Döner kebab is a signature dish of Turkey; we have verified places to eat it in Istanbul. Marinated lamb or beef layered onto a vertical spit, slow-cooked beside charcoal until the outer layer crisps, sliced thin into bread or onto rice with yoghurt and grilled tomato. Start with where to eat Döner kebab in Istanbul.
Döner kebab · Istanbul
Marinated lamb or beef layered onto a vertical spit, slow-cooked beside charcoal until the outer layer crisps, sliced thin into bread or onto rice with yoghurt and grilled tomato.
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.
Where to eat in Istanbul:
- Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi
- Çiya Kebap
- Karaköy Lokantası
Where to eat Döner kebab in Istanbul: the editor picks