12 restaurants worth the trip across Turkey, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Turkey guides.
Çiya Sofrası ★ 4.8 · Istanbul
kadıköy · Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sokak No:43, 34710 Kadıköy, İstanbul
Chef Musa Dağdeviren's culinary-anthropology lokanta in Kadıköy market, plating regional Turkish dishes drawn from his fieldwork since 1998.
Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5 · Istanbul
karaköy · Kemankeş Mah., Kemankeş Caddesi No:57, 34425 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
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.
Antiochia ★ 4.5 · Istanbul
beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., General Yazgan Sokak No:3, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
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.
Develi1912 Samatya ★ 4.4 · Istanbul
samatya · Koca Mustafapaşa, Gümüş Yüksük Sokak No:5, Samatya, 34098 Fatih, İstanbul
Develi has fired Gaziantep kebabs at its Samatya address for decades, the canonical Istanbul pistachio kebap stop behind the old Marmara walls.
Hayvore ★ 4.4 · Istanbul
beyoğlu · Turnacıbaşı Sokak No:4, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
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.
Yakup 2 ★ 4.4 · Istanbul
beyoğlu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Asmalı Mescit Sokak No:21/B, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Yakup 2 on Asmalı Mescit Sokak, the Yakup Arslan meyhane founded in 1977 after seventeen years at Refik next door, multi-time winner of best-meyhane awards.
Çiya Kebap ★ 4.4 · Istanbul
kadıköy · Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sokak No:44, 34710 Kadıköy, İstanbul
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.
Madam Despina ★ 4.3 · Istanbul
kurtuluş · Kurtuluş Mah., Akarca Sokak No:9, 34375 Şişli, İstanbul
Madam Despina in old Tatavla, the 1946 Rum meyhane opened by Despina Bademciyan from Gökçeada and still pouring rakı in the grape-leaf garden.
Boncuk ★ 4.3 · Istanbul
beyoğlu · Hüseyinağa Mah., Nevizade Sokak No:7/A, 34435 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Boncuk on Nevizade Sokak in Beyoğlu's Balık Pazarı, the Armenian-leaning meyhane built around topik with chickpeas and tahini, kısır bulgur cakes.
Lokanta 1741 ★ 4.3 · Istanbul
fatih · Alemdar Mah., Profesör Kazım İsmail Gürkan Caddesi No:34, Cağaloğlu, 34110 Fatih, İstanbul
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.
Asmalı Cavit ★ 4.3 · Istanbul
beyoglu · Asmalı Mescit Mah., Asmalı Mescit Caddesi No:16/D, 34430 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
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.
Akın Balık ★ 4.0 · Istanbul
karaköy · Arap Cami Mah., Fermeneciler Caddesi No:40/A, 34421 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Akın Balık in Karaköy's fish-market arcade, a waterside lokanta where the waiter walks guests to the ice display to pick the catch and pulls four meze.