Where to drink well in Istanbul by the glass and the bottle: natural, classical, and worth the cab fare.
Wine bars in Istanbul. natural, classical, and the grower-focused rooms worth the cab fare.
Foxy in Nişantaşı, Turkey's first natural-wine room from Neolokal's Maksut Aşkar and sommelier Levon Bağış, listing Anatolian growers nobody else pours by the glass.
Signature pour: Indigenous Kalecik Karası by the glass
Wine focus: Natural Turkish wines, indigenous grapes
Food: Modern Anatolian small plates
Solera Winery on Yeni Çarşı, a tight Beyoğlu wine shop-bar 300 feet off Istiklal where general manager Suleyman Er pours by-the-glass discounts to a regular crowd.
Signature pour: Kavaklıdere Yakut by the glass
Wine focus: Local and imported wines, by the glass
Food: Cheese and Turkish mezze
Sensus inside the stone vault below the Galata Tower, an all-Turkish wine cellar with the city's deepest by-the-glass selection paired with single-origin cheese boards.
Signature pour: Anatolian Öküzgözü flight
Wine focus: Turkish wine cellar
Food: Cheese boards
Viktor Levi Moda, the 1914 Beyoğlu wine house revived on the Asian side in 2022, a wooden Ottoman-era room with a long garden and a Turkish list curated by the Büyükerol family.
Signature pour: Viktor Levi house wine
Wine focus: Heritage Turkish wines
Food: Mezze and grilled mains
Pano Şarap Evi on Hamalbaşı, the 1898 Greek-founded Beyoğlu wine bar still pouring Bozcaada bottles in a high-ceilinged room with marble counters and a doorway-deep cellar.
Signature pour: Bozcaada Çavuş
Wine focus: Historic Turkish wines, Bozcaada and Aegean
Food: Cheese, charcuterie and Greek mezze
Nicole atop Tomtom Suites in Çukurcuma, Aylin Yazıcıoğlu's Michelin-starred tasting-menu room with a tight Turkish-growers list and the 2025 Michelin Service Award.
Signature pour: Bornova Misketi by the glass
Wine focus: Natural Turkish growers, by-the-glass focused
Food: Modern Anatolian tasting menu
Peak food season in Istanbul is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Istanbul rewards trust.