Shredded kataifi pastry layered over melted Hatay cheese, baked golden in a copper pan, soaked in lemony sugar syrup, served hot with crushed pistachio and clotted cream.
Künefe is the canonical Levantine cheese pastry, with Antakya (Hatay) in southern Turkey claiming the strongest version; the pastry arrived in Istanbul's Beyoğlu kitchens through the 20th century as the city's southern-Turkish community grew. The dish uses Hatay's distinctive unsalted whey cheese for its stretchy melt, sandwiched between layers of crisp kataifi pastry. Hafız Mustafa, Saray Muhallebicisi and the Beyoğlu dessert houses all serve the version with kaymak (Turkish clotted cream).
3 editor picks for Künefe in Istanbul, ranked by editorial score. All Istanbul signature dishes · Künefe across every city.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu ★ 4.7
karaköy · Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mah., Rıhtım Caddesi No:3-4, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Karaköy Güllüoğlu has rolled phyllo baklava since 1949 at one Rıhtım Caddesi counter near Galataport, Nadir Güllü's pistachio version the canonical Istanbul.
Hafız Mustafa 1864 ★ 4.2
eminönü · Hobyar Mah., Hamidiye Caddesi No:84, 34112 Fatih, İstanbul
Hafız Mustafa 1864 on Hamidiye Caddesi, the original Sultan Abdülaziz-era candy shop at the Eminönü viaduct, now a multi-floor stop for baklava.
Saray Muhallebicisi ★ 4.2
beyoğlu · Kuloğlu Mah., İstiklal Caddesi No:107, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Saray Muhallebicisi on Istiklal, the 1935 muhallebici pulling chicken-breast pudding, kazandibi and milk-pudding bowls into the small hours.