antman's Profile
Istanbul - Proposed Itinerary - Input Please!
Fish sandwiches can be nice but it's nothing spectacular. Almost as a rule, the fish is frozen and imported from Norway. Why not hit Seyzade for cag kebab on Hocapasa sokak if you are thinking of a lunch in that general area?Or cross the brings and find Mumhane Caddesi for a tantuni in Karakoy? Or take the opportunity to wander through the very atmospheric hardware market of the Persembe Pazari landing at either Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi or Mutfak Dili for lunch?
I don't know Sultanahmet Fish House but I think Mikla would be a bit too formal with the kids, depending on their age and tendencies. Antiochia would be comfortable with them but the family atmosphere that is so nice for dining with kids in Istanbul gets a little weak in places that serve alcohol. I've had great family meals- dry ones of course- in slightly more traditional places like Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi where the food is good and the theatrics high. There are usually large families eating together and the staff is very good with kids.
You'll do fine in the grand bazaar at Kara Mehmet or Burc (particularly if it is dolma day) but I prefer Seyhmus Kebabi just outside the bazaar.
The Bosphorus cruise is a good idea but I have yet to identify a real standout place to eat in Anadolu Kavagi, where it breaks.
As for the Kebab Krawl, well, I'm sure that will be fun.
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Istanbul Ingredient Mystery
most probably it was "bittim" or "menengic" which is in the pistachio family. They make a coffee-type brew from it in Antep, soaps as well. In its raw form it looks like emerald green peppercorns.
I hope this helps.
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fish on the Bosphorus
Kiyi in Tarabya is an excellent choice. But if alcohol isn't a must, then Adem Baba in Arnavutkoy fits the bill. On Sundays (only) they serve fish soup, which is excellent.
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Istanbul - What food shouldn't be missed?
Hamsi, or Black Sea anchovies, season is in full swing. Dusted in cornmeal and skillet-fried in a tiny bit of oil is a great preparation. "Hamsi kusu" are two fillets sandwiched and grilled. That's a good way to go as well. Hamsili pilav is also excellent. You'll see these fish everywhere, particularly in Black Sea restaurants.
If you are in the Beyoglu area around lunch time find Hayvore for a full flight of hamsi. It's near Galatasaray.
Pafuli was a big name in Black Sea cuisine but they've slipped in recent years.
I had an excellent meal of fried hamsi at Mohti, also in Beyoglu, recently. Beware, they allow smoking in there, which is great if you smoke. Down on the Golden Horn there are little hamsi fry shacks set up. Most are pretty good but they are battered in flour and deep-fried. Not my favorite preparation.
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Datli Maya: In Istanbul, a return to the traditional
This board has hosted a lot of debate on the merits of Abracadabra, the Turkish fusion restaurant on the Bosphorus. Since Abracadabra's closing, it seems chef Dilara Erbay's interests have returned to the Anatolian breadbasket. Datli Maya is a tiny bakery with a wood burning oven in the Cihangir and, IMHO, one of the most exciting new eateries in town. A glance at the menu- lahmacun, pide, simit, tepsi kebabi, guvec- looks fairly familiar but there's much to be said about the results. Dilara and her baker (from Antakya) are producing authentic and often hard to find regional specialties with high standards in a relaxed environment one would expect from a Dilara. Everything emerges from that oven delicious yet familiar.
I hope this humble business will encourage other chefs in Istanbul to reconsider how exceptional Anatolian cuisine can be without fusing it and accept that an excellent meal need not be so costly.
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Istanbul- specific requests
Merhaba!
You'll eat well in the Beyoglu area. Here are the answers to your specifics:
1. all over istiklal are icecream guys wearing Ottoman attire ringing cowbells and playing silly games with their "icecream". Don't waste your time. Get on the ferry to Kadikoy and walk (through the Kadikoy market, stopping at Ciya for lunch) to ther Moda district where you will find Ali Usta. This guy is the real thing. It is destination dondurma using fresh fruit and real sahlep (ground orchid root) which thickens it up and gives it that special texture. You cannot find real icecream makers everywhere. But there is Mado which is much like a Baskin Robins- not horrible but nothing too special.
2. Altan Sekerleme is the Ottoman candy shop experience. They make their own Turkish delight upstairs as they have since the year the American Civil War ended. Its a great old family-run institution. In Balat is another great candy shop if you are around there. It's right around the corner from Kofteci Arnavut, a great place for meatballs.
3. Rumeli Hisari Iskele- it checks all of the boxes. You can find reviews of it elsewhere. Great, classic fish restaurant, right on the water. it is not cheap though. but anything like this will not be.
4. i dont think you'll find anything interesting in this department. i'm curious to see if other people on this board know of anything good like this.
good luck!
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Anyone know anything about Topaz in Istanbul?
