This guide is a collection of the restaurants which were reviewed on our monthly newsletter .
Almost all restaurants and food tips are from Istanbul with a few exceptions. Below you will also find
a restaurant review from one of our American subscribers.
Huzur Restaurant (Arabin Yeri)
This restaurant has one of the best views in Istanbul. It is a casual, typical Turkish
fish restaurant located in Salacak right across the Boshporus from Topkapi Palace. As
you may guess the sea of Marmara, the Old town, Topkapi Palace with its grandeur
stands out in this scenery, especially at sunset.
Reservation is needed to get the front tables facing this view. The view is not all this
old restaurant has to offer. You can taste delicious mezes (hors d'oeuvre), and fresh sea food.
The menu lists also meat dishes but the place is rather known as a Meyhane (where
you consume alcohol with mezes) and fish is recommended.
A nice dinner costs about USD 15 per person, quite reasonable compared to other
restaurants in the same league without views.
TWARP rating: 8 on a scale of 10.
A Fish Restaurant in Ayvacik (near Assos) : Hasanaki
Hasanaki, the most famous fish restaurant in the whole region is on the beach, among the camping sites
around Ayvacik. The name Hasanaki is a Greekized Turkish name Hasan.
The restaurant is on the highway running parallel to the sea. If you are in the area it
sure is worth a visit and for directions just ask anyone, almost everyone in the area would know it.
People even drive 5-6 hours from Istanbul just to eat there.
Why this place is so famous ?
It is on the beach, tables are placed at the sunset on the sand beach, a few feet from the waves
silently licking the shore. The fish is fresh out of the water, daily catches of local fishermen,
the hors d'oeuvre made with octopus, squids, shrimps are delicious. Vegetables grown in neighbooring
farms. Salads are dressed with the classic Mediterranean beauty, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
Very highly recommended.
TWARP rating: 10 out of 10.
Asir:
Asir formerly know as Hasir is one those restaurants without any signs, even at the entrance !
But don't go thinking that
this is a really expensive one, in fact it offers cheap and nice food ! The restaurant is about one
meter (3 feet) below the pavement level. Located about half a kilometer (0.3 miles) off the major
pedestrian road in Istanbul, Istiklal Caddesi, Hasir offers a casual atmosphere, really nice meze
(hors d'oeuvre in Turkish), fish and meat dishes.
The nicest mezes are Topik, an Armenian meze, Bomba (meaning bomb in Turkish, the name is
irrelevant) extra large beans served warm, mussel salad, fava, seasoned raw fish. You can also
choose the mezes from a very large selection displayed down the hall. In Turkey, if there are mezes
in a restaurant that means you may consume alcoholic drinks as well, and vice-versa. Fish
selection depends on season and the day, since they are bought directly from the fishermen.
Location: Parking may be a problem in the immediate vicinity. The restaurant is not in a good
neigboorhood, but only 10-15 meters (yards approx.) from the Police Station and the major road
crossing Taksim, making it safe.
Around USD 8-10 for a meal excluding alcoholic drinks. TWARP rating: 7 on a scale of 10.
Pafuli
Pafuli, is the other restaurant we have reviewed but were very frustrated about.
It is the most famous restaurant in Istanbul for Black Sea regional cuisine, and it is located on the Bosphorus.
The food contains too much fat, the hors d'oeuvre is not the best, except a few exceptions and the prices
are quite high. The service was pretty bad as well.
TWARP rating: 3 out of 10
" A Gem of a Restaurant in Sultanahmet"- by Joe Switz
Having just returned to the U.S.A. from a month in Turkey, I'm happy to
report that all you may have heard about the excellence of Turkish Cuisine is
true! In general Turkish food is tasty, varied, fresh, easy to like,
amply portioned and above all moderately priced. There is, however, a
noticeable similarity in the dishes prepared by many of the restaurants. A
marvelous exception to this sameness can be found in the CENNET
RESTAURANT. Located on the street that the tram runs on about 6-7 small
blocks west of the Hippodrome. (I was told that the old building that the
restaurant occupies was once a Turkish bath, perhaps part of the historic
Cemberlitas Bath that is still in operation and a must!)
As you enter the restaurant linger in the doorway for a few moments and soak
up the visual joys of the place: The lucious assortment of
meze/appertizers/salads on the table to your left; the profusion of pillows,
carpets, low tables and stools scattered about the place; the three chatting
ladies in their typical Turkish/Anatolian attire on the raised island in the
center of the room busily preparing Gozleme the speciality of the house
(the best crepes you've ever eaten!); and if your timing is right the exotic
sight and sounds of Turkish music played on exotic instruments by the
costumed resident musicians. Definitely not your run of the mill eateries.
O. K. Now your ready to go in. Find a pillow, rug, stool that fits your
frame and feast on their simple, delicious food. As I recall there are only
three types of Gozleme to choose from so choose all three; they are that
delicious! My favorite, favorite was the potato gozleme. Of course chay
(tea) must be consumed with the meal!
Linger and continue to enjoy the ambiance. But save room for the greatest
pleasure that comes at the end of your evening when you are finally presented
with the bill. So much pleasure for so litttle money!
I really can't take credit for discovering this gem of a restaurant. The
credit goes to my young friend Adnan, an employee of the charming Hotel
Historia where I stay when I am in Istanbul.
Restaurants in the Egean
North and Central west Egean is the most important place for fishing farms. In addition to the crop
collected by fishermen out in the sea, there is a big supply of fish from the farms. One can spot
these farms especially along the coast of Cesme peninsula.
The first thing you will notice in most of the fish restaurants is that the fish price is negotiable. And
you should bargain before you walk into the restaurant. "Karagoz", "Mercan", "tekir", are moderately priced,
while "Barbunya", "Swordfish", "Sinarit" and big size "Mercan" are high price items. Please note that
the higher prices are mostly for fish caught by fishermen.
Most of the fish restaurants are also by the sea and offer great views, and a beautiful sunset. So if
you would like to follow the Turkish dining tradition, get a table before the sunset, order
a wine or even more typical, a raki (an alcoholic drink very widely consumed in Turkey) and some hors
d'oeuvres. There are many cold and warm hors d'oeuvres you may order, among them squids (kalamar),
octopus salad and shrimps.
Salads are dressed by olive oil, characteristic of the region, and lemon juice, the most typical, and
probably the best dressing.
Depending on where you are, a busy tourist district or calm village the cost of a meal will change
from USD 12-18 per person excluding drinks.
Kasibeyaz restaurant, Istanbul
As our long time subscribers will notice, we have not talked much about kebap restaurants
in Istanbul, a popular specialty of the Turkish cuisine. This time we have visited Kasibeyaz
a restaurant facing the airport. A very famous stop for Istanbul dwellers, this restaurant attracts also
many travelers staying in the hotel near the airport.
The hall is scaringly large and crowded: almost a few hundred visitors having their dinner in the huge
dining hall. The first two things that comes to mind
are the quality of service and level of noise: Surprisingly the service is excellent and the
level of noise is low.
There are many appetizing starters from the Southeast region of Turkey, where the kebabs originate:
cig kofte (raw meat minced many times with
spices), tulum cheese, white cheese (a cousin is known as feta cheese in the US), and watermellon.
Raki, wine and other drinks may accompany the starters. Then come the kebaps: Alinazik (with mashed
eggplants), Adana (the basic with red pepper), Urfa (mild without hot spices), Lamb shish and many more...
The suggested desert is Kunefe, a delicious sweet with cheese served hot.
All of the above including drinks around USD 15-20 per person.
TWARP rating : 9 out of 10.
A Vegetarian Cafe/Restaurant: Parsifal
Turkish cuisine offers a great selection of dishes for the vegetarians so a dedicated vegetarian
restaurant is not really needed for travelers to Turkey. The food is simply great and you may need a
diet after you return home :) But if you would like to eat low fat vegetarian and you are on the most
famous pedestrian (occasional traffic) street, Istiklal Caddesi, you may try a newly opened cafe in a
side street, Parsifal for a change.
The menu is small and international dishes are majority. In most of the small, family run restaurants
in Turkey, a menu does not mean much since the food selection may change daily. So check the
small chalk board.
Salads are very refreshing and the soup is great. Main course include one or two non-vegetarian
dish selections just in case. After you ask the bill you will be brought small gravel-like thingies in a
very small cup. You may eat them, in fact you'll love them. They are "Marmara Cakili", a candy
made of fruit in the inside.
Under USD 10 per person.
Adress: Kurabiye sok. 13 Beyoglu Phone: 245 2588. Very close to Taksim end of Istiklal Caddesi,
and the French Consulate in Istanbul.
TWARP rating: 8 on 10.
Two restaurants already in the guidebooks, Istanbul
We will review two restaurants already crowded by foreign visitors in Istanbul.
Both of them are in the most popular guidebooks in Turkey and they deserve it.
The first is Konyali, located in the Topkapi Palace.
Konyali offers a wonderful view of the Bosphorus which separates the two
continents and superb specialties of Turkish cuisine. This restaurant is
packed with tourists as the tour guests are offered lunch at Konyali.
It is expensive by Turkish standarts, about USD 25-40 per person for a good
meal but may well be worth the extra money. If you can't afford it you still
can buy sandwitches and contemplate the view while eating.
Konyali has also a great sweet shop located right next to the railway station
in Eminonu. If you are into sweets, this is the place to taste some of the finest
in Turkey. The walls are decorated with the pictures of famous figures who
have visited Konyali, from heads of state to Kings and Queens.
The second restaurant is Haci Baba, located in the busiest pedestrian street
of Istanbul, Istiklal street in Beyoglu. Another great place to "see" and taste,
Turkish cuisine. Packed with tourists it is a place also visited by
affluent Turks, journalists etc... You can have lunch and dinner, and in summer
time you can have the garden side tables overlooking the garden of the Greek Church next to it.
Restaurants in other cities:
Prague restaurants
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