Anyone
who doubts the central role of food in Turkish culture need
only visit Topkapi Palace and take a look at the kitchens. They
are vast. Or read down a list of types of food specialists hired
to please the sultan's palate. It has been said that food was
the demise of the Ottoman empire as successive sultans became
too fond of their stomachs and lost all their appetite for war
and conquest.
As the Ottomans once controlled the entire eastern Mediterranean
basin, imperial chefs were able to raid the ingredients and
cuisines of Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Levant
for the inspiration. A continual quest for imperaial approval
also played its role in the creative and sometimes enigmatic
names of dishes such as 'the imam fainted' ( an aubergine dish
), 'lady's lips' ( pastry in thick syrup ), 'slit stomach' (
aubergine staffed with mince meat ) and 'ladies thighs' ( battered,
fried meatballs ).
The 'indigeonus' cuisine encountered in Istanbul today is simplified
palace food that long ago made its way outside of the imperial
quarters and into common kitchens.
WHERE TO EAT
Istanbul eats in time with the rest of Europe; breakfast in
the morning, lunch around 1 p.m. and dinner sometime after 6
p.m. in the evening. While lunch tends to be taken on the run
these days, often at cafeteria-type places, dinner is as much
about social interaction as sustenance.
Meals tend to be long, drawn-out affairs where the food and
drink are secondary to conversation and company. It's not uncommon
to take a seat at 8 p.m. and still be at the table long gone
midnight.
One of the most pleasurable ways of Turkish dining is to feast
on 'Meze' ( hors d'oeuvre ). At many restaurants a tray or cart
is brought over from which choices are made and transferred
to the table. Portions are small so you can order a great many
and get to taste wide variety of dishes in one sitting.
It's quiet acceptable to just stick with meze, calling the waiter
and his tray back to your table throughout the evening and never
ordering any mains. Typical meze are salads, yogurt-based dishes,
aubergine and other vegetable purees, chopped liver, vegetables
stuffed with rice, white cheese, beans, anchovies, calamari
and other seafoods. Best places for meze munching are meyhanes,
the traditional folksy taverna-type restaurants. These are heavily
concentrated in Beyoglu and over in the fish-rich Kumkapi district.
Another Istanbul dining experience is Ottoman. Various restaurants
serve traditional 'palace' cuisine that can trace an ancestry
back to the Topkapi kitchens. Most overtrade on the heritage
angle when it comes to décor, but the food can be exceptional
and some dishes are rarely found anywhere outside western Turkey.
As for kebabs, despite the high profile of the 'Doner' abroad,
where the revolving spit of meat is better known symbol of Turkey
than its national flag, it is possible to stay in Istanbul and
never touch a piece of grilled lamb once. Though that would
be a shame.
Istanbul's extensive coastline means that fish features strongly
on local menus. Traiditionally, the place to head is Kumkapi,
on the coast road south-west of Sultanahmet. It is a cluster
of small restaurants with pavement seating, typically frequented
by large parties of Turks looking for a good night out. It's
brash and loud and fun if you're in the mood. For a superior
fish experience head up to Yenikoy on the Bosphorus or Kanlica.
Listings
for fish restaurants
BEBEK BALIKCI
90-212-2633447
Cevdet Pasa Cad. 123 Bebek ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 00.00
DOGAN RESTAURANT
90-212-5172280
Kumkapi ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 11.00 / 02.00
GARAJ RESTAURANT
90-212-262 0474
Kefelikoy Cad. 30 Tarabya ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 00.00
ISMET BABA
90-216-333 1232
Kuzguncuk Iskelesi Yani Kuzguncuk ISTANBUL
12.00 / 23.30
Only recently has international cuisine
moved out of a five-star setting and into the popular dining
scene. It remains an upmarket option and other than in its
fast-food incarnation.
