Best Dishes in Istanbul
47 restaurants to explore
Restaurants in Istanbul
47 restaurantsAdana Ocakbaşı
Turkish·Kurtuluş·$$
Small, meticulous ocakbaşı grill in Kurtuluş where Ayhan's grilling skill rivals three-Michelin-star technique and the meat comes from owner Aşkın Bey's butcher background.
Adem Baba
Turkish·Arnavutköy·$$$
Long-standing fish institution beloved by locals for fresh catch at honest prices, no fuss.
Aheste
Turkish·Galata·$$$
Intimate modern Turkish meze restaurant with natural wines, a Michelin-guided neighborhood favorite.
Arnavutköy Balıkçısı
Turkish·Arnavutköy·$$$$
Classic white-tablecloth fish restaurant right on the Bosphorus, where tables sit practically on the water.
Asmalı Cavit
Turkish·Asmalımescit·$$$
Family-run meyhane in the Asmalımescit backstreets since the 1970s, serving grilled fish, fresh mezes, and rakı in a dimly lit, bohemian setting.
Aynen Dürüm
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$
Beloved street food joint in the Grand Bazaar where daily rotating kebabs are wrapped fresh in hand-torn lavash.
Balat Sahil Restaurant
Turkish·Balat·$$
Historic waterfront meyhane on the Golden Horn with grilled fish, lakerda, and rakı spreads.
Bankalar Lokantası
Turkish·Karaköy·$$
Traditional pot-cooked dishes and grilled meats in a 1947 lokanta where bank employees still eat lunch.
Bebek Balıkçısı
Turkish·Bebek·$$$$
Istanbul's most fashionable waterfront fish restaurant, where high-society regulars have dined for decades.
Beyti
Turkish·Florya·$$$$
The restaurant that gave its name to Turkey's most famous kebab — a 1945 institution that perfected the dish.
Çiya Sofrası
Turkish·Kadıköy·$$
Chef Musa Dağdeviren's culinary anthropology project rotating daily Anatolian dishes that would otherwise vanish.
Elde Börek
Turkish·Beşiktaş·$
Hand-made börek shop since 2010—vegetables are the star, fresh spinach pastries queue at lunch, everything seasonal and from-scratch.
Fauna
Italian·Ataşehir·$$$
Michelin-starred pasta served at communal tables with one pasta machine, daily sauce menu, only lunch, only 24 seats.
Feriye
Turkish·Ortaköy, Beşiktaş·$$$$
Ottoman palace dining since 1995—traditional Turkish and Ottoman cuisine in a 100-year-old Feriye Palace on the Bosphorus with sunset views.
Giritli
Greek·Sultanahmet·$$$
Cretan meyhane in a 19th-century house with sardines wrapped in vine leaves and fixed-price spreads.
Hamdi Restaurant
Turkish·Eminönü·$$$
Charcoal-grilled kebabs from Urfa with a Bosphorus view that hasn't changed since 1970.
Hayvore
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$
Black Sea cuisine served down a quiet side street off Istiklal — where muhlama wobbles and hamsi comes in three forms.
Hünkâr Lokantası
Turkish·Nişantaşı·$$$
Upscale Ottoman restaurant since 1950, famous for Hünkar Beğendi and a daily-changing selection of 30-35 seasonal dishes.
İmroz Meyhanesi
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$
Old-school Greek meyhane on Nevizade where no music plays — just conversation and rakı since the 1940s.
Kanaat Lokantası
Turkish·Üsküdar·$$
Istanbul's oldest esnaf lokantası since 1933, serving 100+ daily dishes from olive oil to Ottoman puddings.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu
Turkish Dessert·Karaköy·$
Istanbul's most famous baklava shop since 1949—declared the world's best by Anthony Bourdain, locals still queue at dawn for pistachio layers.
Karaköy Lokantası
Turkish·Karaköy·$$$
Upscale modern esnaf where business lunches feature Hünkâr Beğendi and evenings transform into a Turkish tavern—Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2007.
Khorasani
Turkish·Sultanahmet·$$$
Ocakbaşi kebabs cooked to order over charcoal, Michelin-recognized in Sultanahmet since the 1990s.
