Restaurants in Istanbul

Dinning out in Istanbul is a delight.

Meals in traditional Turkish restaurants start with a large selection of cold starters called "meze". You can choose between fresh vegetables in olive oil, white cheese, salads, sweet melon, yogurt with herbs and many others. Hot appetizers include: cheese rolls, pastry, soups. The waiter will show you all Turkish appetizers from a large tray and you catch whatever you want.

As main dish you can choose grilled fish, meat kebabs or the famous "Doner Kebab" (dish named through Alexander the great - lamb meat with yogurt and tomato sauce).

Deserts are delicious: pastry ones or baklava type (flour dipped in rich syrup), fresh fruits or milk pudding. To finish your dinner we recommend you to drink a Turkish Coffee. "Afiyet Olsun" means "Bon Appetite".

Here are some recommended Turkish restaurants:

Tugra Restaurant - Turkish Restaurant serving ottoman styled cuisine a la carte. Live traditional music. Located at the Ciragan Palace. Reservations required. Opened just for dinner. $$$

Sark Sofrasi Restaurant - Turkish and ottoman cuisine with a wide variety of appetizers and main dishes. Reservations required. Opened just for dinner. Located at the 5 Star Swissotel The Bosphorus. $$$

Bodrum Restaurant - Fish as specialties. Nice view of the Bosphorus. On weekends you can see a hand made exhibition at Ortakoy. Dinner & Lunch. $$

Hatay Medeniyet Lokantasi - Delicious Turkish food from the city of Hatay with a wide selection of traditional and Hatay Turkish cuisine. Located in the main commercial street of Istanbul. $$

Nusret - Delicious meat with a special touch of the Turkish chef Nusret who is famous all around the world for spleting salt over the meat. There are some branches at Istanbul, I suggest the one inside the Grand Bazaar. $$$

Kumkapi Restaurants - There is a street full with restaurants you should visit even if you do not want to have dinner. The place is called Kumkapi. There is a variety of fish restaurants, live music and a lot of people. Please ask the price in advance before eating. Opened just for dinner. $$

Haci Abdullah Restaurant - Very old Turkish Restaurant. Home style Turkish food. No alcohol. Dinner & Lunch. Address. $

To know more restaurants in Istanbul please write us an email. Thank you !

$ Modest $$ Medium $$$ Expensive

Tea Gardens | Night life | Restaurants