Best Restaurants in Taksim and Beyoğlu: 18 Places Worth Knowing

Taksim Square and the Beyoğlu streets that spill off it are where most visitors to Istanbul end up hungry at least once. The 18 restaurants below cover the whole spread: an ocakbaşı with an open grill five minutes from the square, a winehouse pouring since 1898, Circassian and Black Sea kitchens, and one Michelin-starred dining room. For other districts, start with our Istanbul neighborhood food guides.

All 18 restaurants at a glance

Place	Area	What to order	Price level
Meze by Lemon Tree	Across from the Pera Palace Hotel	Mezes with a modern twist	Mid-range
Hayvore	Near Taksim Square	Black Sea dishes	Mid-range
Otantik Anadolu Yemekleri	10-minute walk from Taksim Square	Mantı, gözleme, olive-oil vegetables	Mid-range
Tomtom Kebab	Taksim	Adana and Urfa kebabs	Mid-range
Fıccın	Beyoğlu	Circassian ravioli	Mid-range
Nicole	Atop Tomtom Suites	Contemporary Anatolian menu	Special occasion
Pera Antakya	Beyoğlu	Mezze Plate, Tepsi Kebabı	Mid-range
Zübeyir Ocakbaşı	5-minute walk from Taksim Square	Lamb chops	Mid-range
Sabırtaşı Restaurant	İstiklal Street	İçli köfte	Cheap eat
Hacı Abdullah Lokantası	Near Taksim Square	Hünkar Beğendi	Mid-range
Asmalı Cavit	Asmalı Mescit	Köfte and fried mussels	Mid-range
Cezayir	Beyoğlu	Meat dishes; vegetarian plates	Mid-range
Pano Şarapevi	Taksim	Cheese plates and wine	Mid-range
Müşterek Meyhane	Taksim	Mezes with rakı	Mid-range
Limonlu Bahçe	Off İstiklal Street	Drinks and dinner in the garden	Mid-range
Eleos	İstiklal Street, second floor	Fish and mezes	Mid-range
Nizam Pide	Near Taksim Square	Pide	Cheap eat
Aheste	Beyoğlu	Modern dinner menu	Mid-range

1. Meze by Lemon Tree

Meze by Lemon Tree serves traditional Turkish dishes and mezes with a modern twist, in a small dining room just across from the Pera Palace Hotel. The interior is lively and the staff friendly, and the kitchen treats classic recipes as a starting point for its own inventive plates.

The dining room seats only about 30, so a reservation is essential.

2. Hayvore

Hayvore, close to Taksim Square, cooks the food of Turkey’s Black Sea coast. The entire crew hails from that region, and the menu reads differently from every other restaurant on this list.

If you want to taste a regional Turkish kitchen without leaving the neighborhood, make this your first stop.

3. Otantik Anadolu Yemekleri

Otantik Anadolu Yemekleri sits a ten-minute walk from Taksim Square and serves Anatolian cooking built on traditional recipes with a modern touch. The menu runs wide: soups, pastries such as mantı and gözleme, and grills and kebabs with vegetables doused in olive oil.

Vegetarians do well here too, with dishes built on green beans, eggplant, and artichoke.

4. Tomtom Kebab

Tomtom Kebab is one of the best kebab houses in Taksim, known for fresh cold appetizers and its Adana and Urfa kebabs. It is open for lunch and dinner, and the kitchen ladles out warm soup late into the night.

The room is cozy enough that regulars treat it as a second home.

5. Fıccın

Fıccın starts with breakfast and runs through dinner, and it is a favorite among people who work in Beyoğlu. The specialty is Circassian food, above all the ravioli and the chicken dishes from that region of Turkey. In the evening it turns into a tavern.

If Circassian cooking is new to you, try it here at least once.

6. Nicole

Nicole sits atop Tomtom Suites with a view over old Istanbul that stretches to the Princes’ Islands. The restaurant takes its name from Agnes Marthe Nicole, the manager of the Franciscan nuns who healed patients in its historic building.

Executive chef Serkan Aksoy has led the kitchen since late 2021, the cooking is contemporary Anatolian, and the restaurant has held a Michelin star since 2022. A reservation is necessary; book at nicole.com.tr.

7. Pera Antakya

Pera Antakya, in the heart of Beyoğlu, is one of our favorite rooms for Turkish and Syrian food. The flavors run rich and complex without overpowering the plate.

