The 35 Best Restaurants in Istanbul, From Meyhanes to Michelin Stars

The best restaurants in Istanbul are scattered across two continents, and this guide treats them that way. Below are 35 places worth your appetite, grouped by neighborhood: two Michelin stars in Bomonti, family-run meyhanes off Istiklal, Ottoman palace kitchens on the Bosphorus, and a Kadıköy lokanta whose menu changes every day. Pick by where you’re staying, or treat the list as a reason to cross the water.

Who this guide is for

First-timers should work through the Old City and Beyoğlu sections, plus one Bosphorus dinner. Returning visitors can skip straight to Kadıköy and the waterfront. Vegetarians have far more options here than Istanbul’s kebab reputation suggests. And if you’re watching your budget, fair warning: this list leans toward sit-down dinners and special occasions, so pair it with our Istanbul street food guide for the cheap end of town. For the dishes themselves, see the best food in Istanbul; for the full eating strategy, start with our Istanbul food guide; and every district below has a deeper page in our neighborhood food guides.

The 35 best restaurants in Istanbul at a glance

Beyoğlu: Istiklal, Pera and around Taksim

The center of gravity for dinner in Istanbul. Tasting menus, meyhanes, and a Russian holdout all sit within a short walk of Istiklal Street. Staying near the square? Our Taksim restaurant guide covers the area street by street.

1. Yeni Lokanta

On a side street off Istiklal and surrounded by attractions, Yeni Lokanta takes an avant-garde approach to dining. The tasting menu deserves at least one evening of your trip.

The meze section of the menu holds some of the kitchen’s best work. The green salad earns its place: walnuts and apples add crunch, and the broccoli is cooked flawlessly. The Mersin shrimp with almond sauce, smoked celeriac, and zaatar (wild thyme) sets the stage for the buffalo milk ice cream, made fresh in the restaurant. A full à la carte menu runs alongside, with surprises like the manti, Turkish beef dumplings under creamy yogurt.

2. Mikla

Mikla serves one-of-a-kind dishes from its award-winning perch in the Marmara Pera Hotel. The menu shifts with the seasons, but the Cheese and Honey dish for two shows how this kitchen thinks: spicy mustard against flower honey and prunes, then crunchy walnuts and savory cheese. A clever piece of cooking. Pair it with a bottle from the local wine producers.

The Iskenderun shrimp arrives with rock samphire, cherry vinegar, hazelnuts, green olives, and sweet bean paste. Vegans get real attention here too: chef-owner Mehmet Gürs runs a separate vegan tasting menu, and its quince dessert with chili and sour apples stays with you long after the plates are cleared.

3. Nicole

Nicole serves contemporary Anatolian cooking without the stiffness that usually comes with fine dining. Executive Chef Serkan Aksoy has led the kitchen since late 2021. The restaurant holds a Michelin star, and a Michelin Service Award followed in 2025.

The menu changes with the seasons, so order the kitchen’s current ideas rather than chasing a signature dish. The terrace at Tomtom Suites does the rest.

4. Asmalı Cavit

Tucked into one of the many streets around the famous Istiklal, close to the Golden Horn and Salt Galata, Asmalı Cavit is one of the city’s iconic meyhanes. Step inside and the noise of the avenue disappears.

The menu is built on traditional mezes served with rakı, though the dishes pair just as well with Turkish wine and Turkish beers. The award-winning DLC Kalecik Karası is an elegant red that works with the sirloin steak (bonfile) and, oddly enough, with the chocolate souffle. The stuffed chard leaves (pazı sarma) melt in your mouth, and the garlicky semizotu salatası (purslane with yogurt) wakes you right up. Still, order the börek first. It arrives hot and gives way in one crisp, molten bite.

5. Ayaspaşa Rus Lokantası

Ayaspaşa is a fine example of world cuisine done well in Istanbul. The warm room might make you feel like you’ve stepped into Russia before the October Revolution. If you eat everything, the brain salad appetizer may pleasantly surprise you.

For something gentler, the sea bass whiting layers potato, cheese, egg, and sauce, and it satisfies exactly the way you’d imagine Russian food would. The duck à l’orange done Russian style, with orange sauce and seasonal vegetables, is the dish to argue over. Note the dessert schedule: the Napoleon replaces the Medovik on Fridays and Saturdays. The Napoleon is good. The delicate honey layers of the Medovik are better, and worth planning around.

Karaköy, Galata and Galataport

Old port streets, a renovated cruise terminal, and some of the city’s best drinking food. For more along these blocks, see our Karaköy restaurant guide.