Listings
for trendy international restaurants
CHEFS
90-212-258 4407/10
Yildiz Cad. 6 Besiktas ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 15.00 - 15.00 / 19.00
BRASSSERIE D'OEF
90-212-230 3868
Bronz Sokak 5, Macka ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 04.00
MEZZALUNA
90-212-231 3142
Abdi Ipekci Cad. 38 / 1 Nisantasi ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 15.30 - 19.00 / 23.30
PAPER MOON
90-212-282 1616
Akmerkez Etiler ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 00.30
PUCCI ISTANBUL
90-212-293 6732
Inonu Cad. 30 Gumussuyu ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 02.00
Meat is part of most Turkish meals, but
not typically the centerpiece. It normally comes minced, stuffed
in vegetables or pastry, or chopped and diced as one of many
meze. Steaks, fillets and roasts don't feature in the Turkish
kitchen. Instead, when Istanbulites want meat, they head to
dedicated meat restaurants such as the kebapci, kofteci (
specializing in spiced ground meat made into balls and grilled
on a skewer ), ocakbasi ( a restaurant with an open grill
for skewered meat ) or iskembeci ( tripe ).
Listing
for kebab and kofte houses
BEYTI
90-212-663 2990
Orman Sokak 8, Florya ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 11.30 / 00.00
DEVELI
90-212-263 2571
Tepecik Yolu 22, Etiler ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 11.30 / 00.00
As coffee-drinking habits have changed,
so too have attitudes to alcohol. Turks may be Muslims but
they've always enjoyed the alcoholic buzz. In times past,
few Muslims would risk being accused of encouraging other
Koran-fearing types to drink, so the sale of liquor was entrusted
to Istanbul's Christian Greeks. They ran the city's meyhanes,
where meze provided excuses for round after round of raki,
the local aniseed spirit. Times change. Meyhanes are still
a vital part of the scene but it's no longer necessary to
excuse the booze with a plate of feta cheese and bread.
Traditionally associated with getting absolutely wrecked on
raki, the local anise-based alcohol, meyhanes are not
the place for quite romantic dining. Drinking and music are
as much as a part of the package as the food - reflected in
the common practice of charging a set price that covers the
meal, all drinks and entertaintment. Favorites with the locals
for birthdays and other ripping loose celebrations, meyhanes
are definite good-time dining.
Listings
for popular meyhanes
KALLAVI 20
90-212-251 1010
Kallavi Sok. 20, Beyoglu ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 18.00
REFIK
90-212-243 2834
Asmalimescit Sofyali Sok. 10, Tunel ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 00.00
YAKUP
90-212-249 2925
Asmalimescit Sokak 35/37, Tunel ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 19.00 / 01.00
ZARIFI
90-212-293 5480
Cukurcesme Sok. 15, Beyoglu ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 19.00 / 04.00
Ottoman refers to the elaborate dishes that
originated in the kitchens of sultan's palace, mixing rice,
fruit and vegetables with meat and the massive variety of
fish that comes from Turkey's three surroundings seas. It's
a broad cuisine and hard to define, but the common element
is a decadent richness. Take, for example, 'Tavuk Gogsu',
a delicate sweet pastry filled with a cream made from thinly
shredded chicken breast, pulverized almonds and vanilla. This
is a cuisine of excess.
Listing
for Ottoman cuisines
ASITANE
90-212-534 8414
Kariye Oteli, Edirnekapi ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 23.00
HACI ABDULLAH
90-212-293 8561
Sakizaga Cad. 17, Beyoglu ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 22.30
PANDELI
90-212-527 3909
Misir Carsisi 1, Eminonu ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 11.30 / 17.00
SOFRA LONDON RESTAURANT
90-212-297 2178/79
Tarlabasi Cad. 36, Taksim ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 12.00 / 23.00
Tipping
& Reservations
Tipping is expected. Ten per cent is generally
sufficient. In high end places, tipping is expected in addition
to the added service charges. Reservations are normally a
must on Friday and Saturday evenings, but also recommended
during the week days for certain places.
