Dec 17
Friday
Since you Asked: Flyby Dining
(Editor’s Note: This post is part of our occasional “Since You Asked…” advice column. We welcome our readers’ questions, so feel free to send any you might have to istanbuleats@gmail.com)
Hi!
I’ll have an 8-hour layover in Istanbul in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for places to go for a good Turkish breakfast and lunch. I love to eat at small, local places serving authentic food. Sorry! I forgot to add that I prefer restaurants near the Yeşilköy area as I have to board an international flight (which I cannot afford to miss).
Frequent Eater, Buffalo, NY Continue…
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Quick Look
Recent Posts
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
no responses - Posted 05.08.18
That much of the past seems to stick to Samatya is a marvel in Istanbul, a city being rebuilt and “restored” at an alarming pace. First, there’s the question of its name. Occupying a stretch of the Marmara Sea and squeezed between the old city walls and Kumkapı, an area home to a rotating cast of eclectic restaurants, the neighborhood still ... continue -
Spring Surprises: Skewering the First Fruits in Istanbul
no responses - Posted 04.25.18
It was the first of April and an absolutely pristine Istanbul spring day, the kind where one can break a slight sweat walking up a hill then catch a cool breeze in a nearby patch of shade. Returning to the city from a lovely weekend on Büyükada, we were smitten with spring and wanted to indulge in its finest offerings. In ... continue -
Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On
no responses - Posted 04.16.18
It’s Saturday around lunchtime and business as usual in the bustling Beşiktaş Çarşı neighborhood, as crowds of mostly younger people fill the narrow streets. Down on Mumcu Bakkal Sokak, a pedestrian-only street lined with miniscule shops, a line around the block has been formed by those eager to get into one of the city’s best döner spots. For many of those ... continue -
Bağdat Ocakbaşı: Licensed to Grill
no responses - Posted 04.09.18
Istanbul’s T1 tramway is relatively pleasant if you can find a seat, but borders on unbearable if you are on your feet. Back in 2015, we wrote about a trip we took from the line’s first stop all the way to one of its last, which lies way out in the district of Güngören. By the time the tram has made ... continue -
Dose & Istos Café: Greek Revival
no responses - Posted 03.30.18
A café at its best is so much more than the sum of its parts: it’s a place where people can easily mingle, share ideas, and dertleşmek, or commiserate over their troubles, all while imbibing caffeine. At the same time, it’s a place where visitors might feel an invisible thread of common beliefs connecting them, an unspoken camaraderie, even if ... continue -
Back to the Land: Urban Turks Tackle Rural Life
no responses - Posted 03.23.18
When Buket Ulukut first moved from Istanbul to a rural plot of land in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, she was leading a double life. “I’d be taking calls from clients in Europe while out amidst the rows of peppers and eggplants, hoping they didn’t hear the rooster crowing in the background,” says Ulukut, who worked in ... continue -
Semt Pazarları, Civic Life Perfected
no responses - Posted 03.09.18
“Two kilos five liraaa! Two kilos five liraaa!” bellowed a young and exuberant vendor of tomatoes to the ongoing stream of frugal-minded shoppers making their way through the snaking Tarlabaşı Sunday Market. Hundreds of sellers of fresh produce, dairy, seafood, kitchenware, clothing, smuggled tobacco, jewelry, fresh baked goods and numerous other items set up side by side in the central Istanbul ... continue
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
All entries filed under this archive
Koco: Quest for the Holy Grill
no responses - Posted 11.24.10
(Editor's Note: We are rerunning this review in honor of St. Cathryn, to whom the shrine in the basement of this restaurant is dedicated and whose name day takes place tomorrow (Sept. 25). According to local legend, some fishermen at a certain point came across a natural spring in the ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.24.10
(Editor's Note: We are rerunning this review in honor of St. Cathryn, to whom the shrine in the basement of this restaurant is dedicated and whose name day takes place tomorrow (Sept. 25). According to local legend, some fishermen at a certain point came across a natural spring in the ...continue
Sıdıka: Last Night a Meze Saved Our Lives
7 responses - Posted 11.12.10
Dear readers, we have a confession to make: over the last few weeks, we were in a serious culinary funk. The main problem was our own lazy habit of sticking around our home base of Beyoğlu when it came time to forage for new places to eat. The neighborhood, of ...continue
7 responses - Posted 11.12.10
Dear readers, we have a confession to make: over the last few weeks, we were in a serious culinary funk. The main problem was our own lazy habit of sticking around our home base of Beyoğlu when it came time to forage for new places to eat. The neighborhood, of ...continue
Tarihi Karaköy Balıkçısı: Putting the “Ust” back in Usta
3 responses - Posted 11.01.10
