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A brief guide of where to eat on (and off) Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey. There are plenty of great restaurants to choose from, especially if you know where to look.
Introduction on Where to Eat on (and off) Istiklal Street
Istiklal Street is where I most often take my guests to eat dinner when I’m showing them around Istanbul. Most of the places I love aren’t exactly along the street, but on the back streets. Hopefully this guide will give you a few ideas on where to eat during your trip.
First of all, many restaurants situated right along Istiklal Street are geared towards tourists, which means they’re overpriced and food is low quality. Below I’ll point out a few that are worth trying and others that you should avoid for one reason or another.
Secondly, if you want to find some of the best restaurants in Istanbul or where the locals eat, you have to get off Istiklal and go on the back streets. That goes for places in the Taksim area all the way down to Asmalı Mescit. I’ll list many more restaurants on the back streets than I will along Istiklal Street.
Where to Eat on Istiklal Street
Here I’ll cover the few restaurants I’ve eaten at right off Istiklal Street. I’ll start from the north and work my way south to Tünel.
Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrası
I’ll start with a good one. Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrası, which is also referred to as Al Madina Restaurant, is my favorite restaurant along Istiklal Street. It’s a block down from Taksim Square. They serve cuisine from the Hatay region in southeast Turkey.
I’ve eaten there several times, both at the Taksim branch and at their other branch in Aksaray. The food has always been good. There’s a small entrance right on Istiklal Street, while the back of the restaurant faces Agia Triada Greek Orthodox Church. Another dining room sits across the street from the church entrance. In addition to the Aksaray branch, there’s also one in the Etiler area of the Beşiktaş district.
Food at Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrası
We always start our meals with an assortment of meze dishes. Usually a selection of four or five dishes is enough for a group of four or five to share. Our favorites are the haydari, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, hummus, and muhammara. The hummus is to die for!
For our main course, we usually order the chicken in a salt dome (tuzda tavuk) and lamb and vegetables cooked in a clay pot (testi kebap). Both of these special dishes are a big hit, and my guests enjoy watching the waiters prepare them table-side. There’s also a phenomenal assorted kebab dish that’s perfect for meat lovers.
After most dinners, staff usually offers fresh fruit at no extra charge. One time it was prepared with dry ice for a more entertaining effect. We washed it down with a choice of Turkish tea or Turkish coffee. The kadayif is also a good choice for dessert.
Large Group Dinners at Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrası
Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrası is a great place for large groups. I’ve taken two tour groups of around 22 people for dinner and everyone had an amazing time. The wait staff put on a small show for them and were always joking around.
Everyone in the group cheered loudly when our waiters brought a long piece of flatbread with “Chicago” spelled out in black seeds. That was a nice touch and something many people in the group talk about to this day.
Beyoğlu Halk Döner
About a half block further down is Beyoğlu Halk Döner. They serve döner plates as well as other Turkish specialties. It’s not the best but it’s not a bad place to stop, either. Prices are reasonable. They have other branches in Şişli, Laleli, and Bakırköy.
Borsa Lokantası
A couple doors down is Borsa Lokantası. When I lived down the hill in Cihangir, I would eat there often. The food is very good self-service Turkish cuisine and prices are reasonable. They also have a branch at Osmanbey.
Esmer
Further down the street is Esmer. I ordered take away chicken fettuccine one night and it was delicious. I haven’t sat down for a meal inside but some friends have and they said it’s good.
Vivaldi Waffle
We walked past Vivaldi Waffle and couldn’t resist getting a couple scoops of ice cream. The only problem is that service was extremely rude.
Mado
Mado has a few branches along Istiklal Street. One is in the Taksim area near the north end, another is at Galatasaray Square, and a third is in the Asmalı Mescit are across from the Russian Consulate. The prices are a bit high and service isn’t that great.
