Mapplr’s favorite restaurants in Istanbul

What makes a city hot? Art, history, beautiful location and of course, good food. Istanbul has it all. And as with any city with lots of good food, how does a visitor figure out which restaurants and cafes are really worth trying? To answer this question, I decided to ask a local. But not just any local. I asked Cenk Sonmezsoy, whose food blog, Cafe Fernando, was voted the best blog in Turkey. Cenk spent five years in San Francisco (studying for his MBA). He is a passionate foodie who loves to bake and counts photography as a hobby (check out the beautiful photos on his blog).

Here are Cenk’s favorites in Istanbul. (Note: check the updates at the end of this post)

Çiya Sofrası (read my review)
Caferağa Mah. Güneşlibahçe Sk. No:43
Kadıköy
Istanbul, Turkey
www.ciya.com.tr

Beyti
Orman Sokak No:8
Florya
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 663 2990
www.beyti.com.tr

Hünkar
Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi No:21/1
Nişantaşı
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 225 4662

Hamdi
Tahmis Caddesi Kalçın Sokak No:17
Eminönü
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 528 0390
www.hamdirestorant.com.tr/hamdien.htm

Changa
Sıraselviler Caddesi 47
Cihangir
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 249 1348
www.changa-istanbul.com/v2/changataksimmain.asp

Iskele
(Best fish restaurant in İstanbul)
Köybaşı Caddesi Vapur İskelesi Sokak No:15
Yeniköy
Istanbul, Turkey

Balikci Sabahattin
(another good fish restaurant)
Cankurtaran, Sultanahmet (behind Armada Hotel)
Eminonu
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 458 18 24

Baylan Patisserie
Muvakkithane Caddesi No:19
Kadıköy
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 216 346 63 50
http://www.baylanpastanesi.com/eng/anasayfa.html

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UPDATE (11 June 2009): I visited Istanbul last month and added more restaurants to the list. Please check out:

More favorite restaurants in Istanbul

UPDATE (4 April 2011): We just posted the insider’s guide to the top restaurants that serve traditional Ottoman Turkish cuisine in Istanbul.

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Here is a Google map of my favorite restaurants and hotels in Istanbul.

Posted by Esme Vos on Jun 16 2008. Filed under Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry