Join our mailing list!
Email :  


Posts Tagged ‘ Istanbul restaurants ’

Jan 11
Wednesday

If You Insist: Pandeli?

Filed under Advice, Reviews (Eats)


Dear Istanbul Eats,

I’ve heard and read so much about the historic Pandeli restaurant in Eminönü’s Spice Bazaar, including that it’s nothing more than an overpriced tourist trap. Have you been there recently? Is it worth going to?
Concerned in Cincinnati 

Dear Concerned,
Thanks for the great question. Pandeli is indeed a venerable spot and, for a certain generation of visitors to Istanbul, often the first culinary stop made in the city. Which is to say that we haven’t been there in years. In order to answer your question, we asked our resident guest blogger, “Meliz,” to check things out over at Pandeli and come up with strategies for others who plan to visit the restaurant. Her report is below….

Someone mentioned the film Midnight Express to me the other day, and my first (ok, second) thought was hmm, wonder how Pandeli is these days? Let me explain. 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


Bizim Ev: The Stash House
4 responses - Posted 12.06.11
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by “Meliz,” an intrepid explorer of Istanbul’s culinary backstreets and a frequent contributor to these pages who would like to keep her anonymity.) It all started with Laz böreği. It was not just any Laz böreği that showed up at the dinner party that evening, ...continue
Urfa Şark Sofrası: Bleating Good
2 responses - Posted 11.14.11
On a narrow alley just beyond the back gate of the Hırdavatçılar Çarşısı in Karaköy, we distinctly heard the bleat of a sheep. Turning the corner, we saw men wearing coveralls and vests with “Makita” stitched over the breast seated at low tables laughing through mouthfuls of flatbread. “Me-e-e-e-eh,” one ...continue
Tunçlar Lokantası: Ottoman for the People
4 responses - Posted 11.07.11
(Editor's Note: Sadly, Tunçlar has closed down due to a redevelopment project in Taksim Square. Our news story about the venue's closing is here.) From the top of Elmadağ Caddesi in Harbiye, an unbroken line of tiny Ottoman-era row houses spills down the steep slope of the street. It is one ...continue
Hamsi: Six Favorite Spots to Eat the Little Fish
4 responses - Posted 10.31.11
The arrival of fall in Istanbul for us usually means just one thing: hamsi season is about to begin. Hamsi, of course, are the minuscule fish (Black Sea anchovies) that Istanbulites are mad for, and the coming of fall and the further cooling of the Black Sea’s waters mark the ...continue
Köfteci Cemal: Meatball Depot
no responses - Posted 10.17.11
In the category of ambience, Köfteci Cemal scores high marks quite effortlessly. On a street of mostly demolished row shops down in Karaköy’s Perşembe Pazarı hardware market, Cemal makes his presence known with a bright yellow paint job and the word köfteci spray-painted on the front, back and sides of ...continue
Cafe Euro: Georgia on Their Menu
4 responses - Posted 10.03.11
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was provided to us by Olga Tikhonova, who writes a wonderful blog about Istanbul food and life in Turkey. To her credit, Olga has managed to track down what had long been a holy grail for Istanbul chowhounds: a local restaurant serving authentic Georgian food.) (Editor's ...continue
Merih Restaurant: Home Sweet Meyhane
no responses - Posted 09.28.11
A recent first-time visit to Merih Restaurant, a deservedly well-loved meyhane just outside Beyoğlu's Balık Pazarı, left us wondering what took us so long to discover this place. The restaurant’s location is partly to blame – with so many mediocre and touristy meyhanes to be found in the Balık Pazarı, ...continue
Hayri Balık: Fishy Business
no responses - Posted 09.12.11
We always feel a bit like a cheating spouse when we walk past our longtime favorite – albeit dry – fish spot, Arnavutköy’s Adem Baba, towards Hayri Balık, a lovely little fish shack up the street. But sometimes, well after the brunching hour, we like to have something a little ...continue
Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası: The Culinary Memory Bank
no responses - Posted 09.02.11
For a hungry person in search of the culinary backstreets, an initial look at Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası, a restaurant at the mouth of the Kadıköy market, does not inspire much confidence. By the door stands a chintzy plaster statue of a chef in a poofy hat holding his paunch. A ...continue
Öz Develi Etli Pide Salonu: From the Wrong Side of the Tracks
2 responses - Posted 08.19.11
Tarlabaşı: These days, this run-down neighborhood in the rapidly gentrifying Beyoğlu district is the focus of a tug of war between preservationists and developers, with an impoverished population caught in the middle. While some cast the place as nothing more than a den of thieves, junkies, prostitutes and terrorists, many ...continue

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