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Reviews (Eats) - Category Archive

May 06
Wednesday

Çiya: Loquat Kebabs and Mesopotamian Truffles at Istanbul’s Culinary Shrine

Filed under Features, Reviews (Eats)

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 memorable taste experience. 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 Reviews (Eats)


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
Canım Ciğerim: Liver, My Dear?
7 responses - Posted 04.27.09
Canım Ciğerim, a very fun and tasty kebab spot in Beyoğlu’s Asmalımescit area, makes things easy. The menu only has two items from which to choose: liver, or what is simply referred to as “meat.” Before we lose any more readers, let’s talk about the first option. Turkey exists in a ...continue
Köfteci Hüseyin: The Cadillac of Meatballs
13 responses - Posted 04.24.09
Editor's note: After the unfortunate collapse in February 2016 of the building that housed Köfteci Hüseyin, the business is hoping to reopen elsewhere in the neighborhood. We'll keep readers posted. In New York, consider the pizza. You’ve got Famous Ray’s Pizza, Ray’s Original Pizza, World Famous Original Ray’s Pizza and so ...continue
Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası: The Syrian Connection
12 responses - Posted 04.20.09
The only positive thing about the torturous annual visit we make to Istanbul’s main police station in order to renew our residence permit is the chance to drive through the low-rent Aksaray neighborhood, home to dozens of intriguing off-the-beaten path restaurants, most of them opened by migrants from other parts ...continue
Karaköy Lokantası: A Dockside Winner
15 responses - Posted 04.17.09
Tucked into the street behind the yet-to-be gentrified docks at Karaköy, among shops advertising boat tickets to Odessa and cubby-sized import and export offices, is the neighborhood’s culinary port of call, Karaköy Lokantası. With great food, personable service and tasteful décor, this family-operated eatery defiantly proves that a good dining ...continue
Dürümzade: Wrap Artists
16 responses - Posted 04.10.09
Istanbul’s after-midnight dining options tend to be of the offal variety – tripe soup, chopped lamb’s intestines – thought to be curatives after a night of hard drinking. Luckily, not all late-night eats in the city involve innards. At Dürümzade – a grill joint positioned right on the fringe of ...continue
Pera Sisore: Black Sea Magic
3 responses - Posted 04.06.09
Editor's note: Sadly, since first reviewing and recommending this place, things have gone terribly downhill and we can no longer vouch for its quality. The good news is that the restaurant's former manager – the person responsible for making so good in the first place – has his own spot now and ...continue
Fürreyya: Best Little Fish House in Galata
7 responses - Posted 04.06.09
From the outside, Fürreyya Galata Balıkçısı, a tiny new restaurant in Beyoğlu's quaint Galata area, doesn't look like much. Two tables, two stools at a short counter, a smoky grill and not much else. But inside this modest fish shack beats the heart of a more ambitious place. The friendly ...continue
Abracadabra: A Culinary Wizard on the Bosphorus
20 responses - Posted 04.03.09
Editor's note: Abracadabra has closed, but its chef, Dilara Erbay, has opened a new venue that we also recommend, Datlı Maya. One look at Abracadabra, housed in an imposing Ottoman-era mansion located smack dab on the Bosporus in the swank Arnavutköy neighborhood, might make your wallet ache. Think again. This funky, ...continue
Zübeyir: The Meat is On
21 responses - Posted 04.03.09
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 ...continue

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