Most Beautiful Cafes in Istanbul: 10 Instagrammable Spots

Istanbul commits to a cafe concept. One spot on this list pours coffee under a full canopy of purple bougainvillea, another is a working Breaking Bad set with a periodic table for a menu, and a third shares its floor with an antique Mercedes and a sailboat. Here are 10 cafes where the room itself earns the photo, with what to order at each one.

Concept cafes are one corner of the city’s food scene; our guide to the best food in Istanbul maps the rest. And if you care more about the cup than the decor, we keep a separate list of coffee shops in Istanbul.

Quick comparison: all 10 cafes

1. Kuzguncuk Begonvil Cafe

Named after the bougainvillea that drapes its whole exterior in purple, this little cafe sits in Kuzguncuk, the pastel-house village on the Asian shore that photographers already adore. Stand beneath the flower canopy and the frame fills with color before you’ve even ordered.

The menu keeps things homemade. Reviewers consistently mention the lemonades, smoothies and cakes. Order a Turkish coffee or a pomegranate tea, find a seat under the blooms, and let the street do the rest.

Pair it with a wander past Kuzguncuk’s pastel houses and your camera roll is sorted for the day. If you stay on this shore for dinner, the Asian side has its own restaurant list.

2. Walter’s Coffee Roastery

Walter, from Breaking Bad, now has his own cafe. From the periodic table menu with coffee-related elements (and the password to the wifi), this industrial spot has a vegan muffin to die for. Or, if you’re not vegan, why not overdose on an “Injector,” which is like a caramel/Nutella doughnut sandwich with a syringe still attached.

If you don’t want to throw on a hazmat suit and take a picture with one of the many chemistry-shaped pyrex or conical glasses and post it on Instagram, you can plug in your laptop and ignore the fun. Especially as the indie music isn’t at all distracting or loud. With a variety of coffee beans, all purchasable, plus some tees for sale, this spot must be visited to be seen.

3. Fil Books

With its marble countertops, rows of bookshelves, and even chairs that have no legs (they’re suspended with a rope that goes to the ceiling), if you walk in here thinking it’s an artistic workshop, you’d be right. Set up to be a bookshop, a workshop, and a cafe, this little spot now is a publishing house that hosts book launches, artist talks, workshops, and even matches newbies to experienced mentors. If you ever wanted to create a photo book, you’re in the right place.

Their creativity extends to the food too. Chocoholics will love the brownie drowning in a chocolate ganache if they don’t appreciate the Oreo pancake. We’re not sure what milk oolong tea is, but the Energy Boost has wonderful green apples and orange peels just swimming around. The hot lemonade is also a genius idea with its pineapple puree sweetening up the spicy ginger, the sour lemon, the fragrant star anise, and stick cinnamon to stir it all up.

4. Minoa Cafe Bookstore

Bibliophiles will find themselves at home in this cafe within a Harry Potter-esque bookshop. Try the croissant with a soya macchiato or iced chocolate if you want to hype yourself up before browsing the books. Or perhaps you might want to chill with a gluten-free cookie paired with an alcohol-free mojito or a freshly squeezed carrot or pomegranate juice.

However, if your stomach is rumbling, you have choices from burgers, pasta, risotto, sandwiches, and salads. Still, nothing beats getting there early for the Minoa Fit breakfast, which runs sweet, tangy, bitter, and savory across sourdough bread, eggs, smooth avocado puree, aged earthy cheese, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, mini granola, and filter coffee. If you’re not an early bird, you can wind down with the Duvel Belgian Golden Ale and your favorite book.

5. POW! The Hero in You

Holy cafe, Batman! Inside a museum of hero-related memorabilia, there’s a cafe that sells the tastiest minion cupcakes. The shakerato is awesome with the cookie, but if you ever wanted to demolish Spiderman, you may want to pair it with an Americano to help balance out the sweet with the bitter.

You can sit by the window and watch the mere mortals pass by before picking up a graphic novel on your way out. And if you have friends that need a little cheering up, you can gift them a Freddie Mercury statue, a sculpture of Hakuna-Matata singing Lion King, a snow globe of Tom or Jerry, a figure of Rick & Morty, or a replica prop from Harry Potter.

