Simit is a signature dish of Turkey; we have verified places to eat it in Istanbul. Istanbul's circular sesame-encrusted bread ring, dipped in pekmez (grape molasses) before being baked to a deep crust. Start with where to eat Simit in Istanbul.
Simit · Istanbul
Istanbul's circular sesame-encrusted bread ring, dipped in pekmez (grape molasses) before being baked to a deep crust. Sold from vendor poles across the city; the universal Istanbul breakfast snack with cay.
Simit has been baked in Istanbul since at least the 16th century, with documented Ottoman bakery records of the ring-shaped sesame bread. The pekmez (grape molasses) dip before baking is the canonical Istanbul technique, giving the distinctive deep brown crust and slight sweetness. Today simit is sold across the city from the red wooden poles of street vendors and at Borsam Taşfırın, Karaköy bakeries and the morning counters of every meyhane and breakfast room. The ring is the affordable everyday Istanbul snack.
Where to eat in Istanbul:
- Borsam Taşfırın
- Borsam Taşfırın Kadıköy
- Tarihi Hocapaşa Pidecisi
- Karaköy Lokantası
Where to eat Simit in Istanbul: the editor picks