They do, however, have very good sahlep and delicious Turkish breakfasts. It’s also a popular place to stop and have ice cream, pastries, tea, and coffee. There are other branches of Mado all over Istanbul and in other cities throughout Turkey.
Cremeria Milano
At the south end of Istiklal Street between Tünel and the Şişhane metro entrance is Cremeria Milano. The ice cream is good but it’s terribly overpriced and service is rude.
Keskin
Finally, avoid Keskin like the plague. When I lived in Istanbul, there were three branches along Istiklal. Thankfully, that’s down to one, located near Tünel. I hope they go out of business permanently, but there are too many gullible tourists to leech off.
The food is delicious, but Keskin are well-known bill cheats. It has happened to me twice. Obviously I didn’t learn the first time. On my first visit with a group of friends, they charged triple the price in the menu for a kebab platter. On my second visit, they did the exact same thing when I ordered a 1 ½ order of İskender kebab. Charge 1 ½ times the price in the menu, not triple!
Where to Eat in the Taksim Area
The back streets in the Taksim area are filled with excellent local hole-in-the-wall joints. A lot of them are only known to locals while others are popular with tourists as well.
Melekler Dürüm Evi (İpek Street)
My favorite place for dürüm kebabs is Melekler Dürüm Evi. It’s a block off Istiklal near Agia Triada Greek Orthodox Church. At night after the bars close, there are usually no tables to be found. That’s a good sign because it means the food is excellent. With kebabs, you can choose from Urfa (not spicy) and Adana (spicy). I prefer the Adana, and I like to wash it down with a nice, cold ayran. If you’re brave, you can try the şalgam (turnip juice). Prices are reasonable.
Emine Ana Tantuni (Çukurlu Çeşme Street – Permanently Closed)
Just around the corner is my favorite place for tantuni, Emine Ana Tantuni. You can also get there by walking to the end of Büyük Parmakkapı and following the road to the left. My friend Ayşegül introduced it to me in 2010 and I quickly became a regular. I took my mom there when she visited me in 2011 and she said it was her favorite meal, even over the best restaurants we tried. It’s open 24 hours.
Tantuni comes from the Mediterranean city of Mersin. It’s spiced minced meat in flatbread. Think Turkish tacos. It’s served with a plate of parsley, lemon, and very hot peppers. You can unroll it a bit to stick in the parsley and peppers, squeeze a little lemon on it, and roll it up again. I recommend drinking an ayran with tantuni, or accompanying it with lentil soup.
Keyfeder (Çukurlu Çeşme Street)
A couple doors down is Keyfeder, which serves awesome katmer and künefe. These delicious pastries taste great washed down with a glass of milk. My favorite by far is the katmer, which they also serve stuffed with ice cream.
Hayri Usta Ocakbaşı (Çukurlu Çeşme Street)
At the corner is Hayri Usta Ocakbaşı. If you’re craving delicious meat dishes, this place is just as good as some of the high-end restaurants.
I haven’t had a bad meal at Hayri Usta. Try any of the kebabs, çiğ köfte, içli köfte, or lahmacun. Lahmacun is like a thin Turkish pizza. It’s a thin flatbread topped with minced meat and spices. You can roll it up and eat it like a wrap.
Sofram Pide Bank (Sadri Alışık Street – Permanently Closed)
Sofram Pide Bank makes decent pide. It’s a dive, and it’s not the best pide, but I really enjoy the service I get there. Pide is another Turkish version of pizza. It’s pita bread baked with a variety of toppings to choose from, including cheese, minced meat, sucuk (sausage), vegetables, even a fried egg. If you’re walking south down Istiklal, you can get to Sofram Pide Bank by turning left at Grand Pera down Sadri Alışık Street. It’s a couple blocks down.
Where to Eat in Asmalı Mescit
Asmalı Mescit is home to several great restaurants and bars, including some of the top restaurants in Istanbul. Some places are known only to locals while others cater to international diners.
