For a city that has hosted so many established cultures and civilizations, Istanbul cannot be defined with just one cuisine. In Istanbul, you can find many examples of Turkish and world cuisine. If you want you can just taste the historical Anatolian Cuisine, homemade juicy meals, or the famous Turkish Kebab, Turkish Flatbread or Pide, Lahmacun and so many more…
Since the Ottoman Empire had its borders reach to Greece, the Balkans, and Bulgaria, you can have yourself a nice meal from these countries cuisines. Moreover, there are some special restaurants that can cook old and tasty Ottoman foods. But if you are one of the people that prefer fast food over everything and don’t want to risk your stomach, there are lots of fast food restaurants that can make a special Turkish toast or gözleme/pancake. There are a wide range of selection for you from grilled chicken, meat, kebap, lahmacun, döner kebap and etc. Furthermore, you can find many examples of Japanese and Chinese meals in Istanbul. But if you came to the Istanbul, you should definitely have a bagel and tea break beside the sea while listening to the seagulls’ songs.
If you fancy a good seafood or just a fresh fish, you might find yourself in one of the restaurants across the Bosphorus. Fresh season fishes, seafood and assorted appetizers with olive oil will company you Nearly every season has a taste for eating a fish across the Bosphorus.
In Büyükçekmece, Kalikratya Balık is one of the places that you will go home with a full belly and a pure satisfaction.
Hays Lori Balat is famous for its breakfast and female owner.
Babacan Et Restaurant might worth the 45-minute road from Istanbul. It is located within the Değirmenköy which is between Kınalı and Çorlu. It definitely crushes so-called famous meat restaurants in Istanbul. You should definitely try baked shrooms and veal chops in there. Meat generally comes with mustard and rock salt. It is suitable for families with children too.
Asitane Restaurant is a special destination for Ottoman Empire Cuisine lovers. It might be a good idea to check its menu before paying a visit.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu can’t be explained with words but whatever, we will try. It was opened first in 1949 as a small shop but now it has become one of the best traditional dessert places in Turkey. It just has one branch which is in the Karaköy.
Münferit has a modern concept but don’t let that fool you because it offers special Turkish cuisine flavors and has lots of regular visitors. Münferit actually means an individual in Turkish and yes it really does well by for its name. It is one of the unique restaurants with mouth-watering meals.
Ara Cafe has an owner which is as famous as the restaurant. Ara Güler is one of the most popular and respectable photographers in Turkey and with his beautiful cafe within Galatasaray, he can make a carrier in food sector too. Inside the cafe, you can see photographs that have been taken by him. It really offers a cool and sincere atmosphere for art geeks or to have a snack.
Sultanahmet Köftecisi is maybe one of the most prominent symbols of Sultanahmet with its special meatballs. It is one of the must go places in Istanbul. The meatball smell will definitely amaze you and I am not even mentioning the taste.
