Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant.

Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant, Istanbul.

October 2020 & August 2022.

Turkish food is incredible. Over the course of our 18 nights in the capital Sladja and I enjoyed countless culinary thrills. In fact, towards the end of my Istanbul series I’ll be dedicating an entire post to the wonderful breakfasts, lunches, dinners and bites we enjoyed during our stay. However, there was one restaurant that proved so special I simply had to do a single article on it. Step forward…. Pandeli.

Pandeli Restaurant is not your typical eatery. It has great cultural significance in Istanbul history and is therefore held in high esteem throughout Turkey. How strange then that it occupies such a discreet location on the second floor of the city’s famed Spice Market.

Indeed it would be easy to miss its small entrance door, positioned just to the side of a jewellery shop. Excited by the prospect of the experience that awaited us, we entered one afternoon, making our way up the stone staircase with its gorgeous walls of sea-blue tiles.

Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant.

The restaurant’s name comes from its founder, Pandeli Çobanoğlu, the son of a Greek shepherd who moved to Turkey in the late 1880s. As a young man Pandeli left the city of Niğde for Istanbul. Trying out a number of professions, he worked as an apprentice barber, a dishwasher and as a grocer’s assistant. A keen chef, Pandeli eventually opened his own street food stall where he specialised in meat balls (kofte) and bean & onion salad.

Before long, just about everyone in Istanbul was raving about Pandeli’s dishes. Thus he was able to open his own restaurant, which attracted some of the day’s brightest Ottoman minds, including novelists, poets, politicians and journalists. Even President Ataturk, the Republic of Turkey’s founding father, became a regular visitor and enthusiastic Pandeli spokesman.

Over the decades Pandeli owned a number of restaurants across the city. Along the way there were many hardships, such as the First Balkan War, World War I, the Second World War and the devastating Istanbul riots. But he and his popular establishment survived them all.

By the mid 1950s he was down to just one restaurant, the venue that still operates today in the Spice Market. Pandeli certainly wasn’t short of customers, with numerous Hollywood actors and international singers often stopping by for dinner. The message was clear: when in Istanbul, one absolutely must eat at Pandeli.

The Great Pandeli Çobanoğlu.

Sadly, the great Pandeli passed away in 1967. Later, in 2016, the restaurant ran into financial difficulties and had to shut up shop. Happily though, it managed to reopen under the guidance of the family’s third generation, backed by a group of investors. That afternoon, as we arrived in the main dining space at the top of the staircase, we were met by a trio of lounging staff. Yup, in late 2020 Pandeli was experiencing its latest challenge… COVID.

The manager rose with a warm smile, before leading us into an adjoining dining space where we had our pick of the tables. Above the archway that connects the rooms sits a large photograph of Ataturk taking dinner at Pandeli. Fixing the camera with a steely glare, he is surrounded by advisers, ministers, generals and their wives.

Having settled at a window table, our host swiftly brought the menus. We wasted no time in perusing their dishes, quietly mmm-ing in approval at just about everything we saw. Quickly our choices were made and I found myself asking the waiter about Pandeli’s famous guests.

Smiling, he called the manager, who was only too happy to talk me through some of the big names who’ve dined within these charmed walls. Impressively, a host of international royals have feasted at Pandeli, such as Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to Istanbul in 1971. As for Hollywood royalty, he takes me to the large framed photograph of Audrey Hepburn and friends.

Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant.

Audrey dined at Pandeli in the summer of 1968 as part of a whirlwind 24 hours in the Turkish capital. According to one online account, she ate lobster, sea bass and spring rolls with a tall beer. Browsing online, I have since seen the same black and white image, but in a golden frame signed by Hepburn with a simple Thank You. I wonder what became of it.

From Audrey the manager ushered me towards Pandeli’s so-called Wall of Fame. A carefully arranged row of framed photographs fitted with handwritten messages.

The first one he hands me shows an image of Catherine Zeta Jones, who seemingly came for dinner sans husband Michael Douglas. “To All at Pandeli”, she wrote.“Thank you, what a fantastic time. The food, delicious. Until we meet again”. 

Next, he shows me the note penned by Roman Polanski, who talks of “The greatest meal in Istanbul!” 

Adventures in Istanbul.

Further along the shelf, my eyes scan over a trio of movie greats. First (left), I read through the spidery scrawl left by Robert De Niro. “Terrific restaurant!” he coos, “really good and authentic”. Willem Dafoe, meanwhile, gives his thanks for “a delicious meal”, while Burt Lancaster talks of “a wonderful restaurant with the most delicious Turkish cuisine”.

Finally, we drag ourselves away from the Wall of Fame and return to our table. Where, happily, a pair of icy Bomonti beers await with a basket of fresh bread. Not a bad start.

We didn’t have to wait long for our mains, which arrived piping hot and gracefully presented. Taking a leaf out of Audrey’s book, Sladja went for the wonderfully tender Grilled Sea Bass, served with mashed spinach and a side salad. For me, it was the outstanding Roasted Lamb with traditional seasoned rice.

For dessert, we took something of a risk. Or at least what we perceived to be a throw of the dice. Known locally as Kazandibi, this classic Turkish pudding is a fabulous caramelised milk creation filled with beaten chicken breast. There are also hints of almonds and honey.

Kazandibi definitely didn’t disappoint, it was really tasty. Moreover, I was curious to read that the dessert dates back to Roman times before being adopted and adjusted by The Turks. A fine end to a lovely meal.

Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant.

We loved our time at Pandeli, but never thought we’d be back. Life works in mysterious ways though and, two years later, the opportunity unexpectedly arose. We were on our way to Georgia for what turned out to be a 5 month stay. Flying from Belgrade, some unfriendly flight times saw us stopping over in Istanbul. We had barely 24 hours in the city, but of course we knew there could only be one choice for dinner.

With COVID a distant memory for most of the city, Pandeli was a little busier this time, though we had no problem picking out a table. In fact, we had almost shown up too late, forgetting the restaurant’s weird early closing time of 19:00 (they really need to rethink that). For a moment it wasn’t clear if they could even serve us, but luckily the maitre’ d that day was happy to squeeze us in.

This time Sladja went for the Grilled Meatballs with buttery, fluffy, nutty pilaf rice. Wanting lamb again but not the same dish, I took a chance on Sultan’s Delight, a lamb stew served on mashed, roasted eggplant.

Another victory was our side dish, the so-called Spoon Salad. Cool and tangy, it was a yummy concoction of chopped tomatoes, onion, cucumber, walnuts and pomegranate molasses.

Delicious Delights at Pandeli Restaurant.

As for dessert, we kept it simple with a pleasingly creamy, warm, oven-baked Pandeli style rice pudding. Once again, from start to finish, there were absolutely no regrets about our food.

The only minor niggle was that everything was really rushed this time around. The waiter was clearly preoccupied with getting us out the door at the earliest opportunity. And I admittedly wasn’t impressed with him presenting the bill and asking me to pay while we were still eating. That was a disappointment, but nothing that would stop us going again if we ever find ourselves in Istanbul. Cheers Pandeli, you are truly one of a kind!

Like this? Take a look at my series of articles on Istanbul.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 30 countries.