6. Karaköy Lokantası

This family-run tavern (meyhane) is a place to lose yourself to the night. Order a rakı, the aniseed-based Turkish drink, and work through the meze menu. Nose-to-tail eaters can start with the boiled veal brains (beyin salatası) or the dil söğüş (boiled veal tongue). If that’s a step too far, the spicy muhammara dip against the cooling meyhane cacığı (tzatziki) is a perfect pairing. Marinated fish, stuffed mussels, and samphire in olive oil round out the table.

Sharing plates are the format, so solo diners take note. The kitchen will still win you over with grilled meatballs (ızgara köfte) and the Dana Çökertme, veal strips over shoestring potatoes with yogurt and tomato sauce.

7. Mükellef

At night, this rooftop spot runs on meze, fish, rakı, and meat. Come back in daylight, though, because Mükellef is also one of the best restaurants in Istanbul for brunch.

The serpme kahvaltı (spread breakfast) amounts to an endless supply of food that reads like contemporary Mediterranean cooking through a Turkish lens. Expect three different cheeses, chili jam, apple jam, and a crunchy tahini-walnut pumpkin dish, and that’s just a sample. Centrally located in historic Karaköy, Mükellef has become a staple of Turkey’s contemporary restaurant scene.

8. Frankie

Frankie has a new home at Galataport, on the Karaköy waterfront, where founder Kaya Demirer relocated and renewed the restaurant. The old tasting menus are gone. In their place sits an international MediterrAsian menu, recognized by Gault & Millau and holding four pearls from the İncili Gastronomi Rehberi. Add the stylish modern room and live music, and Frankie makes a proper night out.

9. Ali Ocakbaşı

Close to the Golden Horn and the Galata Tower sits an unassuming, hard-to-find grill house serving some of the best grills and kebabs in Istanbul. The menu is classic Turkish cuisine with real options for vegetarians: the kaşarlı pide (cheddar pide) is a vegetarian-friendly standout, and the güveç appetizer, a pan of sauteed vegetables, will warm your soul.

Grills and lovely salads fill the menu, but save room for the peynirli irmik tatlısı, a cheesy semolina dessert served with ice cream. It is one of a kind.

The Old City: Eminönü and Sultanahmet

The historic peninsula does monuments better than restaurants, which makes these two stand out even more. For the full picture between the mosques, see our guide to the best restaurants in Sultanahmet.

10. Pandeli

Almost next door to the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar, Pandeli carries the Orient Express atmosphere that has pulled travelers to this city for generations. The celeriac and quince in olive oil appetizer is fresh, earthy, and quietly sweet. Chicken Topkapı, an Ottoman classic of chicken stuffed with rice, might inspire your next Christmas table.

Order the Sultan’s delight (Hünkar Beğendi) and you’ll understand the long romance between this city and its table. A compote of seasonal fruit closes the meal elegantly.

11. Sarnıç Restaurant

Sarnıç sits inside a cistern built 1,500 years ago in Sultanahmet, within walking distance of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, and Topkapı Palace.

The Venetian in the Harem bursts with flavor: beef medallions with earthy oyster mushrooms, creamy goat cheese, roasted potatoes, and a sauce the kitchen keeps secret. The flour halva with walnut, hazelnut, and caramel sauce is remarkable. Between the dim lighting under ancient stone and the food, this is one of the most romantic rooms in Istanbul.

On the Bosphorus

Palace kitchens, terraces, and dining rooms where the water sits close enough to hear. For the neighborhoods behind this shoreline, our Beşiktaş restaurant guide goes deeper.

12. Tuğra Restaurant

No restaurant in Istanbul makes you feel more like a sultan. Tuğra occupies one of the Ottoman Empire’s last palaces, serves Ottoman cuisine from authentic recipes, and looks straight out over the Bosphorus Strait.

The organic chicken Topkapı, stuffed with rice, nuts, and herbs, followed by a pomegranate sorbet, makes the case on its own. If you have one special occasion budgeted for this trip, spend it here.

13. Le Fumoir

Tucked in the gardens of Çırağan Palace, one of the last from the Ottoman Empire, this chic bar has just about everything. Palm trees, a breeze off the Bosphorus, and a menu built for smell and taste.

If you smoke shisha, try the agave, kiwi, and apple blend; the hint of sour plays well against the agave’s sweet notes. And instead of cashews and hazelnuts with your drink, have baklava with Turkish tea.

