Istanbul — Places to eat
One ferry ride takes you from Europe to Asia.
- Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi Selim Usta — Grilling one kind of köfte since 1920; the menu fits on one card
- Hamdi Restaurant (Eminönü) — Pistachio kebab with the Galata Bridge below the window
- Çiya Sofrası (Kadıköy) — Forgotten Anatolian home cooking, and the line-up changes daily
- Eminönü fish-sandwich boats (Tarihi Eminönü Balık Ekmek) — Mackerel grilled on rocking boats, stuffed into bread on the quay
- Dürümzade — A tiny shop rolling charcoal-grilled Adana kebab into lavaş
- Nusr-Et Steakhouse Grand Bazaar (Salt Bae) — Salt-sprinkling theatre under a domed ceiling, priced like a show
- Van Kahvaltı Evi (Cihangir) — A Turkish breakfast spread that covers the whole table
- Karaköy Lokantası — Mezze and Sultan's Delight under teal tiles; Michelin Bib Gourmand
- Pandeli (above the Spice Bazaar) — Open since 1901: Ottoman cooking in a room of blue İznik tiles
- Kızılkayalar Taksim (wet burger) — Steaming wet burgers in a glass box, 130 lira, open till dawn
- Hafız Mustafa 1864 (Sultanahmet) — Display cases of baklava and lokum from an 1864 sweet shop
- Mandabatmaz (Turkish coffee) — Turkish coffee with foam thick enough to 'hold up a water buffalo'
- Pierre Loti Café (Eyüp hill) — A hilltop tea garden looking straight down the Golden Horn
- Simit carts (Eminönü square) — A sesame ring from a red cart: the Istanbul breakfast on the move
- MADO Tünel (dondurma & künefe) — Ice cream so stretchy you cut it with a knife, with baklava on the side
- Hacı Abdullah Lokantası — Ottoman home cooking since 1888
- Develi Restaurant (Samatya) — Gaziantep kebabs and çiğ köfte
- Zübeyir Ocakbaşı — Counter seats at the charcoal grill
- Fıccın — Hand-made Circassian manti, thin pies
- Kanaat Lokantası — Pick from the glass cases, since 1933
- Hünkar — Sultan's eggplant and Ottoman home cooking since 1950
- Mikla — One Michelin star, with the skyline from the rooftop
- Neolokal — Michelin star and Green Star, Anatolia reimagined
- Balıkçı Sabahattin — Fresh fish and meze in an old wooden house
- Karaköy Güllüoğlu — Baklava-only counter famous since 1949
- Vefa Bozacısı — Selling only boza since 1876
- 360 Istanbul — 360-degree skyline from the top of İstiklal
- Kronotrop (Cihangir) — House-roasted beans on a Cihangir stroll
- Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi — The 1871 Turkish coffee original, the whole street smells of it