Istanbul's Food Scene: From Street Food to Fine Dining

Street Food Essentials

Simit — a sesame-encrusted bread ring — is Turkey's most important street food. Buy from a cart at 7am and it will be still warm. Döner kebab in Istanbul is different to what most visitors know: properly made with layers of seasoned lamb or chicken, carved and served in a fresh bread roll with tomato, onion and sumac.

Midye dolma (stuffed mussels) sold from pushcarts along the Bosphorus is one of Istanbul's most distinctive street foods — a mussel shell filled with spiced rice and a squeeze of lemon, priced per mussel. Only eat from carts with fast turnover.

Beyoğlu and the New City

Istanbul's contemporary restaurant scene centres on Karaköy, Cihangir and Nişantaşı. Mikla in Beyoğlu is the flagship of modern Turkish cuisine — chef Mehmet Gürs combines Anatolian ingredients with Nordic sensibilities, and the terrace view over the Golden Horn is unmatched.

The Historic Peninsula

Çiğdem Pastanesi near the Grand Bazaar has been making baklava since 1961 — the real thing, with proper pistachios and clarified butter. Hamdi Restaurant in Eminönü serves Ottoman kebabs in a rooftop setting overlooking the Egyptian Bazaar and Galata Bridge.

Breakfast Culture

Turkish breakfast — kahvaltı — is elaborate: spreads of white cheese, olives, honey, clotted cream (kaymak), tomatoes, cucumbers, various jams, and eggs cooked to order, all served with endless tea. Van Kahvaltı Evi in Cihangir is the best-known version of this experience in the city.