Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

September-October 2020.

Well, dear readers, we have at long last arrived at my final Istanbul article. It is my 20th piece, and with today’s focus firmly on the city’s excellent food and drink scene, I hope very much to go out with a bang. So let’s get going, with a bumper roundup of Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

For those who’ve been following this series, you will already know my top choice of where to dine in Istanbul. If you missed it the first time around, I’ll take this opportunity to again champion the amazing Pandeli Restaurant in the Spice Bazaar. Indeed if you only make time for one fancy dinner, make sure you head for the wonderful, history-laden Pandeli. You can read my review here.

I don’t know about you, but when Sladja and I travel we usually tap into the culinary scene with a broad range of experiences. Sometimes, especially if we’re on the hop, we simply make do with some bakery bites. In this regard Istanbul is a fantastic city with exhaustive options. In fact, it often feels like there are at least three or four bakeries on every street.

For the most part we stayed away from the joints specialising in (admittedly delicious looking) loaves. Instead, we preferred to explore the various pastry shops offering quintessential Turkish baked treats.

What I very quickly noticed was that the people who own and work in these shops were nearly always cheerful and courteous. A far cry, I have to say, from our experiences in the many bakeries of The Balkans.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

Turkish pastries, whether they be sweet or savoury, are invariably a pleasure. A staple for me is böreği, a flaky filo delight filled with either cheese, spinach, potatoes or even meat (lamb is particularly popular). Internationally this kind of pastry is better known as Börek, you can find variations across The Balkans, The Middle East and Central Asia.

For a generally heartier lunch, look no further than the classic Turkish Pizza, known locally as lahmacun. It’s such a great feeling when you enter these little kitchens, the air awash with the smell of flatbread, minced beef and lamb.

If you’re lucky, you might enter to find Mr. Man removing a piping hot batch from the oven. Then plonking everything right onto the counter in front of you. I’ll have that one, thanks.

Moreover, a visit to Istanbul wouldn’t be complete without grabbing a simit or two between sights. Vendors all over the city offer this terrific circular bread, which typically comes encrusted with sesame seeds. Experts reckon simit has been a part of daily life since the 1520s, making it one of the city’s most traditional and historic bites.

What’s more, at around 10 lira a piece (barely $0.40), simit represents Istanbul’s cheapest snack by quite some distance.  You can of course expect to pay a bit more if you have it in a cafe. We can recommend Simit Sarayi, (Simit Palace). They have branches all over the city, while the one we ate at was on Taksim Square.

Simit.

For a classier experience, and increased prices to match, head to a pastanesi (patisserie) for all manner of beautifully sculpted baked goods. We loved our visit to Çiğdem Pastanesi on Divanyolu Street, a renowned store that’s been going since 1961.

Although predominantly a takeaway joint, they do have a seating area that allows you to eat in.

We ordered a pair of lattes with some yummy (albeit comically small) Pogača. These wheat flour baked beauties come in various guises across Turkey and a host of other (mostly Balkan) countries. The ones we had came filled with feta cheese and red and green bell peppers. Furthermore, we appreciated the complimentary chunks of Turkish Delight.

On the sweet tooth side of the equation visitors simply cannot avoid the ever-present barrage of… and you know it… baklava. This iconic Turkish dessert is simply everywhere, from supermarkets and restaurants to specialist bakeries churning out thousands of pieces every day.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

I used to adore baklava. Many years ago, when I spent some weeks travelling Morocco, I would routinely put away three or four baklava blocks in one go. Yes, despite them being one of the sweetest, most syrupy things on earth. While in Istanbul, I realised that my maturing taste buds had left me unable to eat more than just one piece. I’m getting older, I guess.

Not that Baklava is the sweetest thing you can get your hands on in Istanbul. For that, top prize goes to Halka Tatlisi, a dense lump of ringed dough made from flour and semolina.

Drenched in lemony syrup and extra sugar to boot, this stuff is positively lethal.

Overall I much prefer lokum, the world famous dessert known to most as Turkish Delight. Created during the mid to late 1700s, this palatable sweet sees all manner of goodness embedded into a gel base of starch and sugar. I love the fact that they come in so many forms, such as these long rolls pictured below, packed with dates and nuts.

They’re pretty good, but not a patch on the ones that have soft, chewy nougat in them. Or the rolls where a thick, lava-like chocolate spread comes flowing out when you take a bite.

What to Eat in Istanbul. 

When it comes to my favourite Turkish dessert though, it just has to be künefe. While you can get this wonderful stuff all over the city, we can highly recommend trying some at Hakki Zade, also known as Hafiz Mustafa 1864. 

Künefe is a spun pastry dessert layered with cheese, clotted cream and nuts (often pistachios or walnuts). Like Turkish churros it is also covered in a sugary syrup, though for me it is much more balanced.

Aside from being scrumptious, it’s also freshly baked at Hakki Zade. Hence it arrived at our table piping hot and gooey to the touch. Truly, this is something I would go back to Turkey for.

Whatever Turkish dessert rocks your boat, Hafiz Mustafa 1864 is almost certainly a safe bet. Established in 1864 by Hadji İsmail Hakkı Bey, the first Istanbul store rose to fame after Sultan Abdulaziz himself ordered Turkish delight and other treats for delivery to Topkapi Palace.

Hakki Zade 1864.

While it doesn’t quite enjoy the same scope of history, another legendary Istanbul patisserie is Inci Pastanesi. An Albanian Greek migrant by the name of Lucas Zigoridis opened the place in 1944, and quickly became celebrated for his delectable chocolate profiteroles.

