Istanbulites are hard people to convince especially for secret and good cafes and restaurants. After a special wooden decorated Çukurcuma Cuma Cafe, Kavak Kılçıklı Balık with its special Black Sea menu and delicious Istanbul Bagel, small but cute Hatr-ı Kahve with its unique hot chocolate, one of the leaders of the third wave coffee Coffee Sapiens, a place in which you can’t be sure whether it is a restaurant or a bookstore Minoa Cafe Bookstore, place belongs to the owner of the title, ”The First Woman Ginmill Operator” Madam Despina, attractive place with its various breads Dandin Bakery, a place you have to pass a secret passway from a refrigerator in order to enter Gizli Kalsın, Beykoz Sabancı Öğretmen Evi which promises a unprecedentedly view, Molla Aşkı Terası with a tea which consists of 40 different ingredients, Kardeşim Mantı which makes the best Turkish ravioli in the world and the place in which they voluntarily educate children that can’t get a proper education because of financial poverty Aşıklar, Abdallar ve Meczuplar Kafe… If you want to explore these places you can reach Part 1 from here and the Part 2 from here but here is the final part.
15 Amazing Places Not Even Istanbulites Know About!
Kadı Nimet
Kadı Nimet Fishery is one of the oldest and most prominent restaurants located in the Kadıköy Historical Fish Bazaar. From this historical place, you can eat the freshest fishes of the season. Contrary to most of the other fish restaurants, you can just grab your fresh fish in front of the shop and go to your home. And moreover, you can get your fish cooked inside and go to your home later too. Kadı Nimet is not just about the fishes but it is about appetizers and seafood too. We recommend going that food point with an empty stomach in case it explodes. And be careful not to get full by eating their delicious appetizers.
Address: Serasker Street, Balıkçılar Çarşısı 10/A Caferağa / İstanbul
Bi Nevi Karaköy
If we had to translate its name, it means ”Kadıköy, in some way” and it seriously reflects the comfort and ease in its name to its place. Inside this animal-friendly cafe, you can find many dogs, horse and cat photos on the walls and decoration. The most famous food type of Bi Nevi Karaköy is its patisseries. This small but rich place offers an unmatched coffee and cake and it has a glamorous brunch for the breakfast lovers. As you can understand from the name, the owners are quite creative about creating titles and names so the names of the desserts will make you laugh too. We recommend you to try Bi Nevi Saçmalık (sort of a bullshit) and Bi Nevi Mozaik (Sort of a Mosaic). By the way, the bonus of the place is their vegan menus and Petra Roasting Co. coffees.
Address: Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Neighbourhood., Karanlık Fırın Street, (Arapoğlan Street), No:5 Karaköy / Istanbul
Bonus: Avam Kahvesi
Avam Kahvesi which is stuck inside one of the alleys in Taksim will make you say ”what kind of a place is this?” at the first glance. The influencer for you to get inside is its tables and walls which are decorated according to the old antique style. Everything smells extremely old and vintage here. It has a kind of a wall that has these seriously old ”kitsch” portraits hanging on it. And popular Turkish movie posters – which were the most popular movies of their times. After you fall in love with the decoration you need to save a space in your heart because their soda waters are out of this world. This is a soda water heaven. From local brands Gagoz, to the Niğde, Mercan and the first Turkish soda water Meltem… You can find more than 20 different soda water brands in this lovely decorated place.
Address: Katip Mustafa Çelebi Neighbourhood, Çukurça Street, No:4/A Taksim / Istanbul
