Istanbul Eats

New Anatolian Beyoğlu (The Marmara Pera) $$$$ · tasting menu ~₺4,500+

Mehmet Gürs's rooftop flagship helped invent "New Anatolian" cooking: foraged herbs, Anatolian lamb, and Nordic technique with a view over the Golden Horn. One Michelin star, a serious wine list, and a room that feels like Istanbul's modern face. Book for the cooking and the terrace — both justify the splurge.

Signature dish

Anatolian herbs and lamb with Nordic restraint

Booking tip

Reserve 3–6 weeks ahead; request terrace seats for sunset if weather allows.

Contemporary Anatolian Karaköy (Salt Galata) $$$$ · tasting menu ~₺3,500+

Maksut Aşkar's Karaköy dining room treats Anatolian ingredients like archaeological finds — ancient grains, regional ferments, recipes rescued from village kitchens. Less sky-high than Mikla, more intellectual. The Salt Galata setting adds cultural weight. For travellers who want to understand Turkey's culinary identity beyond kebab clichés, start here and ask the sommelier about Anatolian wines.

Signature dish

Revived Anatolian grains and ferments on a short menu

Booking tip

Book 2–4 weeks ahead online; lunch seatings are slightly easier to secure.

Regional Anatolian home cooking Kadıköy (Asian side) $$ · lunch ₺300–₺600

Chef Musa Dağdeviren's Kadıköy institution serves regional Turkish cooking most Istanbulites never tasted: stews, kebabs and salads from villages across Anatolia, changing daily. No tasting-menu pretension — just a buffet of discovery. Eat here before you debate whether Turkish food "is just kebab." Take the ferry over, eat standing if you must, and point at whatever looks unfamiliar.

Signature dish

Daily stews from obscure Anatolian provinces

Booking tip

Walk-in for lunch — arrive before 1pm; menu changes daily from research trips.

Baklava & sweets Karaköy $ · baklava from ~₺150

The Güllüoğlu dynasty's Karaköy shop is Istanbul baklava at full volume: pistachio layers, syrup balanced without cloying sweetness, and trays turned over hourly. Stand at the counter, point at what looks freshest, eat immediately. Other shops are good; this is the name locals still cite. Buy a small box for the ferry ride if you can resist eating it on the spot.

Signature dish

Pistachio baklava, still crisp from the tray

Booking tip

Walk-in — buy by weight at the counter; mornings have the freshest trays.

Ottoman palace cuisine Fatih (near Chora Church) $$$ · set menu ₺1,500–₺2,500

Asitane researches and revives Ottoman palace recipes — dishes that disappeared from modern Turkish tables centuries ago. The room is quiet, the cooking is scholarly, and the flavours are unlike anything on Istiklal Street. Book when you want history you can taste, not just photograph. Request the full historical menu if you have time — portions are generous by fine-dining standards.

Signature dish

Revived Ottoman recipes from palace archives

Booking tip

Reserve 1–2 weeks ahead; request the historical menu for full archive dishes.

Ottoman-Turkish classic Eminönü (Spice Bazaar) $$ · lunch ₺400–₺700

Ataturk's favourite restaurant above the Spice Bazaar entrance: turquoise tiles, Ottoman classics, and views over Eminönü harbour. Pandeli is tourist-adjacent but the hünkar beğendi and bean pilaf still taste like the reference versions. Lunch here, spices downstairs, ferry across — perfect old-city afternoon. Arrive hungry enough for the full set lunch rather than a single plate.

Signature dish

Hünkar beğendi — lamb on smoked aubergine purée

Booking tip

Book a day ahead for upstairs dining room; closed when the bazaar shuts early.

Grilled köfte Sultanahmet $ · köfte plate ₺200–₺350

A Sultanahmet köfte institution that survived the tourist tide by grilling honest meatballs over charcoal, serving them with pepper paste, rice and ayran, fast. Not fancy — the point. Eat standing or seated, in and out in twenty minutes, then walk it off around the Blue Mosque. Cash helps; the queue moves because nobody lingers.

Signature dish

Charcoal-grilled köfte with pepper paste and rice

Booking tip

Walk-in — quick turnover; go outside peak lunch tour-bus hours if possible.

Seafood meze tavern Sultanahmet $$$ · seafood dinner ₺1,200–₺2,000

A leafy Sultanahmet courtyard where Istanbul's seafood-meze ritual happens properly: grilled fish, haydari, atom ezme, and raki if you are inclined. Tourists find it — locals still approve. Order the daily catch, let the meze table grow, and stay until the courtyard lights come on. Book summer evenings; the garden fills when the heat breaks.

Signature dish

Grilled sea bass with arugula salad and meze spread

Booking tip

Reserve 2–3 days ahead in summer; courtyard seats fill for evening service.