Nearly 80 years later and the joint is still going, despite Zigoridis having passed away many years ago. Against the odds, the business survived the anti-Greek political campaigns and riots of the 1950s and 1970s. Not to mention the tough economic times of the 80s and a change of premises in 2012 brought on by the city’s gentrification, which has killed so many small businesses.

When we entered one October afternoon there were trays and trays of their famous profiteroles resting on the counter. And yes, they are just as divine as everyone says.

As regular readers know, Sladja and I are incurable coffee fiends. Happily, Istanbul always delivered on this front. As a result, there are a number of places we’d like to share. Let’s start with a pleasingly sleepy independent cafe called Sy Blu Coffee Shop located on a quiet side street in Sisli district.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

We’re all about a quiet, homey vibe when it comes to cafes. At Sy Blu this is definitely the mantra, with music on low, a softly spoken barista and antique-laden bookshelves galore. The perfect opportunity, I’d say, to brush up on your knowledge of Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Most importantly the coffee was tasty, the baked treats fresh and reasonably priced. All in all everything was so good I could forgive my coffee being served in a tall glass (pet hate).

Another decent joint we visited was El Rincon Cafe in the trendy neighbourhood of Balat.

With a focus on world music and art, it’s a really beautiful cafe. Taking our seats, we drank in the wooden furnishings and African paintings, while Afro-Cuban rumba drifted out of the sound system.

The coffee was very good, as you would expect from a cafe that has a variety of fancy organic blends from across Africa and Latin America. Excellent, but with prices to match. The only thing that let the place down was the unnecessarily surly waitress. Which was a pity, especially as several online reviews specifically mention the “good service”.

El Rincon Cafe.

The award for Most Beautiful Cuppa goes to Lattas Coffee, a wonderful bistro located on Serdar-ı Ekrem, one of the city’s most atmospheric pedestrianised streets.

Indeed their caramel latte is both a work of art and delicious.

And yet it is their spectacular breakfast sets that steal the show. Sladja and I aren’t actually that keen on giant breakfasts. But we made an exception for this one, an impressively presented array of delightfulness that includes cold cuts, eggs, feta cheese, bread rolls, olives, salad, pancakes, cookies, chocolate spread and jams. Lordy.

After breakfast, we took a saunter down Serdar-ı Ekrem. It truly is an unmissable Istanbul street that is home to independent boutiques, dozens of street murals and mooching cats.

For lunches and dinners life in Istanbul is invariably a meaty affair. It’s weird to look back on these photos, because these days we are both mostly vegan. But back in the autumn of 2020 we gobbled up countless kebabs and durums from a seemingly infinite array of eateries across the city.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

Chicken… beef…. lamb… we happily tried it all.

It’s hard to say what my favourite is. I’m definitely partial to chicken kebab (de-skewered in the below picture) served with bulgur pilaf, chopped onions and roasted tomato.

If this looks right up your street don’t forget to order a side plate of bread and a bowl of creamy Haydari. This is a Turkish strained yogurt mixed with cheese and herbs. It is so.. so… good.

The only thing I wasn’t keen on were the donner stations. Somehow those rotating, glistening lumps remind me of the regretful early morning feeds I subjected myself to after boozy weekend nights out as a teenager back in England. I’m sure Istanbul’s donner kebabs are infinitely better, but still, I just couldn’t.

In our book, top prize for Istanbul meaty greatness goes to a revelatory eatery called Bilice Kebap. Situated on Amali Mescit Road, a pedestrianised stretch in the heart of Beyoğlu district, we were initially a touch wary. After all, this is tourist central and their waiters are prone to calling customers in from the street. A habit that usually disqualifies any restaurant from our consideration.

Bites & Gulps: Mouthwatering Moments in Istanbul.

Ultimately though I’m glad we trusted all the good reviews we’d read online. With our table outside on the street we had a great people-watching spot, while the staff were friendly and efficient. Plus, we got a kick out of the fez-wearing waiters, which again would have probably had us suspicious if we were just walking by and hadn’t done our homework on the place.

Bilice Kebap specialises in sharing platters. If we could offer one top tip, it would be to bring your appetite with bells on top! In fact, we were quite unprepared for just how much food arrived at our table!

They have loads of platters to choose from. Ours came with chicken and lamb skewers and an army of fabulous side dishes.

Let me see… there was tossed salad, roasted peppers, hummus and pita bread. A bowl of baba ganoush and a rich eggplant and tomato meze dish bursting at the seams with garlic.

When it comes to alcohol, neither of us are big drinkers. Nevertheless, we did enjoy a few beers one night at the impressive Bomontiada complex. Inhabited by over a dozen restaurants, cafes and bars, it was converted from the ruins of the Bomontiada Beer Factory, built in the 1890s.

Bomontiada.

One of the trendiest spots in the entire city, Bomontiada is also home several art galleries and an iconic music venue, Babylon. Not at all keen on thumping dance music, we timed our visit for late afternoon where a pleasingly sleepy vibe prevailed. There was even a grassy area in the main courtyard where visitors are encouraged to flop out on the provided deckchairs. Just to take a rest, play with your phone, or even take a snooze.

We opted to grab some craft beer from a joint called The Populist. They have a huge drinks menu and offer decent pub grub, though the prices might make you think twice about how many drinks you put away.

Bomontiada would be a great place for last night drinks and dinner. Thus it seems like a good place to wrap this series up. Thanks to everyone who’s supported my Istanbul articles, especially those of you who read all 20 pieces. It’s high time for a break I’d say, I’ll be back later in the year with some new reports and stories from around the world.

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

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