14. Chalet

A few minutes from the Dolmabahçe Palace, one of the most impressive palaces in Istanbul, Swissotel The Bosphorus runs a Swiss chalet-style restaurant serving rösti potatoes, spätzle, and serious chocolate desserts. Time your visit for the colder months. The chalet itself is a winter concept; in summer the same grounds operate as Chalet Garden, with stone-oven pizzas and a summer take on the fondue.

What would a Swiss restaurant be without cheese? Two cheese fondues, three raclette plates. Finish light with a raspberry Swiss roll or go all in on the chocolate fondue. Either way, Chalet makes an evening you’ll still talk about at home.

15. Banyan Restaurant

This elegant Ortaköy restaurant has a 180-degree Bosphorus view, and the kitchen has evolved under Executive Chef Arifhan Kanlı: Asian cooking and service techniques applied to Anatolian flavors, with fish as a particular focus. It holds a recommendation in the Michelin Guide.

The menu moves with the kitchen’s ideas, but the caramelized pineapple with grilled sirloin and wok vegetables will introduce you to combinations you didn’t know worked. The gluten-free bitter chocolate ganache with passionfruit compote, eaten in front of that view, ends a day about as well as a day can end.

16. Yeniköy Kaşıbeyaz Bosphorus

A favorite of local socialites and celebrities, Yeniköy Kaşıbeyaz pairs one of the most picturesque terraces in Istanbul with a serious kebab kitchen.

The Gavurdağ salad balances savory, sweet, and acidity in one colorful bowl. Spice lovers should order the Adana kebab. Everyone else gets the Ali Nazik: meat in tomato sauce over a creamy, buttery eggplant mash that picks up a smoky edge from roasting over an open flame. The dish comes from Gaziantep, one of the UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy. For dessert, the katmer here is a favorite of ours. Do not skip it.

17. IST TOO

IST TOO fuses international cooking so seamlessly that almost any palate finds a home here. It covers Turkish and international cuisine in Istanbul on one menu: pasta, sandwiches, seafood, kebabs, and pides.

Eating Turkish? Start with the classic appetizers, the meze, and finish with the kebabs. Leaning Mediterranean? The mushroom risotto is rich enough to count as the whole meal. For dessert, the katmer arrives crisp and flaky with clotted cream, chewy Maraş ice cream, and pistachios. Excellent food right by the Bosphorus.

18. Lacivert Restaurant

Lacivert earns its reputation as one of the best restaurants in Istanbul for a romantic dinner simply because of how close the Bosphorus sits. The food keeps up with the view.

The Thai-style warm shrimp salad is a citrusy dream. Juicy grilled lamb chops pair well with the sauteed porcini mushrooms. Everything on the dessert menu tempts, but if you pick one, take the Hatay-style semolina dessert with cheese and ice cream. It’s so soft and fluffy you’ll feel like you’re eating a cloud.

19. Kandilli Borsa Restaurant

The terrace views are unbelievable, and they still come second to the menu: traditional Turkish cooking with flavors carried over from the Ottoman kitchen. The vegetable dishes labeled zeytinyağlı (‘olive oil dishes’) are extraordinary.

Borsa’s imam bayıldı, stuffed eggplants passed down through Ottoman recipes, elevates a humble vegan-friendly dish. The desserts run in a league of their own: the irmik helva (semolina dessert) follows the style of Mardin, a city in eastern Turkey, and the fig and date pudding (hurmalı incir tatlısı), done Borsa style with ice cream, tastes flat-out luxurious.

20. A’jia Restaurant

A chateau-style restaurant on the Asian side that looks like it could be the next James Bond film set. The kitchen turns out Mediterranean cooking with a masterful hand: swordfish casserole, bistecca alla fiorentina, risotto with shrimp. If you can’t decide, take the ravioli stuffed with dried meat and mushrooms; it pairs brilliantly with the Sevilen Centum Syrah.

The hotel also serves one of the best breakfasts in Istanbul, right on the Bosphorus, with seagulls supplying the soundtrack. Take the full Turkish breakfast or the American one if you want everything, or pick from homemade granola, French toast, omelets, and menemen, the Turkish scrambled-egg dish.

Kadıköy and the Asian side

The ferry ride over is its own reward. For the neighborhood in depth, market streets and all, read our Kadıköy restaurant guide.

21. Çiya Sofrası

Çiya Sofrası serves the flavors and smells of authentic Turkish cooking at their best. Beyond seasonal, high-quality ingredients, the kitchen pulls dishes from the food culture of all of Turkey, and the menu changes daily with what’s available. A few regulars persist.

