Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5
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.
Signature: Lakerda, Hünkar beğendi, Lamb shank
Chef Musa Dağdeviren's culinary-anthropology lokanta in Kadıköy market, plating regional Turkish dishes drawn from his fieldwork since 1998.
Signature dishes: Kebap of the day, Forgotten Anatolian stews, Vegetarian dolma
Address: Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sokak No:43, 34710 Kadıköy, İstanbul, Istanbul
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.
Signature: Lakerda, Hünkar beğendi, Lamb shank
Develi has fired Gaziantep kebabs at its Samatya address for decades, the canonical Istanbul pistachio kebap stop behind the old Marmara walls.
Signature: Fıstıklı kebap, Içli köfte, Antep katmer
Antiochia in Asmalımescit cooks the kebabs and mezze of Antakya, Turkey's Levant border city, on a tight Beyoğlu side-street menu of southeastern grills and hot mezze.
Signature: Ciğer kebap, Künefe, Hatay-style hummus
Hayvore tucked off Istiklal, cooking the corn-bread, anchovies and smoky bean stews of the Black Sea since 2009 in a noisy steam-table lokanta close to Galatasaray Lycée.
Signature: Hamsi pilav, Muhlama, Karadeniz pidesi
Refik on Sofyalı Sokak, a 1954-founded Asmalımescit meyhane keeping the rakı table going past midnight with mountain greens, lakerda and grilled lamb.
Signature: Ot meze, Kuzu pirzola, Lakerda
Sofyalı 9 in Beyoğlu, an Asmalımescit meyhane Michelin-listed for 20-plus years of rakı, hot and cold mezze and Greek-Turkish records on the speakers each night.
Signature: Topik, Stuffed sardines, Mücver