Friday
Reviews (Eats)Zubeyir: The Meat is On
Finding a kebab restaurant in Istanbul is not hard. There must be thousands of them. But finding the right kind of place, especially if you want to make it a bit more of a meal, can be surprisingly difficult.
Most kebab joints tend to be no-frills, in-and-out places. Some are very good (and we will review a few in the future), but they don’t make for a night out. On the other hand, some of nicer places – where you can find a more extensive menu and, more importantly, drink booze with your dinner – take things too far. Tuxedoed waiters serving kebab? Griller, please! At the end of the day, we’re still talking about meat on a stick cooked over a fire.
Which is what makes Zubeyir – a fantastic grill house in Beyoglu that always seems to be packed with large groups having a very good time – such a refreshing find. They serve seriously good food, without taking themselves too seriously.
The restaurant, which occupies two cozy floors in a historic building near the pedestrian-only Istiklal Cadessi, is dominated by an ocakbası, a long hearth topped by a copper hood, where the meat is grilled over hardwood coals. It’s a bit like Turkey’s hot and smoky answer to the sushi bar, with a few seats available grillside, where you can watch the chef do his thing.
Meals at Zubeyir usually begin with a round of mezes, brought to your table on a large tray to choose from. Particular standouts are a subtle spread made out of mashed pumpkin and yogurt, as a well as a sublime warm salad made from freshly grilled eggplant, tomato and onion. The gavur dagı salad – a mix of greens, herbs and tomatoes in a piquant pomegranate molasses dressing – is also worth ordering.
From there, it’s on to the kebabs. The standard grill items are all outstanding. Their Adana kebab – spicy minced lamb – has just the right combination of meat, fat and red pepper. Chicken wings (kanat) and lamb chops (pirzola) are also superbly grilled. Zubeyir also serves up some cuts of meat not found at most kebab joints, such as the tasty tarak (lamb spare ribs), and for the more adventurous, the koç yumurtası, ram’s testicles (which, we must admit, we have yet to try).
It’s not easy to standout in a city filled with kebab restaurants. Zubeyir does it effortlessly.
Address: Bekar Sokak 28, Beyoglu
Telephone: 212-293-3951
www.zubeyirocakbasi.com
Post Tags: Alcohol served, Beyoglu, Grill, Istanbul restaurants, Kebab
May 1, 2009
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Hi guys,
Great site you’ve build here, a truly excellent idea. I love both your writing style and the places you intriduce.
The link to Zubeyir doesn’t work, but all I basically want to know from them is where Bekar Sokak is. So an even better idea than fixing the link, would be for you to post a googlemap with pins for each restaurant. That would also make for another way to search through your postings, ie. by geography.
Cheers,
Martin
May 1, 2009
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Thanks, Martin. Yes, working on maps. We recently changed or URL structure, so some old links are no longer working. Also working on fixing that. Thanks again for the feedback.
May 3, 2009
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We went to Zubeyir last week and it was just as described. Thanks for your blog and all the recommendations – it made our first trip to Istanbul a VERY good experience. Zubeyir was exactly what we were looking for. Excellent food, terrific atmosphere and very friendly diners and staff. Everything that came off the ocakbasi was amazing!
And how do you find it… it was a snap, just using the map in our DK guidebook – walking away from Taksim Sq. = Bekar Sokak was the third street on the right going down Istikial.
Martin – get yourself over there – you won’t be disappointed.
May 6, 2009
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A friend who was just in Istanbul sent me the URL to your blog bc I’m headed there in two weeks, and I love your recs. They sound super local and tasty, which is exactly what I’m looking for.
I’ll be sure to report back after my trip. Cheers!
Jan 8, 2010
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Hi Guys,
Fantastic blog!!! I have had a chance to visit Istanbul several times over last few months and I wish I had found the website earlier (so that I could have adoided a few of the culinary disappointments).
Abracadabra is special indeed, kaymak turned out to be really heavenly (I asked for it at the hotel – you should have seen how happy the waiter was when he brought it to my table – You need to jog afterwards! exclaimed joyfully), but as I am a dedicated meat lover, Zubeyir is definitely at the top of my list. I have been there twice already and I will try more…
Many thanks!
Adam
Feb 22, 2010
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Just to echo your review – chicken wings, lamb ribs and chicken sis all grilled perfectly (the chicken wings were especially good).
May 4, 2010
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Last night I had a particularly good Zubeyir experience. I sat right there at the grill at the corner seat next to Zuybeyir usta himself! Throughout the night he sent little plates of morsels our way- grilled peppers, little charred scraps of lamb. He told me that in his years at the grill he has converted a total of two vegetarians. What a character. It was a great experience that I highly recommend even if it gets a bit hot sitting at the grill!
Jun 9, 2010
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I live in New York for the past 10+ years and am really sad about the fact that even though there are a number of Turkish restaurants in NYC, none of them serves “real tasty” kebaps … and my all time favorite, the “Iskender/Doner Kebap” is especially bad, unfortunately …
During my last visit to Istanbul in April 2009 my ‘local’ friends brought me to Zubeyir for a wonderful kebap experience. I tasted almost everything on the menu. The mezes and especially the kebaps are fantastic! Exactly as good as you have described them in your blog (maybe even better), which, by the way, I find very entertaining and informative. Thanks for all the good information.
Jul 25, 2010
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not the place to go on a hot summer weekend night – incredibly noisy part of Beyoglu, staff stressed and unfriendly – food fine though, may return in winter