The Turks must be wondering what's going
on. Cappuccino, latte, frappe, decaf… What is all this?
Lukewarm, fluffy, milky, watered-down travesties of the hard-edged
bitter beverage that the Ottoman empire first introduced to
Europe, and hence America, in the 17th century, But then coffee,
Turkish style is something of an acquired taste.
While the Western coffee chains have yet
to arrive - and long may they keep their distance - the last
decade has seen the continued demise of traditional coffeehouse
culture in a favour of a cornucopia of more cosmopolitan cafes
keeping pace with all the new-fangled caffeine fads. For the
modern Istanbulite, true Turkish coffee has been relegated
to the status of a post-prandial sip.
Cafe
Listings
ARMANI CAFÉ
90-212-224 4477
Macka Caddesi 35, Tesvikiye ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 10.00 / 02.00
ASHRAM
90-212-287 5041
Manolya Sokak 18, Bebek ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 10.00 / 02.00
ASSSK CAFÉ
90-212-265 4734
Muallim Naci Caddesi 170 A, Kurucesme ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 09.00 / 21.00
BEBEK KORU KAHVESI
90-212-287 5607
Cevdet Pasa Caddesi 120, Bebek ISTANBUL
Visa Accepted. 09.00 / 23.00
When a tentative first few Western-style
bar-cafes opened for business in the 1990's, they triggered
a revolution in the city's social life; it suddenly got one.
Twenty years ago the option of going out to drink without
having to dine simply did not exist. Now, a single sidestreet
off Istiklal Caddesi can be crammed with so many continental
cafes, dive bars, folk music joints, techno clubs and wine
bars that if you attempted to have a drink in each one you'd
pass out before you got halfway.
Istanbul's club scene is not what you'd
call venerable. It kicked off in 1994 when Club 20 decided
to stop playing top 40 hits and start doing something more
interesting. It's been a slow build since, but the number
of clubs is steadily growing, with one-offs and open-air parties
adding welcome diversity to the scene. People tend to move
around the clubbing circuit and dance floor as individuals
rather than in a clique. The positive side of this is that
clubbers, and Turkish people in general, are open to meeting
new faces.
To the outsider, the clubber crowd in Istanbul
may appear somewhat 'cool'. Don't expect people to go wild
on dancefloor - mass passion is reserved for the city's football
stadiums. For this reason, whistles are considered in bad
taste and not appreciated.
House and techno predominate, and there's
some trance. Hip hop and drum 'n' bass don't have much of
a following: about the only place they feature- and then only
on a very occasional basis - is at Babylon. Local DJs are
regularly supplemented by top names from clubs abroad; Derrick
May, Kenny Larkin, MrC, Darren Emerson, MJCole, Dimitri, Paul
Oakenfold, Talvin Singh and Roni Size have all recently guested
in Istanbul.
Most clubs live short lives, as clubbers
ruthlessly abandon them for the next new thing. Clubs open
up, run for about a year, and disappear without trace. Ministry,
Millennium, Airport, Taxim Night Park, High End and the legendary
Hangar 2019 - all briefly seen then gone gone gone.
Istanbul clubbing flourishes from October
to May, as most serious party-goers migrate south in summer
to party in hot spots like Bodrum and Antalya. Before summer
1999, there were no restrictions on club closing hours, so
it was possible to party through to breakfast time. However,
in August of that year, a new law passed requiring all entertainment
venues, including cafes and bars to close by 4 a.m. Since
then, after-hours events and parties just don't happen. Even
so, Istanbul's clubs don't get full before 1 a.m. Prior to
hitting the dancefloor, people usually go to bars or so-called
'pre-clubs'. On a typical night, Istanbul clubbers take in
two or more venues.
Getting around Istanbul late at night is
no problem. Taxis are plentiful, and around 2 a.m. there's
more of them on the streets than there are people. Usually
clubs have a string of them waiting outside at the kerb.
WHERE TO EAT
