Dining along the Bosphorus is an experience unlike dining in any other city on earth. The history flows with the strong current of the straits making lunch, tea, drinks or dinner most enjoyable.

Korfez, located in Kanlica on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, is as delightful to get to as it is to dine. When you call to make your reservation, you are actually reserving your spot on their boat, which ferries you across from the dock at Rumeli Hisari on the European side (tell the taxi driver Rumeli Hisari Iskelesi) to the Asian side. Reserve just before sunset and ask to be seated outside if the weather is nice. The speciality of the house is sea bass baked in a casket of salt, which is drummed to the table and cracked open with a mallet, making for a very dramatic
presentation. This is excellent Turkish food. Telephone: 0 216 413 4314. $$$. All credit cards accepted.

Kiyi is one of the best restaurants in Istanbul. It is located in a lovely little neighborhood called Tarabya.  It is memorable for its fresh fish and traditional meze as well as for its gallery-like ambience displaying the work of contemporary Turkish artists who are friends of the owner. The service is superlative. This is a real Turkish restaurant that maintains the very high standards of Turkish cuisine. Telephone: 262.0002 or 262.6920. $$$. All credit cards accepted.

Hanedan is a large, multi-store restaurant near the ferry terminal at Besiktas. The first store serves meat dishes and the second sea food. The food and service are excellent. The Deniz Muze (Naval Museum) is nearby, as is the local food market, both worth exploring). $$. All credit cards accepted.

Pafuli, located along the Bosphorus in the Kurucesme neighborhood, is a Laz lokantasi (Laz people mostly live along the eastern end of the Black Sea). Fresh fish, according to the season, along with cheeses, butter and wonderful milk pudding desserts served in a warm, '60's style ambience require you to walk along the quay after
dinner. Telephone:  263 6636. $$$. All credit cards accepted.
 
Yeni Kosk, a fish restaurant located on the floor above a busy fish market, is in the village of Arnavutkoy, a former Arrnenian enclave along the Bosphorus. The fish is excellent, and all the meze tempting. In fact the only drawback is that you tend to eat and drink too much. Which must be why large groups of locals gather there. Book a table near the window. Telephone: 263-2574 $$ Visa or Mastercard only.

Specialty Restaurants & Food Shops

As discussed before (see Bulletin No. 4) Turkish restaurants often specialize in one type of cuisine. There are fish restaurants (Balik Lokantasi), meat restaurants (Et Lokantasi), shops which sell only tripe soup (said to cure hangovers), called Iskermbe Salonu, and Kebapcii or Kofteci, small shops which sell only kebabs or kofte (meatballs), sometimes even kebabs/kofte of only one type or region. Some are fast food type of places where workers grab a bite to eat at lunch or after work. Others are full service restaurants, which specialize in the kebab or kofte, usually from the region the owner's family is from. There are also Muhallebici, where you will find a variety of pastries and custard type desserts, Bufe, where you can get a quick snack like tea and a tost (hot sandwich), and Pastane (Pastry shops).

There are also kelle restaurants, but you may not even want to look in there. Roasted in a recessed oven, the heads are brought out chopped in half like coconuts, put on a plate, and served.

Kebab Restaurants

Develi is a meat restaurant, located in the neighborhood of Samatya (a short taxi ride from our hotel). The owner is from the Gaziantep region near the Syrian border of Turkey. This area is known for its high quality of beef, as well as dairy products, pistachios, and baklava. The food of the area is rich and spicy. You will be made to feel equally at home as you dine on Patlican (eggplant), Antepfistikli (pistachio) and Adana (spicy ground beef) kebabs. As a tourist you will be given a table on the family floor (in traditional Turkish restaurants bachelors have their own seating area or room, while families have theirs). Ask for a seat near the window so you can watch the activity in the square below, but do check out the other floors where you will see parties of businessmen enjoying the specialties of this region. Telephone: 543 6414.  $$. All credit cards accepted. 

Tripe Restaurants

Iskembe may not be for everyone, but, if you're game to
try it, you may want to check Lale Iskembe Salon, located on Istiklal Caddesi, across the Robinson's bookstore.

The establishment known as a ‘Meyhane’ or drinking house in Turkey is altogether different. They may range from casual to quite sophisticated; from a little raunchy to quite elegant; indoors or out, light or dark. But they all share a uniquely Turkish view: To enjoy drinking, it must be combined with good food and good conversation. Some may have a limited number of meze, others a wide assortment. They can be good places to try many different dishes without overeating. Gunes Meyhnanesi  in Bebek is one of my favourites. (its terrace hangs over the water, lovely place for sunset meal).

Food Shops

You will be tempted by foods throughout Turkey. The markets like the Spice Bazaar sell nuts, caviar, spices, teas etc. Just outside the Spice Bazaar there are fresh food stalls selling vegetables, olives, cheeses and the best place to buy Turkish coffee Kurukahveci Mehmet Effendi.

The area behind the Cicek Pasaji is filled with a maze of little streets lined with food stalls butchers, fish mongers, cheese and pickle shops as well as some very good restaurants In Beyoglu, as you walk from Tunel, along Istiklal Cad., lined with book stores and boutiques,

There are many, many more places to enjoy selecting and, eating good food in Istanbul, and I have listed just a few of the favorites. You want to know my favorite of all places? Boncuk Restaurant at Nevizade Sokagi. This is a place to avoid on Fridays and Saturdays though, because it is terribly crowded.  Telephone: 243 1219. Outstanding mezes.

Do not forget to try the ‘topik’ an Armenian meze.  You just take a cab from the hotel to Taksim Square, walk up the Istiklal Cad until you reach the Cicek Pasaji on the right hand side and then turn to the street on the right and ask the shop owners to show you Nevizade Sok and Boncuk Restaurant. Bon Apetit. $$. Cash only.

Kas

Mercan
Bi Lokma
Chez Evy
Nur

Ankara

Kale Washington
Haci Arif Bey

Izmir

Klup Ali
La Folie

Cappadocia

Somine
Ocakbasi
Sacred House
Old Greek House

Canakkale

Yalova
Ka-Fe-Ka

Selcuk

Kalehan

Antalya

Antalya Balik Evi
Urcan
7 Mehmet

Kusadasi

Ali Baba
Çam Restaurant

Fethiye

Megri
Ece Saray

Marmaris

Göcek

Can
Verandah