13 cafe rooms in Istanbul we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Istanbul | Cafe across every city.

Coffee in Istanbul holds two traditions at once: the thick, unfiltered Turkish cup and a younger speciality-roasting scene. For the old style, Mandabatmaz off Istiklal in Beyoğlu pulls a famously dense brew, while the modern wave gathers in Cihangir around Kronotrop and Geyik Coffee Roastery. Karaköy has become a roastery district of its own, with Karabatak set in a quiet courtyard, and Petra Roasting Co. carries the speciality flag up in Nişantaşı.

Mandabatmaz ★ 4.7

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beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Olivya Geçidi No:1A, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Mandabatmaz in Beyoğlu's Olivya Passage, a 1967 single-room Turkish coffee bar whose foamy cup is the standard against which the rest of Istanbul is measured.

Karabatak Karaköy ★ 4.4

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karaköy · Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mah., Kara Ali Kaptan Sokak No:7, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Karabatak in Karaköy, a high-ceilinged ex-metal-workshop cafe pouring Austrian Julius Meinl espresso and salep across two floors below Galata.

Kronotrop Cihangir ★ 4.5

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cihangir · Kuloğlu Mah., Firuzağa Cami Sokak No:2/B, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Kronotrop in Cihangir across from Firuzağa Mosque, Turkey's first specialty micro-roastery, brewing Chemex and V60 on the La Marzocco Strada it imported.

Sade Kahve ★ 4.5

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sarıyer · Rumeli Hisarı Mah., Yahya Kemal Caddesi No:20, 34470 Sarıyer, İstanbul

Sade Kahve below the Rumeli Hisarı fortress walls, where Turkish coffee gets brewed slow over hot ash and an all-day kahvaltı spread spills.

Privato Cafe ★ 4.2

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beyoğlu · Şahkulu Mah., Galip Dede Caddesi, Tımarcı Sokak No:3/B, 34421 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Privato Cafe on a Galata side-lane, a mismatched-crockery breakfast hall with Galata Tower views, doing one of the city's better all-day Turkish breakfast.

Van Kahvaltı Evi ★ 4.4

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cihangir · Kılıçali Paşa Mah., Defterdar Yokuşu No:52/A, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Van Kahvaltı Evi in Cihangir, an all-day breakfast room serving the dense herb-and-cheese spread of Turkey's east, kaymak with honey and otlu peynir.

Kahve Dünyası Nuruosmaniye ★ 3.8

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fatih · Mollafenari Mah., Nuruosmaniye Caddesi No:79, 34110 Fatih, İstanbul

Kahve Dünyası beside the Grand Bazaar's Nuruosmaniye gate, the Turkish coffee chain's polished flagship where sand-brewed cups arrive with a square.

Kronotrop ★ 4.6

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cihangir · Kuloğlu Mah., Firuzağa Cami Sokak No:2/B, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Kronotrop in Cihangir, the country's first micro-roastery, opened on a Firuzağa corner with the first La Marzocco Strada in Turkey and a tight East-African.

Petra Roasting Co. ★ 4.4

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nişantaşı · Teşvikiye Mah., Prof. Dr. Orhan Ersek Sokak No:17, 34367 Şişli, İstanbul

Petra Roasting Co. in Nişantaşı, a third-wave roaster set inside an art gallery hung with antique Mercedes parts, brewing single-origin pour-overs.

Karabatak Roastery ★ 4.3

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karaköy · Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mah., Kara Ali Kaptan Sokak No:7, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Karabatak in Karaköy, a converted metal-workshop cafe-roastery pouring imported Julius Meinl beans alongside its own house roasts in the old port quarter.

Geyik Coffee Roastery ★ 4.3

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cihangir · Kılıçali Paşa Mah., Akarsu Yokuşu No:22/A, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Geyik on Akarsu Yokuşu, a Cihangir double-shift roastery doing single-origin specialty by day and a cocktail bar at night, run by Turkish barista champion.

Kahve Dünyası ★ 3.7

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fatih · Mollafenari Mah., Nuruosmaniye Caddesi No:79, 34110 Fatih, İstanbul

Kahve Dünyası at the Grand Bazaar's Nuruosmaniye gate, the Turkish coffee-chain flagship serving sand-brewed kahve, chocolate beans and house espresso.

Mandabatmaz ★ 4.6

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beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Olivya Geçidi No:1A, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul

Mandabatmaz, the 1967 family-run Beyoğlu coffee bar in Olivya Geçidi, whose copper-cezve Turkish coffee is brewed so thick the cup is said to hold a water.