Vegans should head straight for the olive oil dishes, where the kereviz tavası reigns: a celery dish with a muted sweetness that keeps you reaching back in. Meat eaters get the Ayvalı Köfte, lamb meatballs cooked enticingly sour with quince. The desserts carry flavors you won’t find anywhere else. Traditional Turkish food never tasted this good.

22. The Townhouse

A trendy bar-restaurant on the Asian side of Istanbul in Kadıköy, with whiskeys from Scotland, Japan, India, and Taiwan. Teetotalers do fine here too: the Pure Bellini mocktail drinks almost like a Christmassy pear soda, and the food alone justifies the trip.

About that food: the menu reads like small plates, then massive portions arrive, and the cooking is too good to stop eating. The popcorn shrimp comes out crunchy and spicy. If you order the vegan bowl, guard it. Your companions will try to steal it.

Modern Turkish kitchens, meze and tasting menus

These scatter across the city, so book by the kitchen rather than the neighborhood. Between them they map where Turkish cooking is heading.

23. Turk Fatih Tutak

Fatih Tutak cooks with a daring streak. His restaurant in Bomonti holds two Michelin stars, the first awarded in Turkey. The menu changes with the seasons; the relaxing, bamboo-inspired modern room stays the same. Think of it as modern Turkish meze with an inventive edge, where each arriving plate stirs real excitement at the table.

The menu is written in Turkish and simply lists the ingredients. The yumurta (egg) and pastırma (beef pastrami) dish will floor you. His midye dolma (stuffed mussels) deserve a glass of Kastro Tireli, an orange/amber bottling and a fantastic Turkish wine from the Aegean region.

24. Neolokal

Neolokal joins ‘neo’ (new) and ‘local,’ and that’s exactly what chef Maksut Aşkar does: lovingly renovating his mother’s traditional flavors. Each dish lands like a small artwork, and it’s hard not to fall for them.

The braised root vegetables will make even committed carnivores smile, and with six different fruits and vegetables on the plate, your 5-a-day takes care of itself. Mom’s Meatballs come with bean salad, lavash, and salad, and they taste like the name promises. What will actually blow you away is the frigo: a tea-smoked frozen ganache bar with popcorn ice cream and raspberry powder. No other dessert in the city resembles it. Tasting menus exist for the indecisive.

25. Aheste

An intimate room with modern decor, serving modern Turkish and Middle Eastern sharing plates with real choices for omnivores and vegetarians alike. The chicken confit with kepse pilaf might bowl you over; the cured bonito on bread with tomato sauce hits the exact savory note you’ve been craving.

The vegetarian side holds its own. A green salad with cheese and pear tempts anyone, while the celeriac rolls with Jerusalem artichoke land delicate and nutty. If the crispy pumpkin with tahini and clotted cream is on when you visit, dessert is decided.

26. Mürver

Mürver is the plain definition of good food. The menu changes to capture the spirit and ingredients of each season, and every dish reads like a small celebration of it.

The vegetables from the brick oven deserve a special shout-out; they could convert anyone to vegetables. On past menus they’ve sat beside a magnificent dried beef appetizer, smoked with juniper and served with charred peach and Sürmene cheese, though plates like these rotate out as the season turns. Normally a şekerpare is a small yet overwhelming Turkish dessert. Mürver has served a vegan version that pulls back the sweetness, plated with pistachio, pear ice cream, and cherry compote. If it appears on the menu when you visit, don’t pass it up.

27. Alaf Restaurant

This terrace restaurant picks its suppliers carefully from all over Turkey and builds on traditional Turkish street food. The ingredient quality means nothing on the menu falls short. The chef takes a freer hand with dishes from southern and eastern Turkey, drawing on Kurdish, Assyrian, and Turkish kitchens at once.

Every visit differs a little. If the fiery, slightly sweet-and-sour çiğ köfte (raw meatballs) appears, order it. Dishes like jumbo shrimp over eggplant rice show up nowhere else, and the plating is some of the most beautiful in the city.

28. Asitane Restaurant

Asitane serves sophisticated Ottoman cuisine from recipes that originate in the Topkapı Palace and Edirne Palace kitchens. You’ll eat a feast fit for a king or, at least, a sultan.

It’s easy to get lost in the appetizers: the almond soup (badem çorba), or the fragrant Hums Lokması, a chickpea puree with raisins, cinnamon, and pine nuts. The Levrek Biryan is a revelation, sea bass meeting walnuts and saffron. Sit on the patio for one of the most romantic dinners in Istanbul, and book ahead, because that patio fills.

29. Meze by Lemon Tree

Meze by Lemon Tree has mastered the fine art of small, precise plates for anyone following the Mediterranean diet. Meze are Turkish appetizers, something like a Turkish answer to tapas, and here the meze menu operates almost like a tasting menu, which also makes it a fine place to just snack.

