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The 10 best restaurants in Istanbul
From ocakbaşı to bluefish, discover where to eat in Istanbul
![murver restaurant, the best restaurants in istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/murver-restaurant.jpg?imwidth=680)
It’s hardly surprising that Istanbul boasts one of the world’s richest cuisines – it's superbly located at the confluence of the Mediterranean and Black Sea worlds, with easy access to the fertile farmlands of Thrace and Anatolia and the agricultural riches of the hinterland.
Whether it is freshly caught bluefish, tender lamb kebab, melt-in-your-mouth stuffed aubergine, the vast array of meze (starters) or rich, butter-soaked, pistachio-stuffed baklava, there’s something for every taste. Dine in the atmospheric old city, or for a more local feel head across the Golden Horn to the entertainment quarter centred on Beyoğlu, Galata and Karaköy. You can even take a ferry to Asia for a bite to eat in historic Üsküdar or hip Kadıköy.
For further Istanbul inspiration, see our guides to the city's best hotels, nightlife and things to do.
Find a restaurant by area
Old City
Balıkçı Sabahattın
This place is so highly-regarded that affluent Istanbulites from across the metropolis sweep stylishly into the lovely period wooden building it occupies in droves. In summer the vine-shaded cobbled street is the place to sit; in winter head into the airy wood-panelled dining room. Start with a couple of meze; mussels in fragrant saffron rice and tangy aubergine salad recommended, before enjoying a moist grilled fish main (bluefish is most prized). Locals will watch with detached amusement if you drink anything other than the aniseed spirit rakı with your spread, but there’s a great wine list too.
Contact: balikcisabahattin.com
Nearest tram: Sultanahmet
Reservations: Advised
Price: £££
![Balıkçı Sabahattın, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/Bal%C4%B1k%C3%A7%C4%B1-Sabahatt%C4%B1n.jpg?imwidth=350)
Giritli
Housed in an immaculately restored, turn of the 20th century wooden house, it’s almost worth visiting Giritli for its elegant, cedar-panelled, high-ceilinged interior alone – though on sultry summer evenings the vine-shaded garden is the place to be. It’s a meyhane (tavern) but far quieter and more genteel than most of its peers. You can order à la carte, but the superb-value, all-inclusive menu is the real draw, with a decent local wine, rakı or beer part of the deal. The copious, Cretan-style meze are mouth-watering and prepared with fresh, organic herbs and vegetables, while the seafood hot starters are excellent and the fish mains grilled to perfection.
Contact: giritlirestoran.com
Nearest tram: Sultanahmet
Reservations: Recommended
Price: ££
![Giritli, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/Giritli.jpg?imwidth=350)
Hamdi Restaurant (Eminönü)
Close to the busy waterfront area by the landmark Galata Bridge and adjacent to the thronged shopping streets around the historic Spice Bazaar, bustling Hamdi specialises in succulent, charcoal-grilled kebabs of all kinds. Meze include tulum (goatskin cured) cheese and walnuts and humus; desserts vary from rich, buttery walnut and pistachio baklava to the cheese and shredded wheat speciality, künefe. The quality of the food is guaranteed by the presence of so many locals, and unusually for a kebab restaurant it serves (somewhat pricey) alcohol.
Contact: hamdi.com.tr
Nearest tram: Eminönü
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
![Asitane, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Europe/Turkey/asitane-restaurant-2.jpg?imwidth=350)
Amedros
Summer evenings see candle-lit tables on the pretty cobbled alley out front, cooler times lead diners into the long, rectangular dining area with pastel-hued retro chairs, white table cloths, Japanese-style wooden slat panels, well-stocked wine-racks and potted plants. Eccletic maybe, but it works. A firm favourite from the Ottoman-revivalist and international menu is the Anatolian lamb and vegetable stew, slow cooked in a sealed clay pot then tapped open with a flourish (and a hammer!) at your table. Service, with a smile, is immaculate, and a free liqueur rounds off the evening experience perfectly.
Contact: amedroscafe.com
Nearest tram: Sultanahmet
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
![Amedros, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/amedros.jpg?imwidth=350)
Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası
The cavernous, brightly lit dining room does not bode well for intimacy, nor do the promotional posters and looped video on the Hatay region in Turkey’s troubled southeast – but who needs sophisticated décor to enjoy the most appetising dishes the metropolis has to offer? Try the zingy thyme salad zahter and spicy walnut and pepper muhammara (dip) to start. The signature main is salt-baked, fragrant rice-stuffed chicken brought flaming to your table. If you’ve room, the oven-baked mozzarella and shredded wheat dessert künefe is a fitting finale. Note that it is unlicensed.
