What's the food culture in Istanbul?

Istanbul's breakfast — kahvaltı — is not a meal, it's a negotiation with a table that won't stop growing. At Van Kahvaltı Evi in Cihangir, a serpme kahvaltı (spread breakfast) runs about 400–500 TRY per person ($9–11) and arrives as fifteen to twenty small plates: beyaz peynir (white cheese aged in brine), kaymak (clotted cream thick enough to stand a spoon in) drizzled with chestnut honey, sucuklu yumurta (eggs scrambled with spiced beef sausage in a copper pan still hissing when it lands), olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and bread baked that morning. The whole thing takes ninety minutes minimum. Nobody rushes. If you try to eat kahvaltı in thirty minutes, the waiter will look at you like you've insulted his mother. Weekend tables at popular spots like Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu in Beşiktaş fill by 10am — arrive by 9:30 or expect to wait on the sidewalk.

The street food economy runs on simit sellers and kokoreç carts. Simit — sesame-crusted bread rings, chewier than a bagel, sold from glass carts on every major corner — costs 10–15 TRY (about $0.30). That's breakfast for half the working population. Kokoreç is the one that divides visitors: lamb intestines chopped on a flat griddle with tomatoes and green peppers, stuffed into half a loaf, 80–120 TRY. The most-mentioned cart seems to be near the Karaköy ferry terminal, though it tends to move. Balık ekmek (grilled mackerel sandwich) at the Eminönü waterfront boats costs around 120–150 TRY — the fish comes off the grill still smoking, dressed with raw onion and lettuce, and the salt air off the Golden Horn mixes with the charcoal smell in a way that makes eating indoors feel wrong. Mind you, the boats are tourist-facing and the bread can go stale by afternoon. Locals tend to get their fish sandwich from the Karaköy side instead.

The kebab situation requires some sorting out. The döner shops in Sultanahmet and along İstiklal Caddesi are, to be fair, mostly serving reheated meat shaved from a spit that's been turning since morning. For proper kebab, cross to the Asian side. Çiya Sofrası in Kadıköy — run by Musa Dağdeviren, who's been collecting Anatolian recipes for decades — serves regional dishes you won't find anywhere else in the city: lamb neck stewed with quince, kebabs from Adana and Urfa made with hand-minced meat, and seasonal specials chalked on a board by the door. A full plate runs 250–400 TRY ($5.50–9). In Fatih, Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabı does horizontal-spit lamb (cağ kebabı) that's fatty, smoky, and cut to order — 200–300 TRY for a portion with lavash and grilled peppers. Skip the carpet-shop-adjacent restaurants near the Grand Bazaar. They charge triple and the meat sits.

Dinner peaks around 8:30–9pm, and if you're doing it right at least once, you're sitting at a meyhane — a tavern built around rakı (anise spirit, cloudy when you add water) and meze plates ordered one wave at a time. Nevizade Sokak in Beyoğlu is the street for this: narrow, loud, tables jammed together, waiters carrying trays of cold meze above their heads. Asmalı Cavit and Boncuk are both solid. You'll start with acılı ezme (spicy tomato-walnut paste), haydari (thick yogurt with dill and mint), and midye tava (fried mussels with tarator sauce). Then grilled octopus or levrek (sea bass). The rakı goes in thin glasses with ice water on the side. A meyhane dinner for two with rakı runs 1,200–2,000 TRY ($27–45). Worth noting: meyhane etiquette means you don't order everything at once. Cold meze first, hot meze second, fish or meat third. The waiter will guide you if you let him.

For market eating, the Kadıköy fish market (Kadıköy Balık Pazarı) on the Asian side beats the Egyptian Spice Bazaar for actual food shopping. The spice bazaar still works for Turkish delight, dried fruits, and saffron if you bargain — but Kadıköy has fishmongers who'll grill your purchase on the spot, cheese shops where you can taste before buying, and pickle vendors with barrels of şalgam (turnip juice) sour enough to make your eyes water. Tuesday is the busiest day. On the European side, the Balat neighbourhood has been growing a breakfast and café scene along Vodina Caddesi — it currently leans trendy, but the food holds up. One practical note on food safety: Istanbul's street vendors turn over product fast, and the heat of the griddle or fryer does the work. The risk is likely lower than most visitors assume. Tap water, though — stick to bottled or filtered.