Monday

Kıyı: A Winning Island Castaway

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, we’re still big fans of making the occasional visit to the island. A horse carriage ride past breezy (and blessedly car free) Büyükada’s grand mansions or a walk through its woods are always a good escape when things start getting too hot back in Istanbul.

That said, we’ve always found the dining scene on the island disappointing, mostly aimed at clueless daytrippers rather than serious eaters. Take, for example, the row of busy fish restaurants found just beside Büyükada’s ferry terminal. All have seaside terraces with a view of Istanbul’s rapidly developing Asian shore (and of the occasional piece of urban flotsam and jetsam that drifts by) and similar, predictable menus with decently made, but uninspiring food. What they all do specialize in is serving up equal amounts of hustle and bustle, packing their restaurants with tour groups and as many other visitors that they can lure in off the sidewalk. Continue…

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!

Tweet