Asmalı Mescit is especially well-known as an entertainment zone filled with excellent meyhanes (tavernas), restaurants, and hotels. I haven’t tried the most famous and highest rated restaurants in the area, but I have been to several great places.
Fıccın (Kallavi Street)
First, if you walk down Kallavi Street from Istiklal Street, you’ll run into a collection of restaurants run by Fıccın. This is one of my absolute favorites in Istanbul. It started out in just one small space but has grown to take over pretty much the whole block. They specialize in Circassian and Anatolian cuisine. Prices are very reasonable.
Everything I’ve eaten there is delicious, but the best dish in my opinion is the Circassian mantı (Çerkes mantısı). It comes stuffed with either minced meat or potato, and they’re much bigger than the typical Turkish mantı. Try washing it down with white or red grape juice (üzüm suyu).
If you aren’t into mantı I can also recommend the shrimp stew (karides güveç). For starters, one of my favorites is the octopus salad (ahtapot salatası).
Canım Ciğerim (Asmalı Mescit Street – Permanently Closed)
On Asmalı Mescit Street is Canım Ciğerim. This simple little place serves up some of the best grilled liver in town. Your order comes out on long skewers and is served with flatbread and all the fixings.
Galaktion (Şehbender Street)
Galaktion is a Georgian restaurant that moved to Asmalı Mescit from the Taksim area. I had lunch there one afternoon and it was excellent. (Note: All the photos below are from the former location at Taksim. I’ll update with photos of the new location when I have a chance.)
Since I was alone and I wanted to try a couple dishes, I started with the khinkali (Georgian beef dumplings) which were delicious. The star of the meal, however, was the ajapsandali (vegetarian eggplant stew). Service is great and prices are more than reasonable.
Aheste (Meşrutiyet Street)
Along Meşrutiyet Street is Aheste, which is one of the best restaurants I’ve tried in Istanbul. They serve up a contemporary take on Turkish, Ottoman, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Don’t pass up a chance to eat there!
Aheste has an interesting tasting menu, but I opted for the a la carte menu for my first visit. I started off with an amazing grilled octopus followed by a house salad and the slow roasted lamb shoulder. I washed it down with a glass of Turkish red wine. The price is high for Istanbul but it’s well worth it.
Sahrap (General Yazgan Street – Permanently Closed)
Turning down General Yazgan Street there are a few more good restaurants. First is Sahrap, which is run by Turkish celebrity chef Sahrap Soysal. They specialize in home-cooked Anatolian dishes.
We shared a few meze dishes including fried calamari (kalamar tava). For my main course, I had the Balkan meatballs (Rumeli köftesi). For dessert, our table shared the Cypriot dessert (Kıbrıs tatlısı), roasted halva with walnuts (fırında cevizli tahin helvası), and oven-baked pumpkin with syrup (kireçte kabak tatlısı). All of our food was good but we were more impressed with the desserts than the starters and main courses.
Antiochia (General Yazgan Street)
Another block down General Yazgan Street is Antiochia, which serves cuisine from Antakya (Antioch). I went with my friend Selen for lunch and we both left extremely satisfied.
We split a selection of eight spreads, including cheese, hummus, and eggplant spreads. For lunch, we both had delicious lamb chops. The lamb şiş is also a great choice.
Leb-i Derya (Kumbaracı Yokuşu)
Leb-i Derya isn’t in Asmalı Mescit but a short walk down Kumbaracı Yokuşu on the other side of Istiklal Street. You have to cram into a rickety old elevator to get up to the top floor of the building, but it opens up into a beautiful space.
Leb-i Derya serves excellent Turkish cuisine with a modern twist and the views are incredible. There’s a good variety of starters and it’s a great place to visit as a group.
My favorite dishes are the kebabs served on a bed of eggplant purée, the grilled octopus, and grilled calamari.
For dessert, you can’t miss the crunchy pumpkin or the pistachio halva wrapped in crispy phyllo dough. They were a big hit with our group.
