Istanbul with its many millions of people has so much to choose from local traditional meyhanes with its meze to top end dining with or without a view.
This place doesnt have any website but it is so cosy and the food so delicious and the location is ..among the ceilings (as the name states..) I tested it personally and it is simple but nice and with such an atmosphere...full of people not only young and not only turkish...Try it also for breakfast and lunch (10% discount is applied at lunch time ).....the classic place which just a local can suggest ...
This is my FAVOURITE PLACE ..you may think I have a share in it :) Please taste it ..ask me for direction and eat eat eat.....
Ask someone to direct you to the fish market; its the street opposite the Galatasaray Lise about half way down Istiklal....it is very close to our flats ...
Pick from one of 20 meyhanes for meze and drinks. You'll be sitting with all the locals. If you want a bit more noise and indoors, head to Cicek Passaj; its the indoor 'food court' in the same area.
Tourists usually hangout around Sultanahmet, but the food is of mixed quality and you can do better.
Inci Pastahane looking at the decor has been around for 60+ years ... and if you can read the old newspaper clippings .. then you can figure out how old it really is.
People come here for one reason - a plate of their profiteroles - with its crème / custard filling, smothered in delicious chocolate sauce.
The way you do this is ... walk in, pay your 5YTL and get yourself a plate. Grab a seat if you can and eat up. Its so popular on weekends people will stand and eat this.
Inci is about half down the Istiklal Cadd from Taksim Square and opposite the Mavi Jeans main store.
These are called Kumpir and are ubiquitous throughout Istanbul, especially on Istiklal Caddesi. You choose the fillings that go into a large potato that's had its insides stuffed with butter and cheese. It costs around $2.50-3 for a huge potato filled to overflowing with all kinds of salad, olives and chillie sauce with lashings of butter and salt. You can choose whatever you want or you can let the guys choose for you.
Very close to my flats and with a breathtaking view (360 degrees...) of the city...wonderfull turkish and international cuisine ....reservation needed ...Perched on top of Misir Apartment off Istiklal caddesi ....
Delicious food and wonderfull view from the Golden Horn and Galata to the domes of the old mosques...
Delicious barbecue , kebabs and more ..also fish....
If New York has Chinatown and Little Italy, then Istanbul has "French Street" (Fransız Sokağı). "Rue Française", with tented buildings, street musicians, cafés, bars and art centers, opened in summer of 2004.
The street behind Galatasaray High School known as Cezayir (Algeria) Street was completely renovated from head to toe .The buildings and sidewalks were improved and a special music system was established. The stones of the street were arranged by Parisian architects, and 100-year-old coal-gas street lamps from the Municipality of Paris were installed.
The French have a very important legacy in Beyoğlu. Most of the establishments of Beyoğlu, such as the first cafés and first movie theaters, were established by the French in the 19th century and the buildings on the left of Cezayir Street bear the signature of French engineer-contractor Marius Michel. Fransız Sokağı has a covered area of 9,000 square meters and a capacity of 3000 people together with the open-air areas. The number of daily visitors is around 6.500. The heaters on the streets allow the open areas to be used even on cold days.
Various establishments in two-three story buildings have turned Fransız Sokağı, formerly Cezayir Sokak or Hayriye Çıkmazı, into a 7-day-a-week live culture and entertainment center, with cafés, restaurants, street concerts and artists, and an art gallery.
Our building is just behind French street !
In an old italian building on the back of La Casa di Maria Pia ,practically "our" restaurant with a good atmosphere and a vintage furniture .Try the "greenhouse "restaurant downstairs ....
Located on the top of one of most beautifull building in the old French Street ....music and food and a very relaxed atmosphere with an astonishing view and food. On the back of our house .
One of the best and more traditional turkish "lokanta" ...delicios sis kebab and adana kebab ...the premises are not luxury but the food are so tasty .... and the street is so typically turkish ...