Café entertainment in Istanbul
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A
Fes Café
After an afternoon spent trading repartee with the bazaar’s touts, you’ll be in need of a drink. Fortunately, this stylish cafe just outside the Nuruosmaniye Gate is a wonderful place to relax over a good-quality coffee, a beer or a glass of wine. It’s also home to a branch of Abdulla Natural Products. There’s another branch of the cafe inside the Grand Bazaar.
reviewed
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Il Porto
There are a number of ways to observe the glam Bebek set at play: you can dine at the mega-pricey Poseidon, have a coffee on the terrace at Starbucks or enjoy a casual summer lunch on the terrace here at Il Porto. Built right over the water, this is a good spot to see and be seen - the food is perfectly acceptable, but that's not why the crowds are here. Wear casual designer togs and have a botox shot before you go.
reviewed
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B
Yeni Marmara
This is the genuine article: a neighbourhood teahouse packed to the rafters with backgammon-playing locals, who play while sipping tea and puffing on nargilehs. The place has bucketloads of character, featuring rugs, wall hangings, low brass tables and fasıl music on the CD player. In winter a wood stove keeps the place cosy; in summer patrons sit on the rear terrace and look out over the Sea of Marmara.
reviewed
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C
Kahve Dünyasi
The name means coffee world, and this new coffee chain has the local world at its feet. The secret of its success lies with the huge coffee menu, reasonable prices, delicious chocolate spoons (yes, you read that correctly), comfortable seating and free wi-fi. The filter coffee is better than its espresso-based alternatives. There’s another branch just near the tram stop at Kabataş.
reviewed
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D
Perla Kallâvı Nargile Café
Follow the scent of apple tobacco to this nargileh cafe occupying the top three floors of an ornate building on İstiklal Caddesi (enter from the side street). It’s inevitably full of young people (including plenty of women) enjoying a glass of tea and a bubbling pipe in the welcoming indoor spaces or on the small terrace with its Sea of Marmara views.
reviewed
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E
Tophane Nargileh
This atmospheric row of nargileh cafes behind the Nusretiye Mosque is always packed with trendy teetotallers. Follow your nose to find it – the smell of apple tobacco is incredibly enticing. While there, you will get an insight into the city’s favourite pastime, keyif (the art of quiet relaxation).
reviewed
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Ay Cafe
The Grand Bazaar isn’t known for the quality of its cafes, but this atmospheric place near the Cevahir Bedesteni (aka Old Bazaar) goes some way towards bucking the trend, serving decent espresso coffee and good cakes and sandwiches.
reviewed
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Etham Tezçakar Kahveci
This tiny tea and coffee stop is found smack-bang in the middle of Halıciŀar Caddesi. Its traditional brass-tray tables and wooden stools stand in stark contrast to the funky and more-expensive Fes Café opposite.
reviewed