I have had really good meals at Mikla but I wouldn't describe it as "traditional Turkish food". I don't think Mikla is anything to get too excited about unless you are craving a fine dining experience. Topaz, I have heard bad reports on very recently.
If I were you, I'd skip this type of restaurant- international, only vaguely Turkish- and go to a traditional fish restaurant on the Bosphorus. There are some very elegant places right on the water- Iskele at Rumeli Hisari, Kahraman (I haven't been yet but hear good things about it), Set Balik, etc-and the standards are often very high. You could even hire a boat for an hour or two and cruise to dinner.
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1 week Istanbul, staying in Sultanahmet district
Beyoglu is probably the best home base. It allows you to get to the sites in the Old City (by tram) and still have easy access the bounty of Beyoglu and Besiktas and easy ferry access to Kadikoy. These are the most densely packed good dining areas in the city. Up the Bosphorus there are many nice places to eat- Arnavutkoy, for example, is well worth the outing- but it can be difficult with traffic and the good spots are spread out over a endless series of neighborhoods on the water. A few hungry hours spent in Beyoglu, Besiktas, Kadikoy or Sirkeci will yield several rewarding snack/meals.
Sirkeci has a lot of inexpensive popular hotels too. It's also not a bad place to be.
Good luck!
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1 week Istanbul, staying in Sultanahmet district
If you are looking for "homestyle" or "esnaf lokanta" type places, you'll have a hard time in Sultanahmet. There are plenty of places to grab a simple or very elaborate meal, but, almost always, they will be restaurants for tourists with fairly undiscerning taste in food.
For humble mom and pop eateries like Doyuran Lokantasi, you'll probably have to leave the neighborhood. Sirkeci is quite close to Sultanahmet and has some places of the Doyuran type. Karakoy, just across the Golden Horn has Mutfak Dili, and the rather pricey but great, Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi. If you do find anything noteworthy in Sultanahmet please post it on this thread.
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Istanbuleats.com
Istanbul
Maya in Karakoy is excellent. You'll need a reservation. Hayvore is more a lunch spot and a great one. Meze is also very good. Maya gets my vote though.
Istanbul
A few suggestions (if you have room):
Maybe rather than Grifin, catch a lunch at Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi downstairs. Its the same exact kitchen and much more fun. Grifin has great views but you can get that elsewhere.
When at Ciya save room for a lahmacun at either Halil or Borsam (or both). Check our roundup on the subject for addresses. Ciya also makes an excellent kunefe.
If you were planning a fish dinner at Grifin, consider Tenedos in Taksim (right across from Aya Triada. It's a new place opened by Ismail from Furreyya that has more comfortable seating that Furreyya and a wider menu. The folks from Savoy Bakery also opened a nice fish house in Cihangir called Savoy Balik. Its a good neighborhood spot with nice fresh fish.
I suggest adding Sehzade Erzurum Cag Kebab for a quick and overwhelmingly delicious lunch in Sirkeci. If you'll visit the Spice Market and its surroundings, you can easily hop over here for a Cag kebab without much of a detour.
On the Grand Bazaar, we've received some mixed reviews from Havuzlu. We haven't been back to confirm, so for now, I'd give it a pass.
Hope this helps.
-Antman
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Istanbul - help me design my ideal foodie tour
As KP said, Mikla is great but steep.
Zeyrekhane is a good place for a beer in the afternoon, but aside from the peanuts, i wouldnt eat there.
Hamdi is underwhelming and I have reason to question their integrity on the bill. I have heard several stories of padding the bill for foreigners.
A lunch at Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi is a must. It is only open during the week.
For a splash out dinner on the water, I have heard good things from reliable sources about Topaz but I haven't been myself. For a traditional fish meal on the water why not go to Iskele in Rumeli Hisari or Kiyi in Tarabya. I prefer both over Doga Balik.
For years I've had consistently excellent lunches at sofyali 9 but sometimes quality and service vary at dinner time. I recently discovered a great meyhane alternative called Mohti. It specializes in eastern Black Sea cuisine. Great food, but best when the hamsi are running (winter months).
Mezze across from the Pera Palace is one of my favorites these days. The chef, Gencay is really taking N. Aegean cuisine to a higher level. He speaks English and is glad to get involved in your evening. You can have a meyhane-style dinner (raki, meze, fish, ara sicak, good times) but with better quality food than most meyhane around.
have a great trip!
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Spices to purchase in Turkey
The deep red pepper paste from Urfa is called "isot". This is a key ingredient in cig kofte. Very good edible souvenir.
Pomegranate molasses or extract rather is called "nar eksisi" and it is widely used in Turkish salad dressings. It is a wonderful treat.
The grape molasses is called "pekmez" and it is sold in sealed jars. Should be good for traveling.
