Oct 20
Tuesday
Kosinitza: Trattoria à la Turca
Editor’s note: This guest post was written by Kathryn Tomasetti and Tristan Rutherford, freelance travel journalists for The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out, among others. Their website can be found here.
Kosinitza is located in the charming Bosphorus-side village of Kuzguncuk, a short bus ride north of Üsküdar. It’s a time-forgotten place where wooden homes are interspersed with bakeries, crowded teahouses and shops piled with fresh vegetables. Down the road from the restaurant is an Armenian church, which, very uniquely, shares a courtyard with the next-door mosque; there are also two synagogues and a Greek Orthodox church nearby.
Culturally satiated? I was when I ducked inside with my husband Tristan: lunch at Kosinitza is his birthday treat. Newspaper clippings and artworks share space on the restaurant’s saffron walls, while the heavy cutlery on each table could hail from an aristocratic granny’s kitchen. We are lucky enough to be the only patrons, as I’d reserved the whole restaurant for Tristan’s birthday (or so I may have claimed), and received owner-cum-waiter-cum-sommelier İbrahim’s undivided attention. Continue…
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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
Istanbul Street (Food) Photography
no responses - Posted 09.23.09
One that got away at Karaköy's fish market. Photo by Jonathan Lewis continue
no responses - Posted 09.23.09
One that got away at Karaköy's fish market. Photo by Jonathan Lewis continue
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6 responses - Posted 07.27.09
Editor's note, October 2015: Sadly, we have recently received reports that after a change in ownership at Kıyı, the quality of the food here has gone down significantly. Although the area around the ferry terminal on Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands, tends to get unbearably crowded during the summer, ...continue
6 responses - Posted 07.27.09
Editor's note, October 2015: Sadly, we have recently received reports that after a change in ownership at Kıyı, the quality of the food here has gone down significantly. Although the area around the ferry terminal on Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands, tends to get unbearably crowded during the summer, ...continue
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5 responses - Posted 07.10.09
It must have taken an entire fleet's worth of nets, harpoons, anchors, life preservers and buoys to decorate the dining rooms of Adem Baba. The decorations makes sense: the restaurant got its start as humble, boat-borne kitchen floating dockside in the Bosphorus neighborhood of Arnavutköy, although now it has transformed ...continue
5 responses - Posted 07.10.09
It must have taken an entire fleet's worth of nets, harpoons, anchors, life preservers and buoys to decorate the dining rooms of Adem Baba. The decorations makes sense: the restaurant got its start as humble, boat-borne kitchen floating dockside in the Bosphorus neighborhood of Arnavutköy, although now it has transformed ...continue
İsmet Baba: Great Fish for Goodfellas
2 responses - Posted 06.26.09
As the ferry approaches the dock at Kuzguncuk, a charming Bosphorus neighborhood on the Asian side, and passengers start scrambling for position at the bow to be the first to hop off, a soft yellow light, rakı-fueled laughter and a whiff of grilled fish seem to guide the boat in ...continue
2 responses - Posted 06.26.09
As the ferry approaches the dock at Kuzguncuk, a charming Bosphorus neighborhood on the Asian side, and passengers start scrambling for position at the bow to be the first to hop off, a soft yellow light, rakı-fueled laughter and a whiff of grilled fish seem to guide the boat in ...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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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