Köfteci Mustafa
Turkish·Sultanahmet·$
Simple, reliable meatball restaurant near the Grand Bazaar, beloved by locals and in-the-know visitors.
Kuru Fasülyeci Ali Baba
Turkish·Fatih·$
Istanbul's white bean stew institution opposite Süleymaniye Mosque since 1924—the city's bean temple.
Lades Beyoğlu
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$
No-frills, old-school Istanbul breakfast spot since 1950s, famous for fluffy menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs) and bal kaymak (clotted cream with honey).
Mahkeme Lokantası
Turkish·Karaköy·$$
Historic tavern where a workers' lunch spot transforms into a meyhane at 6 PM — next to the 19th-century court house.
Mikla
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$$$
Rooftop tasting menu celebrating forgotten Anatolian traditions — Michelin-starred where Chef Mehmet Gürs has a food anthropologist on staff.
NATO Lokantası
Turkish·Karaköy·$$
Workers' canteen since 1952—the year Turkey joined NATO—where 30 kilos of döner roasts daily in a Karaköy basement.
Neolokal
Turkish·Karaköy·$$$$
Chef Maksut Askar's Michelin-starred modern Anatolian cooking in a restored bank overlooking the Golden Horn since 2014.
Nicole
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$$$
Michelin-starred seasonal tasting menu on a rooftop with views of the Golden Horn — Chef Aylin Yazıcıoğlu's refined Turkish cooking.
Öz Kilis Kebap
Turkish·Fatih·$$
Regional kebabs from the Gaziantep/Kilis border—pan kebab cooked in a shallow dish, and crispy lahmacun since 1953.
Paçacı Mahmut Usta
Turkish·Fatih·$
Istanbul's beloved late-night institution since 1978, famous for işkembe (tripe soup) and paça (lamb trotter) as a post-midnight hangover cure.
Pandeli
Turkish·Eminönü·$$$
Ottoman classics in a blue İznik-tile dining room above the Spice Bazaar since 1901.
Paper Moon
Italian·Etiler, Beşiktaş·$$$$
Milanese fine dining since opening—black tagliolini, carpaccio, and hand-tossed pizza in an elegant Etiler setting.
Rumelihisarı İskele
Turkish·Rumelihisarı·$$$$
Michelin-recognized seafood pavilion beneath the fortress, with some of Istanbul's best Bosphorus views.
Sadrazam Mahmut
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$
Meat restaurant where you grill your own lamb intestines over your table's ventilator — founded 1964 on the Golden Horn.
Safa Meyhanesi
Turkish·Yedikule·$$
A 1895 meyhane where chandeliers still hang over rakı bottles that remember Turkish history — the original workers' tavern.
Serica
Turkish·Karaköy·$$$
Panoramic rooftop restaurant with modernized regional Turkish cuisine and views over Karaköy's Golden Horn.
Sunset Grill & Bar
Turkish·Ulus, Beşiktaş·$$$$
Istanbul's iconic rooftop fine dining since 1994—360-degree Bosphorus views, sushi bar since 1999, Michelin-starred.
Sur Balık Arnavutköy
Turkish·Arnavutköy·$$$$
Modern seafood in a renovated Ottoman mansion overlooking the Bosphorus.
Tarihi Şahin Lokantası
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$
50-year esnaf lokantası where karnıyarık costs 400 TL and closes by 5 PM — workers' canteen perfection.
Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi
Turkish·Sultanahmet·$
Istanbul's most famous köfte restaurant since 1920—queues wrap the block at lunch.
TURK Fatih Tutak
Turkish·Bomonti·$$$$
Turkey's only two-Michelin-star restaurant, where Chef Fatih Tutak expresses his love for Turkish terroir through a 14-course tasting menu sourced from artisan producers.
Vefa Bozacısı
Turkish·Fatih·$
Istanbul's iconic boza shop since 1876—the world's first commercial boza-only establishment.
Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası
Turkish·Kadıköy·$$
A 105-year-old lokanta in Kadıköy Market serving Ottoman-Greek dishes since 1919, anchored by its legendary Yanya köfte.
Zübeyir Ocakbaşı
Turkish·Beyoğlu·$$$
Authentic ocakbaşı where lamb chops char over live coals — the charcoal grill house that made Taksim worth the detour.