Contact: akdenizhataysofrasi.com.tr
Nearest metro: Aksaray
Reservations: Not necessary but the salt-baked chicken must be ordered three hours in advance
Price: £
![Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/Akdeniz-Hatay-Sofras%C4%B1.jpg?imwidth=350)
Beyoğlu, Galata and Karaköy
Yeni Lokanta
This restaurant is located on the ground-floor of a Parisian-style, 19th-century apartment block just off the former Grande Rue de Pera. The elegant interior is all turquoise floor tiles, exposed woodwork, white tablecloths and subdued lighting. Appropriately enough, given that Yeni Lokanta means simply ‘New Restaurant’, the food here is traditionally Turkish at root, but is given a thoroughly modern makeover by innovative chef Çivan Er. As you tackle your raki-infused sea bass with cheese and rocket, listen to the gentle hubbub of your fellow diners and rest assured you’re mingling with some of the metropolis’ elite.
Contact: yenilokanta.com
Nearest metro: Şişhane
Reservations: Essential
Prices: £££
![Yeni Lokanta, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Europe/Turkey/yeni-lokanta.jpg?imwidth=350)
Asmali Cavit
With its stripped wooden floors, bare-brick walls and nostalgia-infused period posters and black and white photographs, Asmali Mescit epitomises the more restrained version of the sometimes over-exuberant Istanbul meyhane (tavern). Choose from 27 cold meze including the Armenian speciality topik, a chickpea,
potato, pine nut and tahini dip, and 11 hot starters. Fish mains are priced according to season, with izgara hamsi (grilled anchovies) a particular favourite here, though there are several succulent kebab choices on offer if you’re not a fish lover. Service is prompt but discreet, with helpful white-shirted waiters to guide you around the menu. As in all meyhane raki is the drink of the discerning diner, but decent wines and beers are available too.
Contact: 00 90 212 292 4950; Asmali Mescit Mahallesi, Asmali Mescit Cad. No:16, Beyoğlu
Opening times: Daily, 11am-1am
Nearest metro: Şişhane/Tünel
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
Mürver Restaurant
The elegant, plant-filled, festooned rooftop terrace of Mürver offers what may well be the best panorama in the city, across the confluence of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus to the tip of the historic peninsula and the domes and minarets of the old city. The interior is something else, too, all wooden beams, comfy sofas and an open-plan kitchen. The concept is a twist on the traditional Turkish ocakbaşı (charcoal grilled meat), with all hot dishes prepared on some kind of open fire. Enjoy slow-roasted lamb with firik pilavi (green wheat pilaf), spiced apricot and salted yogurt – it’s gorgeous.
Contact: murverrestaurant.com
Nearest tram: Tophane
Reservations: Recommended
Price: ££
![Mürver Restaurant, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/murver-restaurant-2.jpg?imwidth=350)
Mikla
The gleaming modern tower block that is the Marmara Pera Hotel, whose rooftop plays host to one of the city’s most sophisticated restaurants, certainly isn't quaint. Mikla is, however, super stylish, with superb panoramic city views across to the old city from the teak-decked terrace, while the elegant interior is all restrained, Scandanavian-inspired mid-century modern. The Turkish-Swedish chef, Mehmet Gürs, is renowned for revolutionising Istanbul’s once staid cuisine – his braised lamb with walnuts, yogurt, goatskin-cured cheese and plums is fabulous, as is the apricot, bulgur wheat and saffron ice-cream. The three-course à la carte menu is surprisingly good value.
Contact: miklarestaurant.com
Nearest metro: Şişhane
Reservations: Essential
Prices: £££
![Mikla, istanbul](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/europe/turkey/istanbul/mikla.jpg?imwidth=350)
Asian Istanbul
Çiya Sofrası
Taking the ferry trip across the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia is exhilarating, especially when it's topped off with a great lunch in hip, determinedly secular Kadıköy. Set on a pretty, pedestrianised street, the interior of Çiya is refined canteen in style; point-out the dishes you want from the wide array on offer in the steamtrays, watch as your plate is loaded up, then pay by weight. The delights on offer vary daily and source recipes and fresh produce from around the country – try ekşili bamya (a lamb, okra, chickpea and lemon stew from south-east Turkey) with a tomato-rich bulgur wheat pilaf.
Contact: ciya.com.tr
Nearest ferry: Kadıköy
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Prices: £
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