Layered sheets of paper-thin yufka, briefly boiled then baked with butter and a salty white-cheese-and-parsley filling. Soft, almost lasagne-like, sold by the slab at bakeries.
Su boregi belongs to the Ottoman palace-kitchen tradition of layered yufka pastries that travelled from Central Asia through Anatolia. The brief water-boil between layers, which gives the borek its name, sets the pastry soft rather than crisp; Istanbul bakeries have served it as a breakfast and morning-tea staple for generations.
3 editor picks for Su böreği (water borek) in Istanbul, ranked by editorial score. All Istanbul signature dishes · Su böreği (water borek) across every city.
Van Kahvaltı Evi ★ 4.4
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.
Beyaz Fırın Etiler ★ 4.1
beşiktaş · Etiler Mah., Nispetiye Caddesi No:82, 34337 Beşiktaş, İstanbul
Beyaz Fırın in Etiler, a heritage Turkish bakery dating to 1836, working out of a two-floor Nispetiye Caddesi space with a vertical garden and a 350-seat.
Beyaz Fırın Brasserie ★ 4.0
beşiktaş · Etiler Mah., Nispetiye Caddesi No:82, 34337 Beşiktaş, İstanbul
Beyaz Fırın in Etiler, the heritage bakery's brasserie sister doing a full Turkish breakfast on the upper deck and bottomless pastry baskets from its own.