Best Turkish Coffee in Istanbul: Top 10 Cafes & Coffee Houses

Ask where to drink the best Turkish coffee in Istanbul and our first answer sits inside the Grand Bazaar: Şark Kahvesi has poured sand-brewed coffee from the same spot on the bazaar’s main artery since 1958. The cup locals cross town for is at Fazıl Bey’in Türk Kahvesi in Kadıköy, where you can also carry home a packet of their ground coffee.

Turkish coffee is one of the two things every visitor should taste before leaving, alongside Turkish delight, and it sits on a much longer list of Turkish foods and drinks worth your stomach space. For everything beyond the coffee cup, start with our guide to the best food in Istanbul.

Place	Area	What to order	Price level
Pierre Loti	Eyüp, hilltop	Turkish coffee with the view	Cheap eat
Emirgan Tarihi Çınaraltı	Emirgan, on the Bosphorus	Turkish coffee under the plane tree	Cheap eat
Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi	Beyazıt	Dibek coffee, shisha optional	Cheap eat
Patisserie de Pera (Pera Palas Hotel)	Pera	Turkish coffee with Turkish desserts	Special occasion
Çengelköy Tarihi Çınaraltı	Çengelköy, Asian shore	Turkish coffee facing the European side	Cheap eat
Latife Galata	Galata, near the tower	Menengiç or cardamom coffee	Cheap eat
Cumbalı Kahve	Balat	Turkish coffee, plus beans to take home	Cheap eat
Sade Kahve	Rumelihisarı	Turkish coffee or tea after breakfast	Mid-range
Fazıl Bey’in Türk Kahvesi	Kadıköy	Turkish coffee, packed ground coffee to go	Cheap eat
Şark Kahvesi	Grand Bazaar	Sand-brewed Turkish coffee with baklava	Cheap eat

Turkish Coffee Tradition

In 1517 the Ottoman Turks conquered a small Yemeni town named Mocha and took its coffee beans back home. They had no idea this was the beginning of an empire’s favorite drink.

Turkish coffee is boiled. The finely ground beans, usually aromatic Arabica blended with Brazilian Rio Minas, cook directly in the water inside a small pot called a cezve. Many other methods brew or steep; this one keeps the grounds in the cup.

Three beverages anchor Turkish life: rakı, ayran, and Turkish coffee. The coffee carries the most ceremony. It arrives in espresso-sized cups, strong and dense, and the test for a properly cooked cup is a saying: the foam should be thick enough that even a buffalo could not sink in it.

A glass of water always comes with the coffee. Coffee is also customary after meals and whenever guests visit a Turkish household, usually with a piece of Turkish delight on the saucer. We rank the city’s lokum shops in our guide to the best Turkish delight in Istanbul. There is a Turkish saying for all this care, roughly rendered: a single cup of coffee is remembered for 40 years.

The superstitious in Turkey finish their cup and then have their fortune read from the leftover grounds. Turkish coffee readings belong to tasseography, the divination method of interpreting patterns in tea leaves and coffee grounds.

Best Turkish Coffee Brands

Turkey drinks an enormous amount of Turkish coffee, yet only a handful of brands share the market. The companies were established early, built strong identities, and households have stayed loyal for generations.

The finest cup starts with freshly ground beans. When those are out of reach, packed Turkish coffee from any supermarket in the city does the job. Once you are home, our Turkish coffee recipe walks you through cooking it properly in a cezve.

Here are the two brands you will see most often:

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi has sold ground Turkish coffee since 1871, which makes it the most recognized Turkish coffee brand in the country and one you can find in many others. In recent years the firm added Turkish coffee equipment and accessories to its line.

Its branch at the Spice Market sells daily ground coffee, and the market around it is the place to shop for a cezve and the small cups you need to serve the coffee properly. Mehmet Efendi products also sit on the shelves of every supermarket in Istanbul.

Kocatepe Türk Kahvesi

The second name in Turkish coffee is Kocatepe Türk Kahvesi, producing since 1949 and stocked in supermarkets across Turkey.

Best 10 Places to Taste Turkish Coffee in Istanbul

Remember this: finding the best Turkish coffee is about more than taste. Where it is served matters just as much, whether that is a historic building, a terrace on the Bosphorus, or an old cafe under centuries-old plane trees.

1. Pierre Loti

Pierre Loti is the hilltop escape on this list. The cafe and restaurant share the hill’s name, and a cable car covers the climb from Eyüp station in about 3 minutes.

At the top, fresh air and a long view over the city do half the work; the Turkish coffee does the rest. Come on a weekday for shorter lines.

2. Emirgan Tarihi Çınaraltı

Emirgan is a historic neighborhood overlooking the Bosphorus, known for cafes with serious views. The most popular is Emirgan Tarihi Çınaraltı, whose name translates as “underneath the plane tree.”

The cafe has served locals and visitors since 1948. Families fill it on weekends, so come on a weekday if you want a quiet table and a perfectly cooked cup while watching the water that separates Europe from Asia.

3. Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi

Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi in Beyazıt was built in 1707 as a religious complex where students studied science and theology. Today it works as a cafe and shisha lounge, and a century-old coffee house serves Turkish coffee inside the historic building.

4. Pera Palas Hotel

For Turkish coffee in luxurious surroundings, Pera Palas Hotel has been serving guests since 1895, and its cafe is open to the public. You do not need a room key for this one.

Patisserie de Pera, inside the hotel, pairs the coffee with some of the best Turkish desserts in the city, plus a spectacular view toward the Historical Peninsula. Of the ten places here, this is the special-occasion pick.

5. Çengelköy Tarihi Çınaraltı

Çengelköy is an idyllic pocket of calm on the Asian shore, and Tarihi Çınaraltı is its coffee house, the kind of place where you end up chatting with locals at the next table.

The view across to the European continent is the draw, along with a properly made cup. Wear long sleeves in fall and winter; the Bosphorus breeze blows strong here.

6. Latife Galata

Latife Galata, officially Latife Türk Kahvesi Galata, sits near the Galata Tower, which makes it easy to find. The shop is tiny and worth the squeeze.

Beyond classic Turkish coffee, the menu runs to menengiç kahvesi, gum mastic coffee, cardamom coffee, tea, espresso, and iced coffees for hot summer days. Galata’s streets are full of artisan shops and fashion boutiques, so grab a cup to go and keep wandering.

7. Cumbalı Kahve

Balat’s old houses, quiet churches, and synagogues make it a favorite quarter for urban explorers, and Cumbalı Kahve is one of the neighborhood’s newest cafes.

Open only since 2015, it has quickly earned a reputation as one of the best venues for Turkish coffee in Istanbul and become a local favorite. Alongside freshly ground coffee, the shop sells coffee and cacao beans, brewing equipment, and books about Istanbul, Balat, and Turkish coffee. Everything is also available online at their website.

8. Sade Kahve, Rumelihisarı

Sade Kahve has operated in Rumelihisarı since 2002, with a view over Istanbul’s hills and the Bosphorus that outdoes most postcards.

It is best known for breakfast, so consider arriving at lunchtime instead, when you can linger over Turkish coffee or tea in an atmosphere that feels unchanged since Ottoman days. The drive out is long. The setting repays it.

9. Fazıl Bey’in Türk Kahvesi

This cozy cafe in Kadıköy is one of the most popular coffee shops among locals. Stop for a quick cup on your way through the neighborhood, or sit down and make an hour of it.

Fazıl Bey also sells packed ground coffee in a wide range, from caffeine-free to chocolate flavored, which solves the question of what to bring home.

10. Şark Kahvesi, Grand Bazaar

For authentic Turkish coffee, it does not get better than Şark Kahvesi, which explains why this is one of the most popular cafes in the Grand Bazaar. Order fresh baklava with your cup before diving back into the shops.

Şark Kahvesi has stood in the same spot on the bazaar’s main artery since 1958, which makes it one of the most iconic shops in the building. It reopened in 2019 after a full interior redesign, so the decor reads more polished than old-school these days, yet the sand-brewed Turkish coffee remains. Coffee and tea here are the right antidote to the bazaar’s hustle.

Final words

Turkish coffee may be the most iconic beverage in Turkey’s largest city, and these ten cafes serve it the traditional way, often with baklava or a full breakfast on the side. If your taste runs to espresso and filter instead, our list of the best coffee shops in Istanbul covers that side of town.

If you are visiting soon, stop by at least one place on this list. And if you would rather have someone pour the first cup and tell the story behind Turkish coffee culture, join one of our Istanbul food tours. We have run them since 2013, and the drinks get as much attention as the food.