You can also pick up sahlep powder (orchid root) to make the wintertime drink of the same name or Turkish icecream. But don't buy it anywhere. Most is bogus. I know of one wholesaler in Eminonu. I will try to find his contact info. You might find it by a google search.
good luck and enjoy Istanbul, the city that will never go hungry.
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Fine Dining in Istanbul - Decisions.
Iskele is a fine traditional fish restaurant on the water. one of the better of its sort in the city.
Ismet Baba is the redheaded stepchild of Iskele- great fish, views, fine meze, but more neighborhood grit.
Likewise, Tike is upscale kebab. Very nice and high quality food. A little stilted for kebab in my opinion.
Zubeyir has more of a local, rowdy feel, as a kebab place should. but it is still quite comfortable and clean. top notch kebab for sure.
Meze is a newish place specializing in N. Aegean cuisine. Its a smart room with great service and killer meze. It is located just across from the Pera Palace Hotel.
Sidika is another fine restaurant without the fuss. Its also serving really good meze.
MuzedeChanga is a great place when the terrace is open. Its not really traditional Turkish but it is quite good.
Giritli is also significantly better in warm weather when you can sit in the garden. The food is good year-round. There are some Cretan meze on menu that you wont find anywhere else.
I think you need a good Black Sea restaurant on the list. A lunch at Hayvore or Klemuri in Beyoglu should do the trick. For something more upscale try Pafuli. I haven't been for years but it used to be good.
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Help with areas outside Istanbul Please!
There is a great weekly food market in Kas where you can get freshly gathered herbs, really nice local produce, olive oil and village-style loaves of bread.
Surprisingly, when I was there last summer, getting anything other than farm-raised fish was difficult. Scout the fish mongers the minute you arrive and make the distinction between "deniz balik" (wild) and "ciftlik balik" (farmed). If your villa has a caretaker, you might ask him to find you fish from the local spearfisherman.
We had a great meal at Bahce Balik- excellent fresh fish, octopus, a bounty of meze. I highly recommend it.
Here is the address:
Address: Suleyman Sandikci Sok. 18, Kas
Telephone: 242-836-2779
Kas is beautiful, enjoy.
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Hamsi season in Istanbul
The hamsi, Black Sea anchovies, are swimming these days and there have been several interesting reports on the subject. This little inexpensive fish is the favorite of the winter season, particularly in the cuisine of the eastern Black Sea.
The excellent food site EatingAsia published a report of their trip straight to the hamsi source of Sinop on the Black Sea.
We've seen a number of new Laz (an ethnic minority from the eastern Black Sea region) restaurants open serving hamsi in many creative ways- hamsi rice, steamed hamsi, hamsi in cornbread and fried hamsi. Hayvore near Galatasaray and Klemuri near Taksim. Pafuli is an old favorite but a bit more fancy than necessary.
And just last week, the Wall Street Journal published a very interesting article on the fishing industry in Istanbul.
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Istanbul report
Great idea!
I had an excellent hamsi feast there yesterday. Plump, fresh and lightly fried in cornmeal.
Hayvore's Address is:
Turnacibasi Sokak 4
It is just off of Istiklal on the street that leads to Galatasaray Hamam, on the right in the same building as British Time.
Enjoy and save some room for Laz borek.
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Istanbul report
Speaking of HAMSI>>>>
Tomorrow I will be trying a new Laz spot opened by one of the partners of Pera Sisore. It is called Hayvore and it is right off of Istiklal near Balo Sokak near the chocolate fountain.
There will surely be plenty of Black Sea specialties including hamsi ekmek (cornbread laced with sardines), hamsi pilav (savory rice cakes topped with sardines), fried hamsi (in cornmeal) and maybe even the elusive hamsi tatlisi (hamsi dessert).
I will report back on this hamsi trove soon.
An Open Letter to the Eaters of Istanbul
indeed. There was an article in Cornucopia recently recommending the bar in Haydarpasa for a drink. Beautiful building. I hope this isn't a sneaky way to rip it down and build another junky shopping mall.
Istanbul
It is a good idea to make reservations at Zubeyir if you are going on the weekends and the same goes for Antiochia.
you might also want to have a pide at Fatih Karadeniz Pidecisi. Full on local experience and maybe the best pide in the city. Buryan kebab is also a good one for meat eaters. Check Istanbul Eats for the details on Siirt Seref Buryan Kebab Salonu.
Budapest food blog?
Thanks for the tips. I checked out both chowpapi and chew.hu.
both, pretty much, what I was looking for.
Budapest food blog?
Does anyone know of an independent local food blog that reviews restaurants in Budapest?
Istanbul on NPR
NPR ran a story on Turkish cuisine over the weekend. The report placed Turkish cuisine among the top three in the world, along with Chinese and French. Bold claim.
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Abracadabra in Istanbul
disappointing to hear that Abracadabra has taken a turn for the worse. It used to be a really good place. I've heard that the creator/chef Dilara Erbay isn't in the kitchen much anymore these days.
