Lokum (Turkish delight)
Photo: c.berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Soft cubes of rose, mastic or pistachio-set sugar gel, dusted in powdered sugar or starch. Cut from large slabs at counter, sold by weight, eaten with Turkish coffee.

Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir set up his confectionery on Hamidiye Caddesi in 1777 and is credited with refining the soft cornstarch-and-sugar gel known internationally as Turkish delight. The shop, still in the family, fixed the canonical Istanbul versions: gul (rose), sakizli (mastic), fistikli (pistachio).

3 editor picks for Lokum (Turkish delight) in Istanbul, ranked by editorial score. All Istanbul signature dishes · Lokum (Turkish delight) across every city.

Karaköy Güllüoğlu ★ 4.7

₺₺TurkishKaraköy

Karaköy Güllüoğlu has rolled phyllo baklava since 1949 at one Rıhtım Caddesi counter near Galataport, Nadir Güllü's pistachio version the canonical Istanbul.

OrderFıstıklı baklava, Şöbiyet, Kadayıf

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Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir ★ 4.5

₺BakeryEminönü

Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir at Bahçekapı, the 1777-founded confectioner credited with inventing modern lokum, run from a heritage-listed shopfront beside Yeni.

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Hafız Mustafa 1864 ★ 4.2

₺₺TurkishEminönü

Hafız Mustafa 1864 on Hamidiye Caddesi, the original Sultan Abdülaziz-era candy shop at the Eminönü viaduct, now a multi-floor stop for baklava.

OrderPistachio baklava, Turkish delight, Sütlaç

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Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Lokum (Turkish delight) makes more sense with someone from Istanbul explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Taste Lokum (Turkish delight) with a local in Istanbul

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