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A brief guide on where to eat in Kadıköy, a neighborhood and district with some excellent choices for food and drinks. Most of my experience is in Kadıköy Çarşı and Moda, but there are also decent places in Caddebostan and Suadiye along Bağdat Avenue (Bağdat Caddesi).
Where to Eat in Kadıköy Çarşı
The lively area of central Kadıköy has plenty of great places to eat and drink. You’ll find everything from traditional meyhanes to international fare and fast food.
Çiya
Before I ever set foot in Istanbul, my friend Tim raved about Çiya (pronounced Chia, as in Chia Pet). He told me if I do one thing in Istanbul, skip the historic sites and go eat at Çiya. He was definitely onto something. I wouldn’t exactly skip the historic sites, but if there’s one restaurant that you cannot miss in Istanbul, it’s Çiya.
Çiya specializes in kebabs. They do kebabs and they do them better than anyone in Istanbul that I know of. But that’s not all they’ve got. They also serve several unique dishes from the most delicious region of Turkey, the Southeast.
When I lived in Istanbul, Çiya was our answer to everything. Had a bad day? “Let’s go to Çiya.” Are we celebrating something? “Let’s go to Çiya.” I’m bored. “Let’s go to Çiya.”
Where is Çiya?
There are three locations of Çiya, all located right next to each other in Kadıköy Çarşı. They all have the same food so don’t stress over which one to walk into.
Çiya is just a five minute walk from the Kadıköy ferry terminals. If you aren’t already on the Asian side, the best way to get there is to take a ferry to Kadıköy.
The Çiya System
It may be a little confusing for first time visitors, but the system is really quite simple. How does it work? Kebabs and desserts are ordered at your table off the main menu. Daily specialties are ordered from a chef behind a counter or at your table from the daily specials menu. There’s also a self-service dips and salad line. Most items are fairly priced, and waiters speak enough English to describe them.
Kebabs
Let’s start with the kebabs. You will not be disappointed with anything you order. There are several typical kebabs you will find at any restaurant, like the Adana (spicy) and Urfa (not spicy), but I tend to order off the “special kebabs” menu. I’ve narrowed it down to four favorites:
My top choice is halepişi, a spicy kebab with tomatoes in onions in a dark sauce, served on a bed of pita bread.
Tim’s choice is the Gülbahar kebab, a cheesy kebab with tomatoes, walnuts, and peppers served on top of yogurt.
Other favorites are the şeftali kebab, which is diced meat with spices, parsely, and onions (not as good as in Cyprus, but still good); and the Çiya kebab, which is kebab wrapped in bread with walnuts, mint, parsley, and spices, served with yogurt.
From the Counter
While the kebabs are incredible, the daily specials from the counter are even more mouth-watering. If you want to see what you’re ordering, visit the chef. Tell him what you want and he’ll mark it down on a slip of paper. Give it to your waiter, and a few minutes later, your mouth will be filled with some of the best flavors you can imagine. You can also order from your table right off the daily specials menu.
Everything is delicious, but my favorites are the perde pilav (curtain pilaf – rice, bits of chicken, and nuts baked in a “curtain” of dough, hence the name), içli köfte (fried kibbeh, sold by the piece), falafel (sold in portions), lahmacun, and any of the stuffed vegetables. For two people, two or three of these dishes are more than enough.
The best part – every day there’s something different! Just make sure you check the prices first. For the most part everything is priced reasonably, but some things that may look simple could end up being very expensive.
Self-Service Line
For the self-serve dips and salads line, you put the food on your plate, the chef weighs it, then gives you a receipt to give to your waiter for the final bill. If you use the self-serve lines, don’t overdo it. The kebabs are big and you’ll definitely want to save room for dessert (trust me).
Dessert
For dessert, I have two recommendations. My favorite by far is the katmer. This is a small pancake filled with buttery pistachios and topped with kaymak, cinnamon, and honey. One dessert is enough to share, but I like to polish off the katmer on my own.
Another great choice is the delicious künefe, which is a cheese dessert pan-fried and topped with a sweet syrup.
Baylan
You can’t pass up a visit to Baylan. This famous pastry shop has been around since 1923, when Filip Lenas moved to Istanbul from the mountains between Albania and Greece and opened the first branch in Nordstern Han at Karaköy Square. It’s definitely a nostalgic place that seems stuck in time.
The house specialty is the Kup Griye, which was invented in 1954 by Filip’s son, Harry Lenas. It’s vanilla ice cream topped with almonds and other nuts, caramel sauce, whipped cream, and a lady finger. The Kup Griye is an Istanbul original and a true gem.