The Turkish term “usta,” which means master in the Jedi sense of the word, seems to have lost its meaning in Istanbul. Any fellow wandering the streets with a screwdriver in his pocket seems to enjoy the honorific. In the kitchen too, we’ve found, there are plenty of unchaperoned apprentices ...continue
3 responses - Posted 11.01.10
The Turkish term “usta,” which means master in the Jedi sense of the word, seems to have lost its meaning in Istanbul. Any fellow wandering the streets with a screwdriver in his pocket seems to enjoy the honorific. In the kitchen too, we’ve found, there are plenty of unchaperoned apprentices ...continue
Hamsi: The Little Fish that Could
4 responses - Posted 10.04.10
The chill of fall is in the air in Istanbul, which also means that good stuff is happening in the waters near the city. More specifically, it means that hamsi season is about to kick off in the chilly Black Sea. Hamsi, of course, are the minuscule fish (Black Sea ...continue
4 responses - Posted 10.04.10
The chill of fall is in the air in Istanbul, which also means that good stuff is happening in the waters near the city. More specifically, it means that hamsi season is about to kick off in the chilly Black Sea. Hamsi, of course, are the minuscule fish (Black Sea ...continue
İnciraltı: Meyhane Time Machine
1 response - Posted 08.30.10
We like to think of İnciraltı, a laid-back meyhane in the sleepy Bosphorus-side Beylerbeyi neighborhood, as a destination restaurant – not so much because of the food, but because of the destination itself. Not that there’s anything wrong with the food here, which is reliably well made. The meze tray at ...continue
1 response - Posted 08.30.10
We like to think of İnciraltı, a laid-back meyhane in the sleepy Bosphorus-side Beylerbeyi neighborhood, as a destination restaurant – not so much because of the food, but because of the destination itself. Not that there’s anything wrong with the food here, which is reliably well made. The meze tray at ...continue
Büyükada Hi-Lo
11 responses - Posted 07.19.10
If it’s because of showing visitors around or simply a desire to get away from the city for the day, we can usually count on at least one visit a summer to Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands. But as much as we like looking at the car-free island’s Victorian ...continue
11 responses - Posted 07.19.10
If it’s because of showing visitors around or simply a desire to get away from the city for the day, we can usually count on at least one visit a summer to Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands. But as much as we like looking at the car-free island’s Victorian ...continue
Fish: Mmmm…Meze!
8 responses - Posted 07.09.10
“D’oh!” we said with a wince when we spotted the Ferrari parked in front of Fish, the restaurant we were heading to for dinner. It may have been the lucky day for the valet parkers who crowded around snapping pictures with their cell phones, but for us it meant certain ...continue
8 responses - Posted 07.09.10
“D’oh!” we said with a wince when we spotted the Ferrari parked in front of Fish, the restaurant we were heading to for dinner. It may have been the lucky day for the valet parkers who crowded around snapping pictures with their cell phones, but for us it meant certain ...continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Bahce Balik in Kaş
1 response - Posted 06.11.10
The sign on the glass cooler at the Kaş Fisherman’s Cooperative reads like a huge Bible passage on a billboard beside an interstate promising salvation, “Balik var!” We’ve got fish. It was a promise of false hope. Inside that glass-fronted case there were no fish. Nor were there any at the fishmonger ...continue
1 response - Posted 06.11.10
The sign on the glass cooler at the Kaş Fisherman’s Cooperative reads like a huge Bible passage on a billboard beside an interstate promising salvation, “Balik var!” We’ve got fish. It was a promise of false hope. Inside that glass-fronted case there were no fish. Nor were there any at the fishmonger ...continue
Kandilli Suna’nin Yeri: Port of Call
3 responses - Posted 05.14.10
Boatspotting on the Bosphorus is a favorite pastime for those lucky enough to have windows with the right view. On any given weekend afternoon on the busy straits that divide this city, the ship and boat traffic unfolds like a caravan of the flags of the lesser-known countries of the ...continue
3 responses - Posted 05.14.10
Boatspotting on the Bosphorus is a favorite pastime for those lucky enough to have windows with the right view. On any given weekend afternoon on the busy straits that divide this city, the ship and boat traffic unfolds like a caravan of the flags of the lesser-known countries of the ...continue
Kalpazankaya Restaurant: Paradise Found
4 responses - Posted 05.03.10
One of the great joys of spring and summertime in Istanbul is the chance to get away for a day to one of the Princes’ Islands, the car-free and forested archipelago that is a short ferry ride away from the city. continue
4 responses - Posted 05.03.10
One of the great joys of spring and summertime in Istanbul is the chance to get away for a day to one of the Princes’ Islands, the car-free and forested archipelago that is a short ferry ride away from the city. continue
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