istanbul!guide » food and restaurants

istanbul during ramadan: party goes on!

guide — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:45:11 +0000

Photo of special Ramadan dessert “Gullac” by Jackson Gibbs

You might be trying to decide whether it’s a good idea to visit Istanbul during Ramadan or not. Most probably you are asking some questions to yourself such as shall I find open restaurants during the fasting hours? Will I be able to drink some beer, wine and raki? Should I wear more conservative clothes during Ramadan?

Be assured that Istanbul is a big metropolis that is effected in a positive manner from Ramadan. The restaurants, bars, clubs run as usual, they are as crowded as other times. Dress code doesn’t require any adjustment, so feel free to wear whatever you wear in your own country.

Restaurants get very busy during the fast-breaking time though (sunset time and it is called “iftar” in Turkish). If you decide to fast one of the days and join the crowd for fast-breaking, you’ll be surprised to find out that you have such a big appetite and the food can be so delicious! Even if you don’t fast, you can still join the iftar table and have a unique experience.

During Ramadan, there will be some special food available such as “gullac” (a delicious dessert) and pide (round, thinnish bread) that are not available at other times. So do not miss the opportunity to try them. Ramadan drummers are also something interesting. In the middle of the night you might see some guys walking around the streets and drumming to wake up people for their last meal before sun rises. Yes I know this might not sound so sleep-friendly but it is still interesting and makes a scene!

Simply Istanbul during Ramadan is even a more interesting Istanbul… Come and enjoy!

Very important cullinary words that you should know by heart to enjoy Istanbul fully!

guide — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:18:35 +0000

Meze: Side dish or starter served together with raki. The most simple and basic mezes are white cheese and melon and they go very well with raki.

Raki: National Turkish drink made of fermented grapes. It has a strong aniseed smell and taste. It contains 45% alchohol. Usually it is drunk together with food although recently people started drink it alone as well.

Meyhane: This is the restaurant you drink raki and eat meze and chat with your friends (paradise!). You should eat and drink very slowly though. The slower is the better! Spending 2-3 hours is very normal, 5-6 hours is not unusual at a meyhane table.

Fasil: This is the Turkish classical music, with some gypsy touch, played at some meyhanes. The band is usually made of gypsies.

Fasil Meyhane: Easy! When there is fasil at a meyhane then this meyhane is called “fasil meyhane”. Don’t miss this experience and try to choose an authentic one where local goes to.

A good fish restaurant right on the waterfront: Villa Bosphorus

guide — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:39:47 +0000

You’ll be very close to Bosphorus at this restaurant: so close that waves might roll over you sometimes! The restaurant is an old wooden mansion at Beylerbeyi, which is a pretty, authentic district on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Beylerbeyi is rarely visited by tourists but is in fact well worth exploring. If you decide to eat here, you should try to make time to wander through the neighbourhood and to visit Beylerbeyi Palace as well.

The food is good and the prices are reasonable. The service is great. On the weekends Villa Bosphorus serves very good breakfasts. You should try to book a table next to Bosphorus to enjoy this place fully.

Address: Iskele Caddesi No:14, Beylerbeyi / Istanbul.
Telephones: +90 216 318 68 10, + 90 216 321 69 87
Website: http://www.villabosphorus.net/

Fantastic meze and fish plus roof-top views!

guide — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:35:23 +0000

Doga fish restaurant restaurant has a simple formula: delicious meze (starters) and fish, great service with (if you book your table in advance) really lovely views.

The place is a bit pricy but if quality food experience is important for you, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to eat here. We recommend you to book in advance especially to get a table with the sea and old city views.

Address: Akarsu Yokusu Cd. No: 44-46, Floor 7

Cihangir (Beyoglu-Taksim) / ISTANBUL

Phone: +90 212 243 36 56 +90 212 293 91 44

A great hidden meyhane in a great hidden disrict

guide — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:10:56 +0000

Huseyin’in Yeri, which means Huseyin’s place, is great absolutely authentic meyhane in Balat. The district is a very interesting and historical, it is not touristic at all, it is safe but poor. The restaurant itself (meyhane) is completely low key, people are very friendly, they offer cheap and very good food and mezes. If you’d like to have a real meyhane experience, get great hospitality, kind attention and service, you should not miss this place.

