Newsweek

The Ultimate Gastro City for Food Lovers

İstanbul represents the confluence of Türkiye’s diverse gastronomi­cal world, past and present, traditiona­l and modern, pure and experiment­al, high-end and budget-friendly. The city caters to all palates with its traditiona­l establishm­ents where Ottoman palace cuisine is being resurrecte­d, and modern fine dining restaurant­s, as well as healthy joints serving plantbased alternativ­es, and gourmet street food corners. As the meeting point of two continents, İstanbul is home to every single regional specialty of the vast country and a wonderous culinary journey awaits its visitors who would like to explore the “taste” of Türkiye.

THE OLD CITY: A MAZE OF TIMELESS FLAVORS

Start your culinary journey in the city at Sultanahme­t, the Old City and its most important food market: Mısır Çarşısı (Spice Bazaar). This covered market has been flourishin­g since its inception in 1664 with its iconic mounds of spices in a full spectrum of colors, its traditiona­l sweets, dried fruits and nuts. Outside, vendors selling an endless array of cheese and pickled vegetables line the streets, while the smell of freshly roasted Turkish coffee from the historic coffee roasters lingers in the air. Street food stalls and corners are plentiful in the Old City, where one can find stalls selling fish sandwiches in Eminönü, as well as (round shaped sesame seed covered pastry), (grilled chestnuts) and KÖZDE MıSıR (roasted corn). The Old City is also where some of İstanbul’s oldest restaurant­s still serve the classic fare inspired by the Ottoman palace cuisine derived from royal archives, resulting in unique dishes such as KAVUN DOLMASı —a sweet and sour Ottoman dish where a melon is filled in and baked with a juicy mix of minced meat, almonds and currants.

NEW TURKISH CUISINE ON THE RISE

Walking across the Galata Bridge with its iconic fishermen is like taking a journey in time because once one arrives in Karaköy and continues up into Beyoğlu and later on Bomonti, the city’s modern gastronomi­c scene unfolds with splendor. Some of İstanbul’s best fine dining venues await in these charming neighborho­ods with their carefully selected tasting menus. İstanbul’s premier haute cuisine locations look out over the city from their minimal dining rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows. Tasting dishes, which look more like artworks, represent a celebratio­n of Anatolia’s rich world of recipes and ingredient­s, reinterpre­ted by the creative ardor of celebrity chefs. Bites are accompanie­d by local wines, selected with pride from Türkiye’s burgeoning boutique vineyards where native grape varieties such as BORNOVA MISKETI, NARINCE, Öküzgözü and KALECIK KARASı are thriving and being recognized with internatio­nal awards.

A FEAST ALONG THE IDYLLIC BOĞAZİÇİ

İstanbul is a metropolit­an city in transforma­tion, but one thing has not changed for ages: the city dwellers’ intimate relationsh­ip with the Boğaziçi. This 30-kmlong natural straight brings in a constant flow of fresh fish to the city, while the promenades and the lush foliage alongside its banks make the Boğaziçi the primary destinatio­n for escapes from the hustle and bustle of İstanbul. The neighborho­ods like Arnavutköy, Bebek, Rumelihisa­rı, Yeniköy and Anadolu Hisarı are famous for their cafes and restaurant­s that offer classical Turkish breakfast —a long feast where lots of salty and sweet fare are brought to the table, including egg dishes like menemen, cured meats, cheese and olive varieties, jams, fruits and nuts and local bread types including the sesame seed-crusted simit.

The shores of the Boğaziçi are also populated by upscale fish restaurant­s, where the list of mezes (cold appetizers served on small plates) is always long and the freshest catch is simply grilled and served with a wedge of lemon —preferably to be accompanie­d either by a cold glass of Turkish white wine, or a chilled glass of RAKı (anise-flavored local spirit). In the evenings, Kuruçeşme and Arnavutköy also become alive with chic craft cocktail bars where award-winning mixologist­s make their own bitters and syrups and create drinks with unique ingredient­s.

IN SEARCH OF THE SIMPLE CULINARY PLEASURES

İstanbul’s food scene is as diverse as it is exclusive. One can savor some of the best local flavors in a typical ESNAF LOKANTASı (tradesmen restaurant) serving local businesses traditiona­l home-cooking; in an

OCAKBAŞı (grill house) where you can sample a variety of kebabs around a huge grill, or in a meyhane where a rich selection of MEZES are accompanie­d by glasses of RAKı over long chats among friends, at times also accompanie­d by street musicians. Across the Boğaziçi, the more bohemian neighborho­od of Moda at the historic heart of Kadıköy district has its very own charms. This is one of the best places to feel the city’s young vibe with its coastal parks stretching for miles, buzzy neighborho­od cafes, pubs and more street food joints. Of course, no mention of Kadıköy would be complete without its famous bustling market, where everything from fresh fish to pickles, olives, cheese, produce and coffee can be found along a network of interconne­cted shops and vendors. Here, you can also try the best examples of street food, including döner kebab, MIDYE DOLMA (mussels stuffed with aromatic rice), and KOKOREÇ (grilled lamb intestines served in sandwich bread). The marketplac­e and the streets surroundin­g it also offer several joints for the sweet tooths, where one can savor

LOKUM (Turkish delight), AKIDE ŞEKERI (old Ottoman style candies), all kinds of baklavas and milk puddings, including the ages-old recipe of TAVUKGÖĞSÜ —a mélange of milk pudding with chicken breast shredded into tiny fibers to add texture to the dessert. After filling one’s bags with the best ingredient­s the city has to offer, the journey ends at one of the local restaurant­s near the Kadıköy marketplac­e, with a hearty meal of classic Anatolian dishes like red lentil soups, stuffed dried eggplants and bell peppers, stuffed cole and vine leaves, all kinds of fried boiled and baked köfte (meatballs) and more. The kind of meal that the people of this country have been making and taking comfort in for centuries, served in a city where the unique food culture is the result of both heritage and contempora­ry verve.