Istanbul Restaurants

Galata House

#4 of 471 things to do in Istanbul

#4 of 12768 restaurants in Europe

4 reviews | Write a review

Good for: Unique atmosphere, Hingali, good food, atmosphere, food

  • Address
    • Galata Kulesi Sokak 61 Galata
  • Transport
    • Karaköy
  • Website
  • Phone
    • 212 245 1861
  • Price
    • starters TL10-12, mains TL15-19
  • Hours
    • noon-midnight Tue-Sun

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Lonely Planet review for Galata House

This would have to be one of the most eccentric restaurants in town. Run by the utterly charming husband-and-wife team of Nadire and Mete Göktuğ, it is housed in the Old British Jail, just down from Galata Tower. The jail functioned from 1904 to 1919, and has been sympathetically but comfortably restored by Mete, who is one of İstanbul’s most prominent heritage architects. Nadire uses recipes handed down from her Georgian mother to concoct great comfort food – the hingali (meat-filled dumplings in tomato sauce) are absolutely delicious. She also plays the piano for guests.

 

Traveller reviews for Galata House (4)

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    Perfect

    lovelytrip recommends this,

    I went to this place on last Wednesday as in Lonely Planet recommendation, it was raining, ring the bell and the owner welcomed us. The place is small but cozy. We ordered dolma as an appetizer, the best dolma I ever had so far, followed by hingali and verniki as main course. Both are good. I like it. Not too heavy for dinner. We had a dried Turkish wine, Kalecik Karasi. It was good. We enjoyed the food much.

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    One of the best restaurants in Istanbul

    bbarati recommends this,

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    We went to this restaurant based on lonelyplanet recommendations and we liked it alot. Though the address is a bit tricky and the locals may mislead you, but it's worth a try.
    Nadire plays the piano beautifully. I really enjoyed it.

    Good for: Unique atmosphere, Hingali

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    Lovely restaurant!

    jrun recommends this,

    The restaurant is not that big and looks like a normal house. The hosts are genuinely nice. Nadire did play the piano indeed. If you are looking for a getaway from the typical tourist restaurants and would like some nice time in a nice environment I would absolutely recommend this. It was at my last evening that I had dinner here and I'm really glad I did!

    Good for: good food, Unique atmosphere

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    charming and tasty

    danvan recommends this,

    We stopped by this place early on a rainy Thursday and were able to sit down right away. Our food was excellent and the hosts were great. We chatted with them for a while. They played a recording of Nadire singing and playing the piano. We heard that she actually plays/sings live at other times, but the recording was nice too. The decor was charming. We were able to sit in a bay window and look out onto the street and up at Galata Tower.

    I had the hingali, plus the russian beet salad. Both were excellent. Joe liked his dish too, but I can't remember what it was now. Sorry. I highly recommend this place for both the food and the atmosphere. It's definitely one of my fondest memories of Istanbul.

    Good for: atmosphere, food, service

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