Join our mailing list!
Email :  


Archive for May, 2009

May 29
Friday

Çukurcuma Köftecisi: A Mom and Pop Meatball Shop

Filed under Reviews (Eats)

Three generations of kofte makers

Sitting down for lunch at Çukurcuma Köftecisi is something like being a part of the live studio audience of a TV sitcom – with meatballs.

Plotline: Three generations of an unusually tall family run a busy local restaurant with what seems like very little service industry experience but great intentions and strong will. Hilarity ensues. Continue…

Culinary Backstreets
In case you didn’t know, Istanbul Eats now lives over at Culinary Backstreets. Same great culinary walks, same great culinary writing. You’ll be redirected there in a few seconds!

All entries filed under this archive


Kiva Han Gets the Thumbs Down
7 responses - Posted 05.25.09
Today's Zaman has a review of Kiva Han, a restaurant near the Galata Tower that tries to be a Beyoğlu version of Asian side favorite Çiya. It's not a favorable review: All in all, our experience at the new Galata Kiva Han was extremely disappointing, and on second thought, I should have ...continue
Istanbul Eats in Sabah
3 responses - Posted 05.25.09
The Turkish daily Sabah ran a feature about Istanbul Eats -- headlined "Food Explorers" --  in its Sunday edition. You can read the original article (in Turkish) here, and Google's "my hovercraft is full of eels"-like English translation here. continue
Erzurum Cağ Kebapçısı: Turkish Gaucho Grub
2 responses - Posted 05.22.09
Editor's note: Unfortunately, we recently discovered that this place has closed down, the kebab maker having returned to his former job as an electrician. In the meantime, you can try cağ kebabı at a place called Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabı, which is near Kasap Osman on Hocapaşa Sokak in Sirkeci. If ...continue
Akın Balık: (The Other) Karaköy Fish House
12 responses - Posted 05.15.09
Editor's note, Oct. 16, 2012: After getting too many notes about this place from disappointed diners who had been served substandard food or had their check inflated, we sadly need to move this fish spot onto our "no longer recommended" list. For those looking for a good fish shack on ...continue
Breaking News: Körfez to Close
no responses - Posted 05.13.09
Here at Istanbul Eats, we’ve been procrastinating on a review of the venerable Bosphorus fine dining and high-living establishment Körfez. From the private boat shuttle that takes diners across the Bosphorus to the small, Asian-side cove that is the restaurant’s home, to the delicious sea bass baked in salt, Körfez is one of ...continue
Istanbul Eats in The Guardian
no responses - Posted 05.12.09
The Guardian has picked Istanbul Eats as its "Travel Blog of the Month." We are honored. Click here to check out the newspaper's highly informative and fun travel section. continue
Karaköy Güllüoğlu: Still Flaky After All These Years
9 responses - Posted 05.11.09
Baklava, the flaky, phyllo-dough based pastry, has long ago stopped being a Middle Eastern regional specialty. In America, for example, it is now a staple of dessert menus at diners and falafel stands across the country. But these places miss the point: baklava is actually not a dessert, but rather ...continue
Şimşek Pide Salonu: It’s Better with Butter
10 responses - Posted 05.08.09
Turkey’s take on the pizza comes in two distinct varieties. There’s the Arabesque lahmacun, a round, ultra thin-crusted snack topped with a shmear of finely ground meat and seasoning. Then there’s pide, a more substantial canoe-shaped creation that’s a specialty of Turkey’s Black Sea region. continue
Çiya: Loquat Kebabs and Mesopotamian Truffles at Istanbul’s Culinary Shrine
9 responses - Posted 05.06.09
For us, one of the highlights of spring in Istanbul is a visit to Çiya Sofrası, the Asian-side eatery that is very likely the best restaurant in Istanbul. It’s certainly not the fanciest or most cutting-edge place in town, but we rarely leave Çiya without having a profoundly new and ...continue
İsmail Kebapçısı: Lahmacun Tycoon
8 responses - Posted 05.01.09
Editor's note: In this ever-changing city, we like to rely on our usta at the oven or the grill to be there when we come in for a bite. But buildings are sold, opportunities arise across town, bankruptcy happens. One of our favorite cağ kebabı ustas even abandoned the spit for ...continue

© Copyright by Istanbul Eats 2009 - 2024 Istanbul Eats | Original theme by Zidalgo.