The Mezze Plate is the smart opener: eight dips, among them hummus with pita bread, tabbouleh made from bulgur with mint and vegetables, eggplant caviar in olive oil, moutabel topped with fried onions and pine nuts on whole-wheat toast, and babagannuş mixed with sour cream, fresh herbs, red pepper paste, and onion rings.

The kebabs and oven-cooked dishes, Tepsi Kebabı in particular, deserve a round of their own. Reservations are recommended.

8. Zübeyir Ocakbaşı

Zübeyir Ocakbaşı has an open grill you can sit around, chatting with friends while the chef works the coals in front of you. The lamb chops melt in your mouth, and you will find it hard to order anything else.

Order more anyway. The shish kebab and chicken shish are excellent, and the walk from Taksim Square takes about five minutes. A reservation is recommended.

9. Sabırtaşı Restaurant

Sabırtaşı, on İstiklal Street, makes home-style içli köfte worth a detour, plus Kahramanmaraş-style mantı and baklava.

The owners are polite and warm, and a meal here feels like eating in a friend’s kitchen.

10. Hacı Abdullah Lokantası

Hacı Abdullah Lokantası, near Taksim Square, lays out the wide span of Turkish cooking: kebabs, salads, vegetable dishes, mezes, and desserts.

Order the signature Özel Hacı Abdullah Tabağı or the Hünkar Beğendi, a traditional Ottoman dish of tender lamb over eggplant sauce.

11. Asmalı Cavit

Asmalı Cavit sits in the famous Asmalı Mescit quarter and ranks among the most iconic taverns in Turkey. The kitchen turns out classic tavern food: köfte, kebab, fried mussels, grilled Swiss chard, marinated whiting, brain salad, and fried beef liver.

The drinks list runs long through beers, wines, and spirits. Reservations are recommended.

12. Cezayir Restaurant

Cezayir cooks some of the best meat dishes in Istanbul while keeping the menu genuinely herbivore-friendly. Vegetarians and vegans eat as well as the carnivores at the same table.

That range makes it the pick when your group cannot agree on a kitchen.

13. Pano Şarapevi

Pano Şarapevi has poured wine since 1898, which makes it one of the oldest and most famous winehouses in Taksim. The menu is long: cheese plates, cold and hot appetizers, salads, red meat, seafood and fish, chicken, and pasta.

Come for the historic room as much as for the food.

14. Müşterek Meyhane

Müşterek Meyhane opened in March 2014 and runs the way a good Taksim tavern should: mezes kept fresh by daily service, solid main courses, rakı on the table, and old Turkish music in the background. The lounge is airy, and the servers make you feel at home from the door.

For more tables like this across the city, see our guide to Istanbul meze restaurants.

15. Limonlu Bahçe

Tired of the crowds on İstiklal Street? Limonlu Bahçe claims to be the first chill-out zone in Istanbul, and the garden backs the claim up. It takes some finding. Worth it.

Once inside, you get good dishes, good drinks, friendly staff, and a setting that feels like a home garden planted years ago.

16. Eleos

Eleos brings Greek tradition to a second-floor room on İstiklal, inside an old historic building with tasteful decor, and it greets guests with complimentary ouzo, the traditional Greek spirit that warms you from head to toe.

This is a fish lover’s restaurant, one of the best in Taksim for seafood, with mezes and appetizers that earn their place before the main course. Prices stay reasonable for what arrives at the table.

17. Nizam Pide

Locals come to Nizam Pide mainly for the pide, though the menu also covers home-style Turkish dishes such as beans and rice, vegetable and meat plates, and soups, plus a satisfying selection of desserts.

This family-owned spot near Taksim Square moves fast and charges fairly, and the outdoor patio earns its keep in good weather. To see how it stacks up citywide, read our guide to the best pide in Istanbul.

18. Aheste

Aheste serves a modern, fresh dinner at fair prices, with food and a room elegant enough for a night out with friends.

Service is attentive, and the waiters speak English as well as French.

Where to go from here

Eighteen restaurants will outlast any single trip, so pick by mood: meat at the ocakbaşı, fish with ouzo, mezes with rakı, or a starred tasting menu above Tomtom Suites. If you would rather eat through these streets with a local leading the way, our Taksim evening food tour runs three hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings, capped at ten guests.

Between meals, our guide to Beyoğlu and Taksim covers what to see and do in the district.