6. Suflör Cafe

With more than fifteen soufflé varieties on the menu, the choice runs from an explosion of sensuous chocolate to a volcano of cheese. Expect a blissful pleasure that’ll leave you giddy. The handmade lemonades come in a vase fit for a bouquet of flowers. The bitter Night King coffee pairs excellently with the ruby chocolate and black forest soufflés, and the sweet-sour Apple Worm lemonade goes with the white chocolate and tahini soufflé.

The monochromatic decor with the sketches on the wall will make you feel like you stepped into another world. Imagine being pulled into a comic book, like A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ music video.

Whether it be the concept or one of its desserts, Suflör Cafe has something that is sure to please anyone’s Instagram feed.

7. Cafe Naftalin

Those who don’t like cats may want to skip this youthful yet retro pub. They’ll come and sleep on your table alongside your veggie meatballs and sweet homemade strawberry lemonade. Everything about this place is super cute, from the hand-written menu that’s in an envelope with a Kafka quote to the toilet hidden behind a fridge door.

The rose tea paired with the cat cookies is out of this world. Oh, and the cookies come in different colors, so it looks exactly like the patterns of a kitty. It’s such an adorable place that it’ll unleash your inner child! It’s perfect for the homesick wanderer.

8. Şairler Kahvesi

You’ll leave wondering why in the world has no one else thought of combining sour cherry and cinnamon in a handmade lemonade? The cucumber and thyme lemonade also has a fresh, zingy feel that’ll wake you up. Each drink, especially the coffees, comes with flowers, a tiny yet creamy Hobby chocolate bar, and a scroll. Inside the scroll is a quote from a Turkish poet. You must bring along your favorite translation device because this library-themed cafe has some awe-inspiring quotes. You may even leave with a newfound appreciation for the poets of Turkey.

Their food is no joke either. The Turkish breakfast includes French fries, a colorful salad, and enough side dishes that could feed an army. The brownie, however, is one to watch out for: surrounded by slices of strawberry and orange, with a touch of mint leaves, drenched in chocolate ganache and a touch of white sugar. If that doesn’t remind you of Christmas, we’re not sure what will.

9. La Vie Praline

Just like in Chocolat, there’s a huge variety in flavors and styles, from lollipops to frog and turtle shaped pieces. The best gift for a chocoholic is in this chocolaterie. Their cafe, however, does have actual food options like the smoked turkey breakfast. All that, however, is probably to distract you from the unbelievable range of hot chocolates: from coffee to lemon, to strawberry to black pepper. If that didn’t make you feel like Augustus Gloop, why not try the Turkish coffee with strawberry. You’ll never be able to drink it anywhere else.

Really, this place is “la vie en rose” with a number of dessert options: dipping pineapple pieces with brownies into the chocolate fondue. The milk with the Chocolat special, a plate of handmade chocolates, was deeply satisfying. But whenever one feels like a bitter coffee, they may wish to pair it with the Lady Praline: a monster with strawberries, bananas, French cookie, almond praline, and real Belgium chocolate. We’re still drooling over it.

10. Petra Roasting Co. (Gayrettepe)

One of Turkey’s first third-wave roasters pours its coffee inside the Muse Collective, an art and design space in Gayrettepe where everything around you is part of the concept. Art pieces and artisanal objects share the floor with an antique Mercedes and even a sailboat, and a boutique sells local artisanal products if something catches your eye between sips.

The coffee credentials are serious too: Petra supplies dozens of hotels and cafes across the city, and reviewers consistently praise the single-origin roasts and the brunch kitchen.

Bonus: Taste of Two Continents Tour

A food tour covers more photogenic ground in a day than any cafe crawl: a Turkish breakfast spread, a ferry ride on the Bosphorus, Istanbul’s most colorful dessert shops and the backstreets between them. To see what guests have photographed, search Instagram for #istanbulonfood.

Book the Taste of Two Continents tour here.

Final words

While you can find many of the same types of restaurants and eateries in neighborhoods all over the city, these 10 cafes each built a concept or a room you won’t see twice. Which one would be your favorite?

And don’t miss our Istanbul food tours. We can show you where all the best spots are in this bustling city. Join us today!