CuisineTurkish
Price₺₺
Neighborhoodbeyoğlu
Last verified

Why locals love it: Tiny 1898 wine cellar on a Hamalbaşı side-lane that the Istiklal crowd walks straight past.

Tip: Order the Bozcaada Çavuş with a cheese plate; the room only holds about thirty.

Location

Address: Hüseyinağa Mah., Hamalbaşı Caddesi No:12, 34435 Beyoğlu, İstanbul, Istanbul

Also in beyoğlu

Hayvore ★ 4.4

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Hayvore off Istiklal, the Black Sea steam-table cooking corn-bread anchovies and smoky bean stews for whoever knows the side street. Located in Beyoğlu.

Why locals love it: Locals fill it for the Black Sea menu, tourists walk past for the larger Istiklal places ten metres away.

Tip: Order the hamsi pilav and the muhlama; they only run while supplies last.

Antiochia ★ 4.4

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Antiochia on a Beyoğlu side street, an Antakya (Hatay) kitchen plating southeastern grills and Levant mezze from a tight Asmalımescit address.

Why locals love it: Tucked on a tight General Yazgan side-street in Asmalımescit, often walked past on the way to bigger meyhanes.

Tip: Order the cevizli biber, the kunefe and the cag kebab together.

Mandabatmaz ★ 4.6

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Mandabatmaz in Olivya Geçidi, a one-table Beyoğlu Turkish coffee bar running since 1967, the cup of foam so dense the buffalo doesn't sink. Family-friendly.

Why locals love it: Tucked inside the Olivya Passage off Istiklal, easy to miss for anyone not looking for the unmarked alley.

Tip: Order an orta-şekerli (medium-sweet) and stay for two; the kahveci will keep refilling water.

Full beyoğlu food guide →

More hidden gems in Istanbul

Hayvore ★ 4.4

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Hayvore off Istiklal, the Black Sea steam-table cooking corn-bread anchovies and smoky bean stews for whoever knows the side street. Located in Beyoğlu.

Why locals love it: Locals fill it for the Black Sea menu, tourists walk past for the larger Istiklal places ten metres away.

Tip: Order the hamsi pilav and the muhlama; they only run while supplies last.

Adem Baba ★ 4.4

Seafood₺₺arnavutköy

Adem Baba on Beyaz Gül Caddesi, a 1992-founded Arnavutköy fish lokantası where the catch comes off Bosphorus boats moored outside and the family runs three.

Why locals love it: A no-alcohol Arnavutköy mom-and-pop fish lokantası, off the Bebek tourist drag and known mostly to upper-Bosphorus regulars.

Tip: Walk in for lunch on a weekday; no reservations, and the fried calamari and grilled day-catch go fastest.

Antiochia ★ 4.4

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Antiochia on a Beyoğlu side street, an Antakya (Hatay) kitchen plating southeastern grills and Levant mezze from a tight Asmalımescit address.

Why locals love it: Tucked on a tight General Yazgan side-street in Asmalımescit, often walked past on the way to bigger meyhanes.

Tip: Order the cevizli biber, the kunefe and the cag kebab together.

Mandabatmaz ★ 4.6

Turkish₺₺beyoğlu

Mandabatmaz in Olivya Geçidi, a one-table Beyoğlu Turkish coffee bar running since 1967, the cup of foam so dense the buffalo doesn't sink. Family-friendly.

Why locals love it: Tucked inside the Olivya Passage off Istiklal, easy to miss for anyone not looking for the unmarked alley.

Tip: Order an orta-şekerli (medium-sweet) and stay for two; the kahveci will keep refilling water.

Siirt Şeref Büryan ★ 4.5

Turkish₺₺fatih

Siirt Şeref Büryan on İtfaiye Caddesi, a Kadınlar Pazarı corner pulling lamb büryan from a tandır pit oven that fires through the night, the Avcı family.

Why locals love it: Buried in Kadınlar Pazarı behind the Valens Aqueduct, the Fatih corner Kurdish migrants from Siirt have run since 1987 and few non-Turkish guidebooks reach.

Tip: Order büryan around 11:00 before the lunch crowd; the perde pilavı and a tas kebabı round out a full table.

See every hidden gems pick in Istanbul →

← Back to Hidden Gems in Istanbul ← Istanbul food guide