Istanbul for foodies

Best restaurants

Istanbul does not have a single dining scene; it has a dozen overlapping ones, split by peninsula and hill and hour. Sultanahmet's rooftops trade on the view of Hagia Sophia. Laleli feeds the traders who work the wholesale streets around Ordu Caddesi. Karaköy and Galata cook late, for the crowds spilling out of the Kuledibi bars, while the old Rum kitchens near the sea walls still turn out mezze the way Cretan grandmothers taught them. The list below stays close to the historic peninsula and the Beyoğlu side across the Horn, with two detours west toward Yeşilköy and one Indian counter that has quietly rewritten the neighbourhood's late-night rhythm. Skip the laminated-menu joints that line the tram route between Sultanahmet and the Grand Bazaar; the addresses here (a Terzihane rooftop, a Peykhane grill, a Yenigüvey courtyard) reward the fifteen extra minutes on foot. Bring cash for the small places, bring an appetite for the fish houses, and don't plan on eating before 13:00 at the ones that open then; the kitchens set their own tempo.