Fish$$karaköy
Hidden in the hardware-market arcades of Perşembe Pazarı, Tarihi Karaköy Balıkçısı has grilled fish on skewers since 1923 to about a dozen seats inside the old Griffin Han.
Signature: Grilled fish skewer, Bonito tava, Sea bass
Modern Turkish$$$fatih
Lokanta 1741 beside the 300-year-old Cağaloğlu Hammam, a Michelin-listed modern Turkish dining room with a terrace overlooking the hammam domes and seasonal Anatolian plates.
Signature: Slow-cooked lamb, Aegean mezze, Saffron rice pudding
Meyhane$$beyoğlu
Asmalı Cavit on Asmalı Mescit Caddesi, a 1990s-opened Beyoğlu meyhane where proprietor Cavit Bey works the room nightly over a mezze list led by smoked eggplant.
Signature: Smoked eggplant mezze, Albanian liver, Köfte in tomato sauce
Kebab$$kadıköy
Çiya Kebap, the original 1987 sister to Çiya Sofrası on the opposite side of Güneşlibahçe in Kadıköy market, fires kebabs, lahmacun and pide from a single charcoal grill.
Signature: Pistachio kebap, Lahmacun, Pide
Anatolian regional$$kadıköy
Chef Musa Dağdeviren's culinary-anthropology lokanta in Kadıköy market, plating regional Turkish dishes drawn from his fieldwork since 1998.
Signature: Kebap of the day, Forgotten Anatolian stews, Vegetarian dolma
Turkish, Mediterranean mezze$$karaköy
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