Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi ★ 4.1
Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi on Divanyolu, the 1920 charcoal-grill bench where four köfte, a piyaz, a soup and an ayran still come in under 280 lira.
Try: Köfte and piyaz plate
History
Döner kebab was invented in 19th-century Bursa by Iskender Efendi's grandfather, who turned the horizontal grilled kebab vertical to capture rendering fat. The Istanbul cooks refined the technique through the 20th century: today the canonical Istanbul döner uses thinly sliced and pounded lamb leg layered with fat between sheets, marinated in onion juice, milk and spice. Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi, Çiya Kebap and the Karaköy Lokantası lineup all serve the city's reference döner.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1.5kg boneless lamb leg, sliced 5mm thin against the grain
- 300g lamb tail fat (kuyrukyağı), thinly sliced
- For the marinade: 2 large onions grated and the juice squeezed (use juice only)
- 200ml whole milk
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- For serving: 6 large Turkish flatbreads (lavaş), 6 ripe tomatoes grilled or roasted, 2 long green peppers grilled, 200g full-fat plain yoghurt seasoned with garlic and salt, 1 large onion sliced and tossed with sumac, parsley, butter
Method
- Whisk all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the sliced lamb and turn to coat. Refrigerate 24 hours.
- On a vertical spit (kitchen-equipped) or two long flat skewers, build the döner: alternate 2 to 3 layers of marinated lamb with a layer of tail fat, pressing each layer down firmly. Continue until you have a tight cone shape around 25cm tall.
- Hold the spit vertically beside a hot charcoal-grill arrangement (or under a high broiler, rotating slowly). Cook 60 to 90 minutes total, slicing the cooked exterior off with a long sharp knife every 10 to 15 minutes as it browns.
- Continue cooking the remaining lamb as you slice; keep the sliced meat warm.
- Warm the lavaş flatbreads briefly over the grill. Grill the tomatoes and peppers alongside until charred.
- For döner servings on rice or bread: layer the sliced meat with grilled tomato, pepper, sumac onion and parsley. Drizzle melted butter (the rendered fat from the spit ideally) over.
- Serve with the garlic yoghurt and a glass of ayran on the side.
Tip from the editors. A real döner is a vertical-spit cooking technique; horizontal grilling gives kebab-style results.
Where to eat döner kebab
Döner kebab in Istanbul
Çiya Kebap ★ 4.4
Çiya Kebap, the original 1987 sister to Çiya Sofrası on the opposite side of Güneşlibahçe in Kadıköy market, fires kebabs, lahmacun and pide from a single.
Signature: Pistachio kebap, Lahmacun, Pide
Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5
The teal-tiled Karaköy Lokantası, Bib Gourmand listed in the Michelin Guide, runs an Ottoman-leaning lunch lokanta downstairs and a meyhane upstairs at night.
Signature: Lakerda, Hünkar beğendi, Lamb shank
More cities are in research. Want döner kebab covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.