Entertainment in Istanbul
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Leb-i Derya
On the top floor of a dishevelled building off İstiklal, Leb-i Derya has wonderful views across to the Old City and down the Bosphorus, meaning that seats on the small outdoor terrace or at the bar are highly prized. There's also food on offer.
reviewed
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Cafe Meşale
Located in a sunken courtyard behind the Blue Mosque, Meşale is a tourist trap par excellence, but still has loads of charm. Generations of backpackers have joined locals in claiming one of its cushioned benches and enjoying a tea and nargile. It has sporadic live Turkish music and a bustling vibe in the evening.
reviewed
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Love Dance Point
Going into its second decade, LDP is easily the most Europhile of the local gay venues, hosting gay musical icons and international circuit parties. Hard-cutting techno is thrown in with gay anthems and Turkish pop. This place attracts the well-travelled and the un-impressionable, as well as some straight hipsters from nearby Nişantaşı.
reviewed
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Araf
Grungy English teachers, Erasmus exchange students and Turkish language students have long claimed this as their favoured destination, listening to world music (including the live in-house gypsy band) and swilling some of the cheapest club beer in the city.
reviewed
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Türk Ocaği Kültür ve Sanat Merkezi İktisadi İşletmesi Çay Bahçesi
Tucked into the rear right-hand corner of a shady courtyard filled with Ottoman tombs, this enormously popular tea garden is a perfect place to escape the crowds and relax over a çay and nargile. You can even score a cheap and tasty gözleme (Turkish crêpe filled with cheese, spinach or potato) here.
reviewed
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Leb-i Derya Richmond
This sleek younger sister of perennial favourite Leb-i Derya is more restrained and decidedly more chic than her big sis. Fortunately there's no threat of sibling rivalry, as the crowd here is older and more cashed-up. The views from the huge windows are just as fab.
reviewed
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Bigudi Cafe
The first lesbian-exclusive venue in Turkey, Bigudi is frequented by lipstick lesbians on Saturday nights and is resolutely off-limits to non-females. Fridays are open to gay men and the transgendered. To find it, look for the Altin Plak cafe on the ground floor.
reviewed
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Atölye Kuledıbı
Great music (sometimes live jazz) and a welcoming atmosphere characterise this bohemian place near Galata Tower.
reviewed
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Mavra
Serdar-ı Ekrem Caddesi is one of the most interesting streets in Galata, full of ornate 19th-century apartment blocks, avant-garde boutiques and mellow cafes and bars. Mavra is the best of these, offering tasty cheap food and good tea and coffee amid decor that is thrift-shop chic. There's always good music on the turntable here, too.
reviewed
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Xlarge
This straight-friendly gay venue melds glitz with size. Occupying a converted art deco–era cinema that Atatürk was said to have habituated, it draws in both gay and straight partyphiles, who come to be dazzled by a humungous ballroom chandelier, preserved old architectural details and possibly the longest bar (under the stage) in any local venue. On the mezzanine, two supersized beds for group cavorting flank a full-service bar; one overlooks the hunky dancers or drag artists on stage. Vodka-shot (TL5) counters have been conveniently placed near people for easy refuelling.
reviewed
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Ghetto
Decor-wise, this three-storey club behind the Flower Passage (Çiçek Pasaji) combines Renaissance-style painted high ceilings with modernist touches including a long, back-illuminated bar with bottles that seem to glow in the dark. The musical program is equally interesting, comprising creative foreign or local live acts. In summer, it hosts Peymane @ Ghetto Teras (reached via a back staircase), an open-air restaurant-cum-music lounge that ‘doesn’t close until the sun is up’. Check the website for schedules and cover charges.
reviewed
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Vefa Bozacısı
This famous boza bar was established in 1875 and locals still flock here to drink the viscous tonic, which is made from water, sugar and fermented barley. The mucous-coloured beverage has a reputation for building up strength and virility – it won't be to everyone's taste, but the bar's pretty interior is worth a visit in its own right.
If the boza is too confrontational for you, the bar also serves şıra, a fermented grape juice.
reviewed
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Set Üstü Çay Bahçesi
Come to this terraced tea garden to watch the ferries plying the route from Europe to Asia while at the same time enjoying an excellent pot of tea accompanied by hot water (such a relief after the usual fiendishly strong Turkish brew). Add a cheap tost (toasted cheese sandwich) and you'll be able to make a lunch of it.
reviewed
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Şark Kahvesi
The Şark's arched ceiling betrays its former existence as part of a bazaar street; years ago some enterprising kahveci (coffeehouse owner) walled up several sides and turned it into a cafe. Located on one of the bazaar's major thoroughfares, it's popular with both stallholders and tourists.
reviewed
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Nardis Jazz Club
Named after a Miles Davis track, this intimate venue near the Galata Tower is run by jazz guitarist Önder Focan and his wife Zuhal. Performers include gifted amateurs, local jazz luminaries and visiting international artists. It's small, so you'll need to book if you want a decent table.
reviewed
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Yeşil Ev Garden Bar/Café
Most of the bars in Cankurtaran are rowdy backpacker establishments, so the elegant rear courtyard of this historic hotel is a real oasis for those wanting a quiet drink. In spring flowers and blossom fill every corner; in summer the fountain and shady trees keep the temperature down; and in the cooler months a flower-filled conservatory provides shelter. The drinks are expensive, but as the old adage says, quality doesn’t come cheaply.
reviewed
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Babylon
İstanbul's pre-eminent live-music venue has been packing the crowds in since 1999 and shows no sign of losing its allure.The eclectic program often features big-name international music acts, particularly during the festival season. Most of the action occurs in the concert hall, but there's also a lounge with DJ. Book at Biletix or at the venue's box office.
reviewed
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Lale Bahçesi
In a sunken courtyard that was once part of the Süleymaniye külliye, this charming outdoor teahouse is always full of students from the nearby theological college and İstanbul University, who come here to sit on cushioned seats under trees and relax while watching the pretty fountain. It's one of the cheapest places in the area to enjoy a çay and nargile.
reviewed
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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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Yeni Marmara
This is the genuine article: a neighbourhood teahouse frequented by backgammon-playing regulars who slurp tea and puff on nargiles. The place has loads of character, featuring rugs, wall hangings and fasıl music on the CD player. In winter a wood stove keeps the place cosy; in summer patrons sit on the rear terrace, which overlooks the Sea of Marmara.
reviewed
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Jazz Café
Established by Mete Gurman and Cengiz Sanlı in 1982, this mellow two-storey place is one of the city’s original jazz joints and is bathed in mood lighting. Great local jazz musicians such as Bülent Ortaçgil come here to perform to 30-something jazzheads, and musicians from other genres also feature – funk/acid or blues are played Tuesday to Thursday, for instance. In summer, the club decamps to Bodrum.
reviewed
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Hazzo Pulo Çay Bahçesi
There aren't as many traditional teahouses in Beyoğlu as there are on the Historic Peninsula, so this picturesque cobbled courtyard full of makeshift stools and tables is beloved of local 20-somethings. Order from the waiter and then pay at the small cafe near the narrow arcade entrance. The next-door cafe Grand Boulevard offers more of the same.
reviewed
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Ilesam Lokalı
This club in the courtyard of the Koca Sinan Paşa Medrese was formed by the enigmatically named Professional Union of Owners of the Works of Science & Literature. Fortunately, members seem happy for strangers to infiltrate their ranks. After entering the gate to Koca Sinan Paşa’s tomb, go past the cemetery – it’s the second teahouse to the right.
reviewed
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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