When Dilara first showed up, her interpretations of Turkish standards filled a gaping hole in the market. Very few restaurants strayed from absolutely traditional recipes. I am not huge fan of Thai meets Turk cuisine but the way she ramped up the same old meze selection felt new and exciting, for a time. I think a lot of people in Istanbul allowed Abracadabra a generous grace period because of loyalty to Dilara but that seems to have run out. It seems Abracadabra never got its act together. Bad service is never acceptable and it has always been spotty at best over there. Pity. Such a beautiful location.
Luckily, there are more people experimenting with Turkish cuisine these days. I recently had an excellent meal at Meze, a stylish but unpretentious new restaurant on Mesrutiyet Caddesi in Beyoglu (It is right across from the Pera Palas Hotel). All of the meze were recognizable in form but significantly better than what we've become accustomed to seeing on the big tray. Our waiter was careful but not smothering. He was knowledgeable about the food and when we asked some obscure food-obsessed question he went and found the answer in the kitchen. Overall, a very nice experience.
Istanbul - what am I missing?
I also read that article in the newspaper and was equally puzzled by some of the selections.
Iskele is a wonderful place to splash out on a traditional meal of fish. Not peerless in Istanbul but definitely top notch.
Zuma is a London-based Sushi chain with a branch in a hotel in Ortakoy. Good sushi. light lunch will cost $100/person easily. Its inclusion in this roundup makes no sense to me.
I havent been to the other places (aside from the not very noteworthy Borsa) and I am not inclined to follow this articles advice.
I think it is important to note that a certain local Istanbul clientele (that this article was probably aimed at) often prefers glitz to great food.
Recommendations for Antalya Turkey
Check Parla Food. I seem to recall a kofte spot in Antalya's old city reviewed there.
I am still trying to block out most of my Antalya dining memories.
Istanbul - what am I missing?
seems you are doing quite well so far.
For Kokorec, I ma not a big Bambi fan. try it from a street cart where they grill it over charcoal on a horizontal spit. much better. You can find it around the Galata Tower most days.
Speaking of horizontal spits, you must get a cag kebab- probably my favorite kebab. the easiest place to get it is in Hocapasa sok. in Sirkeci at Sehzade.
Get some simple honest fish at Adem Baba in Arnavutkoy, even though its not really fish eating season. Or go up to Kiyi in Tarabya for a more formal fish meal.
I highly recommend a dinner at Antiochia in Tunel/Beyoglu. Great Hatay specialties in a fun and lively environment.
For something different, try the Uighur manti and lagman at DTVAE in Fatih. Its the real thing, prepared fresh by a UIghur fellow from Kashgar.
Get yourself some chicken breast pudding down at Kismet Muhallebecisi in Kucuki Pazar after a Buryan lunch at Siirt Seref in the Kadinlar Pazari.
There's a lot of fuss on the subject of Iskender. I like Bursa Kebab on Sakiz Agac in Beyoglu but some people shrug this place off. My friend Atilla swears by one in Kadikoy next to the post office at a place called Kebapci Iskender.
Good luck. Hope you'll report back on your findings.
Istanbul Report
Thanks for the trip report. I am glad that you found the recommendations on this board useful. As your report reflects, the guidebooks (LP, etc) are particularly unreliable when it comes to restaurants in Istanbul.
I agree with you on Sofyali 9- the main courses on offer are far less appealing than the starters. I nearly always make a meal of the meze and hot starters and pass on the boring entrees. These days I am enjoying that place for its lunch specials. They are very affordable and a bit more homey than the dinner menu.
On Padeli, isn't it a pity that they dont have good food? It is an amazing space. Unfortunately, in Istanbul- as in most big tourist destinations- restaurants near monuments do not rely on local business so the quality and value are rarely impressive.
It sounds like you had a really nice trip. Thanks again for posting this detailed report.
Istanbul, 5 days, money no object
I'm glad Iskele worked out. Between you and Katie's accolades, I'll have to get back there soon.
Not to be a pain, but I didnt say that high end means tourist trap. I said "higher end places often do not impress". By that I meant the more costly places in town that often turn up in NYT articles or manage to get good publicity are often way off keel in terms of value. A restaurant's hype in Istanbul often has less to do with the the food than the brand of the furniture and what socialites hang out there. Prices tend to follow suit. That's what I was getting at.
Good food near Istanbul Grand Bazaar?
monchique,
I am afraid you are in a tiny minority of people who have had good experiences at Pandeli. It is generally known in Istanbul as a tourist trap. My experiences there are marked by extreme inconsistency, poor service, padded bills and often soso food.
On the subject of sea bass in paper (kagitta levrek), I think there is no better place in town than Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi in Karakoy. It is also not cheap but extremely reliable and offers a great excuse to wander around the Persembe Pazari hardware market.
