Best food to eat in Istanbul

From top class restaurants to a kebab on the go, the people of Istanbul know how to eat, and how to eat well. If you’re heading to the Turkish capital, you’ll want to experience the city’s amazing cuisine. Here are my thoughts on the best food to eat in Istanbul.

If you’re looking for ideas on other global food to experience, check out this post on what to eat in Thailand.

Balik Ekmek (fish sandwich)

Balik Ekmek is the ultimate street food in Istanbul. Even better than their amazing kebabs in my opinion (and believe me, the kebabs take some beating). On first hearing about the Turkish fish sandwiches, I wasn’t overly excited. A mackerel fillet in a bit of bread, surely anyone could make that? But throw in the squidgy hunk of Turkish bread and the open grill to cook the freshly caught and filleted mackerel. Add a generous handful of crispy salad and this is way beyond your average sandwich shop.

Where to go: Most people head by Galata Bridge to the old fishing boats converted to Balik Ekmek cooking stations. Sure, they’re pretty good. But by pure chance we discovered an even better stall selling these Turkish specialities further on from the bridge by the ferry ports. The fish tasted even fresher, was filleted much more carefully and there was barely a queue. Perfect!

Kebabs and grills

Istanbul is great for meat lovers, especially if you love the taste of grilled food. This is one of our ideas of food heaven so as you can imagine we more than over indulged! I was a bit hesitant about trying the typical kebabs cooked on the large skewer and then carved off. But in Istanbul the quality and taste are supreme with no fat or gristle. They are on floury light bread, and a flash of chilli sauce if you fancy.

Shish kebabs

As well as the traditional kebabs, the Shish kebabs are fantastic. These are chunks of either lamb or chicken cooked on smaller skewers. Usually served with bread, rice, salad and pickles, it’s a hearty meal. The most enjoyable element for me is that the flavours of the grilled meat speak for themselves; there’s no pretence or overdressing, just good quality, well cooked food.

Where to go: Top choices for us were Semazen Bufe and Restaurant which is just across the road from the Sultanhamet tram stop. We enjoyed the takeaway so much we ate in the restaurant. The food was unbelievable. To make it even more enjoyable, we ate on the balcony. It was only big enough for a table for two. A perfect view over the busy streets of Istanbul, while we quietly tucked into our delicious meal.

I’d also recommend seeking out a Lokanta when looking for the best food to eat in Istanbul. A Lokanta is a self serve restaurant, I guess we’d think of it as a cafeteria. We popped into one for what was intended to be a quick snack while we were in Kadikoy on the Asian side of Istanbul. We ended up having a very generous portion of chicken shish kebab and it was sublime! Huge chunks of perfectly cooked chicken breast for a couple of pounds. 

Pide

Pide is often called Turkish pizza. It’s a flatbread with an array of toppings, and not necessarily cheese as we are accustomed to. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pizza, but there was something charming about the Turkish variant which was much lighter. And it didn’t leave me feeling like I needed to run 10k just to burn off the calories of 1 slice. You can choose from different meats, vegetables and cheese if you’d like it, but my recommendation would be a traditional meat pide. It’s a tasty combination of ground meat and vegetables on a stone baked flatbread. Yum.

Where to go: We only tried Pide at one restaurant, the Vaha restaurant opposite Hotel Daphne in Sultanhamet. The food was really tasty and the bill was reasonable. However the best element of this place is the majestic view from the roof terrace of the Sea of Marmara. It made our evening.

Other best food to eat in Istanbul:

• Fresh watermelon from a street vendor – better than Haribos for a sweet hit and supremely refreshing in the Istanbul heat
• Roasted chestnuts – sold from carts all over the city. A nutty flavour and a filling snack that will keep up your energy
• Olives – we bought a huge bag from the spice market for around £2. If you like olives, you can’t beat the freshness of those at the spice market, and you know they haven’t travelled thousands of miles to get there
• Turkish Delight – for the ultimate Turkish treats, head to royally appointed confectioner Haci Bekir which has a few branches across the city. You’ll never eat a Fry’s turkish delight again.

For more travel inspiration, take a look at this post exploring Budapest. You might also enjoy this post on the best day trips from Brussels by train.

Have you experienced the foodie paradise of Istanbul? What did you think?