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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.
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Galata Konak Patisserie Café
After checking out the pastries and cakes on sale in the ground-floor patisserie, make your way up the stairs to the roof terrace cafe, where you can order anything that has taken your fancy downstairs or choose from a large and varied menu.
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Giritli
You'll find this restaurant tucked away in a deathly quiet corner of Cankurtaran. Serving top-notch Cretan seafood dishes, it's the type of place that polarises people - some don't mind the idea of paying this much money for a huge seafood set menu with alcohol included; others baulk at the idea and are affronted by the fact that the waiters can be very rude if you ask to order à la carte.
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Güney Restaurant
You'll be lucky if you can fight your way through the crowds of hungry locals to claim a lunchtime table at this bustling eatery directly opposite Galata Tower. Friendly waiters will set you up with a basket of fresh bread and point you towards the array of meze and hot dishes on offer. It's also a great place to grab a hearty bowl of çorba (soup) for breakfast.
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Hacı Abdullah
Just contemplating the sensational imam bayildi (the imam fainted) at Hacı Abdullah's makes our tastebuds go into overdrive. This İstanbul institution - it was established in 1888 - is probably the best lokanta in the city and is one of the essential gastronomic stops you should make when in town.
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Hafiz Mustafa Şekerlemeleri
If you walk up the steep staircase at the rear of this excellent börek, pastry and Turkish-delight shop, you'll find a tiny café secreted under the roof. Here locals eat all-day snacks of melt-in-your-mouth cheese börek, peppery ispanaklı börek (spinach börek) and delicious biscuits and sweet pastries, all washed down with tea and coffee. Breakfast will set you back a mere YTL2 or YTL3 .
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Hamdi Et Lokantasi
It's a hard call to make in a city with as many fabulous eateries as İstanbul, but if forced to list our top five Turkish restaurants, Hamdi would certainly be one of them. Its setting (on a rooftop with panoramic views across to Galata, down the Golden Horn and back to the Old İstanbul skyline) is wonderful, and its food is among the best in town.
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Havuzlu Restaurant
There are few more pleasant experiences than parking your shopping bags and enjoying a meal at the best eatery at the Grand Bazaar. A lovely space with a vaulted ceiling, pale lemon walls and an ornate central light fitting, Havuzlu serves up excellent fare to hungry hordes of tourists and shopkeepers.
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Havuzlu Restaurant
There are few more pleasant experiences than parking your shopping bags and enjoying a meal at the best eatery at the Grand Bazaar. A lovely space with a vaulted ceiling, pale lemon walls and an ornate central light fitting, Havuzlu serves up excellent fare to hungry hordes of tourists and shopkeepers.
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Helvetica Lokanta
This hip lokanta is popular with locals (particularly of the vegetarian variety), who pop in here for fresh, tasty and cheap-as-chips soups, salads and bean dishes. Start with a yogurt or tomato soup and follow up with your choice from the daily salads spread.
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Hıdiv Kasrı café
Choose from the simple menu at the charming café next to the rose garden or the more extensive choice in the grand dining room and adjoining marble terrace. The food is average but the surroundings are drop-dead gorgeous. No alcohol is served.
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House Café
This is İstanbul's hottest spot for Sunday brunch. A huge place right on the waterfront at Ortaköy, it offers a good-quality all-you-can-eat buffet spread for around YTL45 between and . The style here is casual chic and the clientele is young professional, though everyone will feel welcome.
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House Café
This stylish cafe would look equally at home in Soho, Seattle or Sydney. On the city's most happening street, its casual but chic interior is invariably packed with ladies lunching, young couples courting and businesspeople meeting over coffee. The food is international in flavour and execution; you can choose from a menu including sandwiches, pizzas, salads and light dishes such as Thai chicken noodle soup and a 'House burger' with wedges.
