Lamb intestine wrapped around skewered offal (heart, lung, kidney, sweetbread), grilled over charcoal until crisp outside, chopped on a hot board with oregano, tomato and chilli, stuffed into bread.
Kokoreç entered Istanbul's late-night street-food scene from the Balkans and Asia Minor in the early 20th century, with the canonical operators clustering around Şampiyon Kokoreç on Beyoglu's pedestrian arteries from 1977. The dish is a regulated Turkish PDO product: only lamb intestine over 24cm in length and meeting strict cleaning protocols qualifies. Şampiyon Kokoreç, Karaköy late-night counters and the Beyoğlu after-midnight stands serve the canonical version.
3 editor picks for Kokoreç in Istanbul, ranked by editorial score. All Istanbul signature dishes · Kokoreç across every city.
Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5
karaköy · Kemankeş Mah., Kemankeş Caddesi No:57, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
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.
Şampiyon Kokoreç ★ 4.3
beyoğlu · Hüseyinağa Mah., Sahne Sokak No:21, 34435 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Şampiyon Kokoreç on Sahne Sokak, the 1962 Beyoğlu kokoreççi shaving spiced grilled lamb intestine into sandwich bread for the late-night Balık Pazarı crowd.
Asmalı Cavit ★ 4.3
beyoglu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Asmalı Mescit Caddesi No:16/D, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Asmalı Cavit on Asmalı Mescit Caddesi, a 1990s-opened Beyoğlu meyhane where proprietor Cavit Bey works the room nightly over a mezze list led by smoked.