Shine Terrace
Shine Terrace has nice views, friendly service, and a menu with a good selection. We stopped by for drinks with Deniz and Ali one night. We all shared a couple mixed snack plates with our beers.
Naturel Sam
I met my friends Deniz and Ali for drinks one night at Naturel Sam. It’s a bar situated in a historic building with plenty of outdoor seating. Service is excellent and the waiters are friendly. They don’t get upset if someone orders a water, and they’re quick to give you a refill whenever you’re running low on beer.
Where to Eat in Moda, Kadıköy
Moda is mostly known for the bars on Kadife Street, but it has a good selection of restaurants as well.
Semolina
I met a few friends in some drinks, and after getting hungry, we decided to pay a visit to Semolina for dinner. It’s in a cozy little spot in Moda with just six tables available. There are several very appealing pasta dishes on the menu, all reasonably priced, along with salads and a few starters.
We started off with fresh warm bread dipped in an olive oil and vinegar mixture. There was a touch of olive tapenade and some pomegranate extract mixed in.
For dinner, I ordered the fettuccine akdeniz (Mediterranean fettuccine), which was generously filled with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, basil, and topped with parmesan cheese.
Civan and Pippa both tried the semolina fettuccine, with a pesto sauce, crushed walnuts, garlic, and parmesan. Bree had the simple pesto fettuccine. We each ordered a bottle of Fuller’s beer to wash down our meals.
On a future visit, Marisol had the fettuccine akdeniz and I had the fettuccine de Norma, which included roasted eggplant, basil, tomato, and fresh parmesan. We also had the chocolate soufflé for dessert, which takes 25 minutes to prepare.
I was expecting the typical average pasta dish that I usually get in Istanbul, either on the chewy side or overcooked with some bland extras mixed in. Instead, I was very surprised by the flavor, texture, and the amount of care that was put into each dish. It does take quite while to get the food, but it’s well worth the wait. I consider Semolina to have the best pasta in Istanbul.
Reks Kokoreç
Civan introduced me to Reks Kokoreç on Kadife Sokak, conveniently located right next to a row of bars and across the street from Rexx Cinema in Moda. If you’re looking for a good late night treat after the bars, this is a great place to stop into. It’s also great for lunch. If you don’t know what kokoreç is, you might want to read up on it first.
Naan Bakeshop
I met Cath and Evan for breakfast one morning at Naan Bakeshop in Moda. It’s a cozy place with fresh baked breads, pastries, sandwiches, salads, and breakfast. I had the menemen, which is delicious, and a coffee. I’d love to go back again to try one of the sandwiches.
Kemal Usta Waffles
You can find waffles all over Istanbul, but my personal favorite is Kemal Usta. One of the best things to do in the city is sit with friends and have a waffle. I prefer the original branch of Kemal Usta Waffles in Moda.
Walk into one of the shops and an attendant will pour the batter into the waffle iron to make a fresh waffle for you. When it’s finished, you can choose from several different types of chocolate (çikolata) spreads such as banana (muzlu), hazelnut (fındıklı), milk (sütlü), pistachio (fıstıklı), almond (bademli), bitter, white (beyaz), and raspberry (frambuazlı), or a simple caramel (karamel). You can choose two of them, one for each half of the waffle.
Next comes the fruit. You can choose from an array of fresh banana (muz), kiwi (kivi), cherry (kiraz), pineapple (ananas), strawberry (çilek), blackberry (böğürtlen), and raspberry (frambuaz), among others. Fruit toppings are pretty much unlimited. I usually go with banana, kiwi, and strawberry.
Lastly, you can sprinkle one or many different toppings on your waffle creation. Choose from coconut, marzipan, walnuts (ceviz), pistachios (fıstık), hazelnuts (fındık), sprinkles, chocolate chips, gummy bears, and many many more!
When your waffle is done, it’ll be handed to you wrapped up in paper so you can eat it like a messy sandwich, or on a plate to eat with a knife and fork. It’s a delicious treat that can make anyone happy. Enjoy!
Where to Eat Along Bağdat Street in Kadıköy
You’ll find a lot of chain restaurants but also a few local places along Bağdat Street. Most of the better places I’ve been to are in Suadiye and Caddebostan.
CookShop
I visited CookShop for coffee with my friend Duygu. This branch is located in Suadiye, but there are several others all over Istanbul. We shared an order of churros and each had a Turkish coffee. Both were great. The rest of the menu has lots of variety, including breakfast, burgers, pasta, pizza, salads, and main dishes.
Le Pain Quotidien
Duygu also took me to a branch of Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast. I wouldn’t normally visit an international chain, but they did have decent Turkish breakfast selections. I had the menemen, a pastry, and Turkish coffee.