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House Of Medusa
Medusa's charming shaded courtyard beckons guests off Yerebatan Caddesi. It's a lovely spot to relax after a morning spent sightseeing, which is why we've included it here. The food's nothing special - acceptable executions of Turkish dishes such as kebaps and stews - but if you order a mixed meze plate and an ice-cold beer you'll be happy.
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İmren Lokantasi
We've eaten here many times and have always been the only non-Turk doing so (something that's bound to change now that we're listing it here). A neighbourhood lokanta with only five (shared) tables, it's a fab place to grab a delicious quick lunch. You can order a portion of döner kebap or choose from the range of hot dishes on offer - the guveć (stew) cooked in a terracotta pot is our favourite.
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İnci Pastanesi
A Beyoğlu institution, İnci is famous throughout the city for its delicious profiteroles. You'll have to fight through the crowds to reach the counter at this tiny shop but believe us, it's worth the effort.
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İstanbul Modern Cafe
A New York-style 'industrial arty' vibe and great views over the water to Sultanahmet, make the café at İstanbul's pre-eminent contemporary art museum a perfect place for lunch. Some dishes have a Turkish influence - try the grilled eggplant puree with aged parmesan cheese cracker - but most have an international flavour, with snacks such as chicken club sandwiches with caesar sauce, fries and mixed greens.
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Java Studio
Celebrating the 'fine art of coffee', this laid-back café in the shadow of the Blue Mosque is run by Canadian Jennifer Gaudet, who takes her beans and brews very seriously. You can choose from an extensive list of coffees, teas, milkshakes and lassis, accompanying your choice of tipple with a slice of freshly baked lemon poppy-seed cake or a chocolate brownie. There's comfortable seating, free wi-fi and a book exchange. A true traveller's haven.
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Kafe Ara
In the Beyoğlu popularity stakes one café stands head and shoulders above the rest - Kafe Ara. A converted garage with tables and chairs spilling out into a wide laneway opposite the Galatasaray Lycée, this is boho central, a casual and welcoming place where you can sample well-priced paninis, salads and pastas in a convivial atmosphere. There's no alcohol.
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Kanaat Lokantesi
This barn-like place near the ferry terminal has been serving up competent hazır yemek (bistro food) since 1933. It's recently been spruced up, and now has an understated but pleasing décor featuring framed photographs of old street scenes. Service is brusque but efficient and the food passes our 'do we want seconds?' test, but only just. There's a huge dessert list.
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Karadeniz Aile Pide Ve Kebap Salonu
This friendly place serves super-fresh soup, kebabs and pide . If you sit inside you'll be able to watch the cooks make your food; sit on the street tables and you'll have to put up with passers-by hungrily eying off your delicious-looking meal. Either way, you should order a karaşik (mixed) pide and prepare to enjoy a great cheap eat.
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Karaköy Güllüglu
This is a place where waistlines are destroyed and dentists get rich, but no-one cares because they're all sitting at the funky 1960s Arabesque-style outdoor seating and gobbling the best baklava in the city, washed down by tea or coffee. Utter bliss.
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Karaköyüm Café & Restaurant
The elegant lady owners will greet you personally when you enter this popular rooftop restaurant. Everyone in town knows the secret of the success here - put simply, the women in the kitchen are wonderful home-style cooks. Try Anatolian favourites such as the utterly delicious dürüm köfte ( köfte wrapped in pastry and served with yogurt and tomato sauce) and we're confident that you'll become an instant devotee.
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Konak
The waiters run rather than walk at this frantically busy place on İstiklal Caddesi. You'll understand why they're so busy as soon as you taste the sensational İskender kebap , the excellent yoğurtlu kebab and the melt-in-your-mouth pide. The setting is a cut above, too, with ornate gilded ceiling, chandeliers and banquettes covered in rich brocade.
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Konuk Evi
A secluded flower-filled garden and fairy-tale-like glass conservatory around the corner from Aya Sofya is waiting just for you. You'll find Konuk Evi one of the most relaxing places in the city to enjoy an al fresco lunch. Salads, burgers, sandwich and grills are all good value considering the surrounds.