They don’t have a website. Their address is “Vodina Caddesi No 173 / Balat” and phone number is +90 212 525 32 51. Most probably there will not be someone who will be able to speak to you in English. This place is very low-key, so you don’t need to book in advance.

Ice-cream man tricks!

guide — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:55:37 +0000

Turkish ice-cream is made with salep -wild orchid root powder- and it is hand whisked with a long metal stick.

The origin of this ice-cream is a city in the south east Anatolia called Kahraman Maras. In this city, they sell the ice cream not with weight but length! The reason for this is the texture of ice-cream; it is very sticky because of salep and lots of hand whisking.

You will see quite a few shops selling it along the Istanbul streets. The ice-cream man is dressed up with traditional costumes and they bell a ring. Seeing them easy but getting the ice-cream is not easy! You’ll be tricked every time you think you are getting your ice-cream! Lots of fun and you should definitely try it.

In winter, MADO might be the only option to try this very special ice-cream. Their ice-cream men dressed in a modern way, don’t do tricks and the ice-cream is not the real stuff but it is still very good. Having said that, you can be sure that everything at MADO will be fresh and good quality and they have hundreds of shops in Istanbul. So, finding one will not be difficult at all, neither getting your ice-cream!

Dessert made with chichen?!

guide — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:26:10 +0000

Are we joking? No! Two Turkish desserts have chicken breast as ingredient in them: One of them is Tavuk Gogsu, which means Chicken Dessert anyway, and the other one is Kazandibi which means bottom of the pan. More strangely they are both milk desserts and delicious! You must try them. You can find them very easily at any Muhallebici (dessert shop). There are many muhallebicis all around the city and you can’t miss all of them.

Best profiterole in the city

guide — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:13:33 +0000

At least at one of your days in Istanbul you’ll most likely be at Istiklal street in Beyoglu. When you are there, do not miss the famous profiterole of Inci Pastanesi (Inci Patisserie). Inci’s profiterole is very famous in Istanbul and they have been around for long but very long time!

The other spot for great profiterole is Osman Pastanesi (Osman Patisserie). Osman is in Sisli district, 2-3 kilometers from Taksim square, so it is not so likely you’ll be around this district. Osman is not as known as Inci but if you’d like to taste the very best profiterol then you should not miss it.

If you ask me which one of these two is better, I personally like Osman’s more!

Inci: Istiklal Street No:124 Beyoglu
Osman: Halaskargazi caddesi No: 365 Sisli

Lion milk called Raki: Love it or hate it!

guide — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:26:49 +0000

Raki is the national Turkish drink. It’s referred to lion milk because firstly, when you mix it with water -many people drink it in this way- it turns into milk-white colour and secondly it makes you brave like a lion!

Basically, it is made of fermented grapes and it has a strong aniseed smell and taste. You have to have two glasses on the table: one is for raki (pure or mixed with water) and the other is for water. If you’ll mix it with water then you need to add 1 portion of raki and 2 portions of water for a single and 2 portions of raki and 1 portion of water for a double.

Traditionally it is drunk together with the food but recently many people started to drink it without food as well. Raki tables last long; you eat slowly, you drink slowly and you speak to your friends.

Our last words; usually locals love and visitors hate it! Don’t leave Istanbul without trying it though.

winter is the best time for delicious fish!

guide — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:34:44 +0000

Photo by: Daniele Pesaresi

In winter, try not to miss the opportunity to eat lovely fresh Bosphorus fish in Istanbul. The commercial fish hunting ban ends at the end of summer and from September many different fish species start to migrate from Black Sea, down through the Bosphorus to the warmer waters of the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean for winter. This means plenty of fresh fish at cheap prices! In fact most Istanbulians do not even consider eating frozen fish and fish is an important part of dining and raki drinking culture. The taste of Bosphorus fish is famous all around Turkey and Istanbulians are proud of it. The most famous one is called Lufer (smaller ones are called Sarikanat and Cinekop) and known in English as Bluefish.