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Restaurants
Istanbul has countless interesting restaurants and nearly every year new ones spring up like mushrooms. There are hundreds of restaurants for every taste and every budget. Some very well-known, others hidden, some offering home made dishes others Kebap’s. You also find Chinese, Mexican, Indian or Japanese restaurants or ones serving French specialities or “Nouevelle cuisine”. The restaurants in the Sultanahmet area serve mostly foreign visitors with food that is more European. The food is nice and the prices moderate but nevertheless dishes are less authentic. Near Sirkeci railroad station, the Egyptian Bazaar and Galata Bridge there are a number of fine restaurants. Under the Galata Bridge you find some simple eateries with traditional fish sandwiches. Beyoglu is the more upscale part of the city where you can have better bargains in food. The small side streets of Istiklal Caddesi are full of eateries, smooth restaurants, bistros, cafes and pastry shops. Here Istanbul’s life is pulsating. This is where the young and trendy come to chat and dine. Along the Asian and European shores you find excellent sea view restaurants which most of the time are specialized in sea food.
Turkish Cuisine
The Turkish cuisine belongs to the best ones in the world. Its variety goes back to the multiethnic state of the Ottoman Empire. Even today nomadic, Arabic and Greek influences can be noticed. Traditionally the cuisine is rich of vegetables and famous for its delicious starters (mezeler) like a puree made of chickpeas, eggplant or sesame, different yoghurt crèmes and vegetables baked in oil. Other popular starters are a mixed salad or a vegetable soup such as lentil or tomato soup.
There is also a huge variety of pasta filled with herbs, cheese or minced meat and baked in oil. The main course usually consists of meat dishes, grilled, roasted on a spit or stewed with vegetables. Lamb is the most prepared meat but also beef and chicken are very common. Pork, however, is not eaten at all. A famous and popular dish is vine leaves, paprika or tomatoes filled with rice, minced meat or currants and flavoured with dill. They are mostly served cold but are delicious. Fish and sea food is mainly served at the coast or special restaurants in the mountains. Deserts are very varied but also extraordinary sweet. “Tatlilar”, how they are called, are prepared with nuts and honey. Especially during the summer months fruits are very common to satisfy a desire for sweets. Melons, plums, apricots and cherries are very rich in taste and therefore very recommendable. The Turkish national drink is tea (cay), either black tea or apple tea. In the evening people drink Raki, schnapps made of anis and thinned down with water until a milky white liquid appears. The most common beer is “Efes” and the most popular wine sorts are “Doluca” and “Cankaya”.
There are some products that have a specific prestige such as “Lokum”, a sweet confect made of honey, pistachios, almonds, nuts and other ingredients. “Boza” is an alcoholic wheat or sorghum drink that is mostly drunk during winter time. “Kokorec” are grilled or roasted innards. In Istanbul you can find popular Kokorec restaurants in Balikpazari, a streets in Beyoglu.
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