Among the warm appetizers, the hummus with pastrami whets the appetite with a spicy kick. The mains all please, but the sea bass filet cooked in paper with apricots and almonds carries a twist you won’t forget. For dessert: bananas with honey, nuts, cream, and chili sauce. The savory heat somehow makes everything sweeter.

Steakhouses, rooftops and international kitchens

For the nights you want a New York strip, sashimi, or a skyline mocktail between all the Turkish meals.

30. Beyti

The home of the original beyti dish. This meat institution in Florya has hosted VIPs since the 1950s, and founder Mr. Beyti has been cooking since the 1940s, which may explain why his name is synonymous with meat in Turkey. His original beyti called for chopped meat rather than ground.

Vegetarian friends aren’t stranded here: the zeytinyağlı (olive oil) section holds some exquisite dishes. Carnivores who skip the namesake can take a tender T-bone steak. Whatever you order, the stuffed vegetables (dolma) and the imam bayıldı (stuffed eggplants) belong on the table.

31. Nusr-Et Steakhouse Etiler

Meat lovers already know this as the home of Salt Bae. Nusr-Et needs no introduction and remains one of the best steakhouses in Istanbul for a serious meat fix.

The steaks are top quality and come in every cut and size. The New York strip stays a classic for a reason: flavorful and juicy, with just the right amount of fat. The tomahawk runs juicy and tender and pairs well with the Nusr-Et salad. The lokum cut is as soft as a Turkish delight, and the sushi option is a genuinely clever order. Get the French fries too; the sauce list seems unlimited, and honey mustard or truffle mayo may win you over for good.

32. Spago Istanbul by Wolfgang Puck

The Infatuation once described Wolfgang Puck as the “only chef your grandma knows by name.” His award-winning Istanbul outpost runs several menus at once: cocktails, sushi from the sushi bar, pasta and rice, red meat, seafood, and desserts.

At dinner, the lobster linguine is sublime, and the duck spring rolls with fresh mango and ten-spices sweet chili sauce shouldn’t be missed. The sauteed cauliflower comes with raisins, a combination good enough that you may start adding raisins to dishes at home. With its chic setting and exact cooking, Spago Istanbul has earned a reputation as one of the strongest restaurants Wolfgang Puck has opened anywhere.

33. Sunset Grill & Bar

Sunset Grill & Bar fills its menu with healthy options and international range, and the Japanese side of the kitchen, especially the sushi, is a particular strength. Feeling brave? This may be the gentlest introduction to escargot you’ll find; the herby, garlicky butter turns snails into something you order twice.

Gluten-free diners get a ravishing beetroot, carrot, and pumpkin ravioli. The steak tartare takes the cake, though: truffle oil for lusciousness, lime for a zesty zing, cheese for a creamy finish. One of the best fine dining rooms in Istanbul.

34. Ulus 29

A chic eatery taking creative liberties with international cooking, and the diverse menu makes choosing painless. Octopus arrives Galician-style or folded into a Portuguese-style risotto. The Asian end of the menu runs from crispy duck spring rolls to an extensive sashimi plate.

A few plates demand attention: the homemade nachos with guacamole hit every savory note with a luscious creaminess, and the popcorn shrimp with sweet and spicy aioli is what you’ve been missing all your life. When you want a break from Turkish food entirely, this is the place.

35. Summit Bar & Terrace

Nothing winds down a day like the Istanbul skyline with a Caramel Apple Pie mocktail in hand. Wine drinkers gravitate to the Kiss from A Rose, built on rose wine, Chambord, and lemonade. The menu prints in both Turkish and English and hints at each drink’s flavor and mood, so ordering blind works fine.

The food is no joke either. The Cuban salmon a la plancha comes flavored with pineapple and chili pepper over potato puree; the Indian butter chicken runs rich and creamy; and if whiskey is your drink, the mini hamburger is its natural partner. On a lucky day there’s live music, and the service is the kind where nothing is too much bother. The menu runs a little pricey and earns it.

Final words

Thirty-five restaurants is a lot of dinners. Spread them across both continents, mix the palace terraces with the meyhanes, and leave room for whatever the street puts in front of you between meals. If you want the eating mapped day by day, our Istanbul food itineraries do exactly that.

And if you’d rather have a local handle the ordering, that’s our job. We’ve run food tours in Istanbul since 2013: groups capped at 10 guests, rated 4.95 out of 5 across more than 7,800 reviews. Come hungry.