The 8 Best Restaurants on the Asian Side of Istanbul

Istanbul’s famous monuments cluster on the European side. The Asian side, which you will also hear called the Anatolian side, repays a ferry ride with some of the most creative cooking in the city, from a chateau-style mansion at the edge of the Bosphorus to a slow-food kitchen that roasts lamb shank for the spaghetti underneath it.

Here are the eight best restaurants on the Asian side of Istanbul and what to order at each. This guide is part of our Istanbul neighborhood food guides.

The 8 restaurants at a glance

Restaurant	Area	What to order	Price level
A’jia	Bosphorus waterfront	Goat cheese salad with pineapple, orange, fennel	Special occasion
Ismet Baba Fish Restaurant	On the water	Meze, then the sea bass in its zesty sauce
Divan Brasserie	Kalamış	Cheese and charcuterie platter, ginger lemonade
The Townhouse Istanbul	Asian side	Townhouse Burger, popcorn shrimp with spicy mayo
Viktor Levi Şarap Evi	Asian side	Three-cheese steak with a bottle from the list
Ioki Sushi	Asian side	Tiger roll, gyoza
Fauna	Asian side	Oven-roasted lamb shank over spaghetti
Lacivert Restaurant	Bosphorus shore, boat pickup	Marinated sea bass with orange and fennel	Special occasion

1. A’jia

A’jia occupies a chateau-style mansion at the edge of the Bosphorus, the kind of setting a James Bond location scout would sign off on. The kitchen keeps up with the view. The goat cheese salad arrives with pineapple, orange, and fennel, and the cumin pea puree and grilled asparagus with pineapple read strangely on the menu and make perfect sense on the plate.

Earl Grey on the terrace works in the afternoon. In the evening, go for red wine with the cheese platter and finish with the chocolate mulberry coffee. If the waterfront setting is what draws you, our guide to the best Bosphorus restaurants in Istanbul covers the whole shoreline.

2. Ismet Baba Fish Restaurant

Ismet Baba sits half on land and half on the sea, so a long dinner here feels like a slow cruise. The format is the classic one: Turkish mezes spread across the table first, then the sea bass in its silky, zesty white-yellow sauce.

Dessert splits the table into two camps. Helva for tradition, watermelon for restraint.

3. Divan Brasserie – Kalamış

Divan runs on the French brasserie formula, and the Kalamış location wears it well. The cheese and charcuterie platter is the order, partly for the dried apricots and fig marmalade that come with it.

The drinks list runs long on wine and cocktails, though the zingy ginger lemonade has a way of getting reordered. On the plates, the kitchen takes chances that land: salmon with sweet and sour vegetables, mango folded into a fragrant quinoa tabbouleh.

4. The Townhouse Istanbul

The drinks list does a lot of work at The Townhouse. Scottish whiskeys, Japanese Yamazaki, local craft beers like the Gara Guzu Blonde Ale, a Fig Fashioned for the cocktail crowd, and a non-alcoholic Pure Mario or a lavender kombucha if you are pacing yourself.

The food keeps up. Popcorn shrimp with spicy mayo opens the table, the Townhouse Burger disappears fast, and the vegan bowl needs defending from your tablemates. Save room for the creamy San Sebastian cake.

5. Viktor Levi Şarap Evi

Viktor Levi is a wine house with a greenery-filled garden and a bottle list that covers both old world and new. The food holds its own. The beef fajita and the three-cheese steak are the names to know.

The pairings are half the fun here. Cherry wine next to the chocolate souffle works on a date. With friends, pour the house Viktor Levi 17 white alongside the creamy chicken siciliano.

6. Ioki Sushi

Ioki pairs a terrace with retreat-worthy views and a long Japanese menu that takes liberties in the right direction. The veggie roll may be your first quinoa sushi. The tiger roll wraps creamy avocado and cream cheese inside and tops the slices with fried sweet potato. There are eel rolls with honey-mustard sauce, and everything lands on the table in colorful, tidy slices. Do not leave without the gyoza or the shrimp taco.

7. Fauna

Fauna cooks slow and from scratch, with a focus on sustainability and fresh, seasonal ingredients. You can taste that approach without anyone explaining it. The dish to plan around is the Karayaka Kuzu İncikli Makarna: oven-roasted lamb shank served over spaghetti, saucy, deeply browned, and gone too soon.

Start with the nettle soup. Then move to the handmade pine nut ravioli, folded like an envelope around its filling and dressed in pesto, or the creamy organic beetroot burrata. The room invites conversation, and the kitchen gives you plenty to talk about.

8. Lacivert Restaurant

Lacivert takes reservations and then sends a boat to pick you up, which sets the tone for the whole evening. The marinated sea bass with orange and fennel is the signature order, and grilled lobster with champagne handles birthdays, with the Bosphorus filling the windows.

Skipping seafood? The kebab with yogurt holds its own. For dessert, quince is the quiet pick. The loud one is a crispy, flaky pastry rolled like a burrito around clotted cream, pistachio, and chewy ice cream. If that does not hit the spot, nothing will.

Make a day of it

Eight restaurants will not exhaust the Asian side. For the streets around the ferry docks, our guide to the best Kadıköy restaurants goes deeper, and our Üsküdar restaurant guide covers eight more places to eat. Start with a proper Istanbul breakfast and you can eat from morning to midnight without crossing back.

Prefer to eat the Asian side with a local leading the way? Our evening Kadıköy street food tour runs Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and the tour calendar lists every upcoming date. Either way, you will leave understanding why people plan whole trips around Turkish food.