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Turkish Cuisine
Turkish cuisine, along with its French and Chinese counterparts, is one of the world’s most important culinary influences. It is a legacy of an empire that once controlled large stretches of the Spice Road, and an imperial kitchen that drew from chefs from as far away as Vienna and western China. When the Ottomans controlled the entire eastern Mediterranean basin, imperial chefs were able to raid the ingredients and cuisines of Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Levant for inspiration, fired by the continual quest for imperial approval. The culinary range encountered in Istanbul today is palace food that long ago made its way beyond the imperial quarters and into the kitchens of the citizenry. One of the most pleasurable ways to explore Turkish cuisine is to feast on meze (hors d'oeuvre). At many restaurants a tray or cart is brought over from which choices are made and transferred to the table. Portions are small, allowing you to taste a wide variety of dishes in one sitting. It's quite acceptable to just stick with meze throughout the evening, calling the waiter and his tray back to your table and never ordering any mains. Mezes come in all shapes and sizes, the most common being dolma (peppers or vine leaves stuffed with rice), patlican salata (aubergine in tomato sauce), and acili (a mixture of tomato paste, onion, chili and parsley), as well as seafood salads and pickled fish. The best places for meze tend to be meyhanes, traditional taverna-type restaurants where music and long drawn-out meals are the norm. These are heavily concentrated in and around the atmospheric Nevizade Sokak, a short walk from Taksim along Istanbul’s most famous shopping street, Istiklal Caddesi. Another Istanbul dining experience that should not be missed is Ottoman cuisine - elaborate dishes that originated in the kitchens of the sultan's palace. It's a broad cuisine that is hard to define. Take, for example, tavuk goksu, a delicate sweet pastry filled with a cream made from thinly shredded chicken breast, pulverized almonds and vanilla. This is a cuisine of excess. Turkish desserts are wonderful. Those with a sweet tooth will find every imaginable concoction at a pastane (sweet-shop), including honey-soaked baklava, sutlac (a rice pudding also widely available in restaurants), asure, a rosewater jelly laced with pulses, raisins and nuts, and the best-known Turkish sweet, lokum (known outside Turkey as Turkish delight) – solidified sugar and pectin, flavored with rosewater, pistachio or hazelnut and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Tipping and reservations Tipping is expected. Ten per cent is generally sufficient. Sometimes it's already figured into the bill. In high-end restaurants, tipping is expected in addition to the added service charge. Reservations are normally a must on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Asir Famous for its meze, including an excellent topik, an Armenian purée of chicken, chickpea, cinnamon, currants and spices, and excellent ezme, finely chopped tomato, hot pepper, onion and walnut. Galata Restaurant
Small but popular meyhane in a restored historic building with live music each night. There is a set meal of meze or two alternative main dishes and desserts. Reservations are a must at weekends. Refik
The quintessential backstreet meyhane, and a great place to become acquaýnted wýth meze and raki (Turkey’s hard liquor of choice made from anis seed). Black Sea fish dishes a speciality. Yakup 2
Atmospheric meyhane with a vast selection of excellent mezes. Take your pick from octopus salad, sautéed carrots in yogurt garlic sauce, stuffed clams…..
Asithane
Regularly changing menu, but specialities are all typically extravagant Ottoman offerings, including hünkar begendi (tender lamb on a purée of aubergine), fruit-and-meat stews, and excellent desserts. Part of a 19th-century mansion restored as the Kariye Hotel, the Asithane has a beautiful summer terrace and rose garden. Feriye
Excellent Ottoman menu with delicate touches. Glorious setting next to the Bosphorus in what used to be the Ottoman sultan's palatial grounds. Outside tables in Summer. Haci Abdullah
At 110 years old, it may be the oldest restaurant in Istanbul, and probably boasts the best selection of ready-prepared Ottoman dishes in town. Pandeli
Occupying a wonderful set of domed rooms above the entrance of the Egyptian Market, this restaurant is the essence of genteel old Stamboul. Worth a visit for the interior alone, the food is also excellent - particularly its fish. The room at the front has views across the Golden Horn. Taslik
Turkish cuisine at its most refined, with a menu of intricately prepared, rarely seen dishes. The delicately spiced fried prawns are recommended, as is Kuzu incik, lamb with rosemary and tomato. Folyoda kasarli pilic, a chicken stew with mild cheese melted over the top, is particularly good.
Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir
Turkish delight, marzipan, candied green figs and pastries. Meshur Bebek Badem Ezmesi
Classic Turkish sweets, including almond and pistachio marzipan.
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