Café restaurants in Turkey
-
A
SOS & Sultan Restaurant & Café
A cheapish option that offers belly fuel rather than gourmet meals.
reviewed
-
B
Pierre Loti Café
After visiting the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, many visitors head north up the hill to the Pierre Loti Café, where the famous French novelist is said to have come for inspiration. Loti loved İstanbul, its decadent grandeur and the late-medieval customs of a society in decline. When he sat in this cafe, under a shady grapevine sipping tea, he saw a Golden Horn busy with caïques (long, thin rowboats), schooners and a few steam vessels. The water in the Golden Horn was still clean enough to swim in and the vicinity of the cafe was given over to pasture. The cafe that today bears his name offers views similar to the ones he must have enjoyed. It’s in a warren of streets on a prom…
reviewed
-
İncilipinar Sofrası
Hmm, will it be çoban salata (salad), altı ezmeli (a stew with tomato sauce served in a clay pot) or ali nazik (aubergine puree with yogurt and ground meat)? Set on the edge of a leafy park, this widely acclaimed venue serves savoury fare in seductively cosy rooms complete with cushions, low tables and old artefacts. It's also a good place to puff a nargileh (water pipe). Alas, it's not licensed - there's a mosque nearby.
reviewed
-
Asırlık Kanlıca Yoğurdu
Past the bridge, still on the Asian side, is the charming village of Kanlıca, famous for its rich and delicious yoghurt. You'll be offered some on the ferry and can sample it in the Asırlık Kanlıca Yoğurdu, a café on the shady waterfront village square. The small Gâzi İskender Paşa Camii in the square dates from 1560 and was designed by Sinan.
reviewed
-
C
Lokal
This place is popular with locals, who monopolise its tables for long breakfasts and lingering coffees. In warmer weather, the front of the space opens to Tünel Sq and provides great people-watching opportunities; when it’s cooler, the velvet-upholstered armchairs are the perfect place to curl up with a coffee and a newspaper. On Friday and Saturday night it functions as a club.
reviewed
-
D
Simorg Café
With its Orientalist interior (complete with carpets, old maps and portraits of sultans and their harems), this café makes a great place to recline and rest after a run around the bazaar. The 'coffee made in cup' is a speciality of the area as is the mantı (Turkish ravioli). There's live Turkish music on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 19:00 to 21:30.
reviewed
-
E
Ekim 29 Kafe-Bar-Restaurant
Set in a converted old house, this mellow place feels light years away from the grinding pace of Gaziler Caddesi and time-warps you back to the past century, with dark wood furniture, cushions and wooden beams. Foodwise, it focuses on simple meals, such as salads, chicken dishes, appetisers and grills. There's live music every evening. Yes, it's licensed!
reviewed
-
F
Cafe Nostalji
Lying 20m north of the post office, this gem of a place lies hidden down a side street off Bankalar Caddesi. With walls decorated with musical instruments and old records, it has a great atmosphere particularly at night. There's live Turkish music on Thursdays and Saturdays from 21:00 to midnight (to 02:00 in high season). Alcohol is not served.
reviewed
-
G
Café Carpouza
Housed in the 133-year-old former railway workers' lodging in the middle of a large green square, this is a cool, tranquil and relaxing place for breakfast, a beer or a cup of coffee, either on the veranda or inside the atmospheric building. Run by the municipality, prices are kept low; this place offers the best value in town.
reviewed
-
H
Çiğdem Pastanesi
Çiğdem Pastanesi has been serving locals since 1961, and it’s still going strong. The ay çöreğı (pastry with walnut, sultana and spice filling) is the perfect accompaniment to a cappuccino, and a cheese börek goes wonderfully well with a cup of tea or fresh juice.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
I
Yeşil Café
This friendly apple-green café-restaurant might not look like much until you get out onto the tiny balcony and realise you have the best views of the neon-lit twin minarets, like, ever. What's more, the menu's even enough to distract you from them, with pasta, schnitzel, grills and an actual choice of milkshakes.
reviewed
-
J
Bulvar Tavuk Döner
This central hole-in-the-wall would be a mere blip on busy İstasyon Caddesi, were it not for its well-executed chicken sandwiches and melt-in-your-mouth gözleme (savory pancakes). If the weather permits, grab one and walk down the street to the 100 Yıl Kültür Parkı.
reviewed
-
Büyükada Kültür Evi
Set up by the Turing Association in 1998, this garden cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in its terraced garden. Service can be desultory and the food’s not up to much, but it’s an undeniably pretty setting and a great spot for a morning glass of tea or a late-afternoon beer.
reviewed
-
K
Hıdiv Kasrı Café
Choose from the simple menu at the charming garden cafe or from 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.
reviewed
-
Sade Kahve
Cheap and cheerful it may well be, but this terrace cafe near the fortress of Europe is also a favourite weekend brunch spot for power-brokers, celebrities and their entourages. It serves soup and an array of sandwiches at lunch.
reviewed
-
L
Karameşe
If you fancy a cuppa, gözleme (savoury crêpe, or even a snooze in between the sightseeing, amid cool and verdant rambling gardens, pop into the Karameşe across the road from the mosque.
reviewed
-
M
Café Naturel
There are a number of cafés and patisseries on the main square where you can grab an outdoor table, order a drink and watch the world go by. If you're after coffee or alcohol, try Café Naturel.
reviewed
-
N
Bursa Hakimevi
It's taken a while, but this restored Ottoman house on the edge of the Culture Park has finally reopened in tastefully low-key restaurant form. The menu's unchallenging but the garden terrace is perfect.
reviewed
-
O
Millet Hanı
A pleasant venue. Where else could you sip a cup of tea or sup a soup in a five-century-old converted caravanserai? The whole experience is a bit marred by the gaudy beach umbrellas in the courtyard.
reviewed
-
P
Café Sera
This big, open-air café in front of the Selimiye Camii is a great place to sit out by the fountains and watch the people coming and going, with the added benefit of being above street level.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Q
Seven-Kazak Konağı
It's not on the river and the basement can get almost rowdy without the calming influence of daylight, but one look at the walled courtyard and you won't want to sip tea anywhere else.
reviewed
-
R
Tuvana Café
Discreetly mounted on the 1st floor of a restored house, this quietly chic café-restaurant show some ambition in its dishes and some class in its presentation.
reviewed
-
S
Yemek
Across the road from Anzac House, Yemek is a straightforward all-hours outlet for kebap, pide and cafeteria meals, with inside and outside seating for all seasons.
reviewed
-
T
Güleryüz Lokantası
The tiniest but most characterful of the row of cheap eateries down the street next to the PTT, with pictures for anyone having menu difficulties.
reviewed
-
U
Tunca Café
This inviting, wood-filled tea garden is set round a duck pond facing Kadın Kakları Parkı (Women's Rights Park).
reviewed
