Friday

Köfteci Arnavut: On the Good Ship Meatball Shop

Perhaps it’s the proximity of the waters of the Golden Horn or the weathered wood interior, but we get a distinctly maritime feeling at Köfteci Arnavut, a tiny köfte joint in the historic Balat neighborhood.

The members of the Iştay family, who opened the place in 1947, seem to think the same thing, running the place with ship-shape efficiency. Seventy-six-year-old father Ali is constantly sweeping the floor and wiping down the Formica-topped tables, like a sailor dutifully swabbing the decks. Daughter Mine, meanwhile, stands by the front door, issuing clipped, urgent orders to the hustling grillmaster and waiters, as if she were the captain of a tanker navigating particularly treacherous waters. Continue…