Istanbul Food Guide: What to Eat and Where to Eat

Start with a hub below, then move into a dish, neighborhood, practical question, or recipe. If you prefer to explore with a guide, compare our Istanbul food tours.

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Latest guides

The newest writing, straight off the desk.

The pedestrian side of Galata Bridge leading toward Istanbul's historic peninsula skyline

Istanbul

Best Areas to Stay in Istanbul for Food: 6 Neighborhoods Compared

Spice Bazaar counter with pyramids of red pepper flakes and handwritten signs for isot and pul biber

Istanbul

Pul Biber vs Aleppo Pepper, Isot and Maraş: What's the Difference?

A çay seller carries a swinging tray of Turkish tea glasses through an Istanbul street

Istanbul

Tipping in Istanbul: How Much, When, and Where

A shopper walks a narrow Istanbul market lane lined with food stalls and shopfronts

Istanbul

Free Self-Guided Istanbul Food Tour: 3 Routes, 16 Stops

tiered wooden bins of brightly colored ground spices with scoops and price cards at an Istanbul spice shop

Istanbul

What to Buy in Istanbul: Spices, Sweets and Kitchenware

cook beside a wood-fired doner kebab stack turning on its spit at an Istanbul counter

Istanbul

Doner vs Shawarma vs Gyro: What's the Difference?

Best Food in Istanbul

Every dish ranked, with where to get the good version.

Best Kebab in Istanbul: Top 12 Kebab Restaurants Right Now

Istanbul

Best Kebab in Istanbul: 12 Restaurants Locals Actually Book

metet and yaprak doner with a home made lavash bread

Istanbul

Best Doner Kebab in Istanbul: 8 Spots Locals Line Up For

A cook layers thin sliced doner meat over pieces of pide bread on white plates

Istanbul

Best Iskender Kebab in Istanbul: 5 Spots, Including the Inventor's Family

Best Cağ Kebab in Istanbul: 6 Delicious Cağ Kebab Restaurant

Istanbul

Best Cağ Kebab in Istanbul: 6 Restaurants to Try

Close-up of grilled köfte on flatbread with charred tomato, grilled onion, and a green pepper

Istanbul

Best Köfte in Istanbul: 8 Restaurants Worth Lining Up For

11 Best Steakhouses in Istanbul: Unleash Your Inner Caveman

Istanbul

11 Best Steakhouses in Istanbul: Where to Eat Steak

What to Eat in Istanbul

The dishes explained: breakfast to street food to dessert.

White plate of crisp künefe topped with pistachios being cut with a knife and fork

Istanbul

What to Eat in Istanbul: 15 Essential First-Timer Foods

Taste of Two Continents food tour market breakfast of olives cheese eggs cream honey simit Turkish tea laid on newspaper

Istanbul

The Best Breakfast in Istanbul: 10 Spots for a Real Turkish Kahvaltı

Best Menemen in Istanbul: 7 Sizzling Hot Menemen Places

Istanbul

Best Menemen in Istanbul: 7 Places for the Turkish Egg Dish

freshly cooked cheese pastry Turkish borek a popular street food in Istanbul

Istanbul

Best Börek in Istanbul: 10 Shops Worth Crossing the City For

Holding two glasses of red Turkish tea in traditional glasses with spoons and sugar, steam coming off top

Istanbul

How to Make Turkish Tea: The Two-Pot Çay Recipe, Step by Step

Fresh cheese börek cut into portions on a metal tray

Istanbul

Street Food in Istanbul: 20 Turkish Classics and Where to Find Them

Turkish Food Culture

Çay, rakı tables, lokantas, and the unwritten rules.

Holding two glasses of red Turkish tea in traditional glasses with spoons and sugar, steam coming off top

Istanbul

How to Make Turkish Tea: The Two-Pot Çay Recipe, Step by Step

Two brass Turkish coffee posts being roasted traditionally in wood coals

Istanbul

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

Turkish coffee is one of the most popular Turkish drink

Istanbul

How to Make Turkish Coffee: Classic Cezve Recipe, Step by Step

13 Best Cafés and Coffee Shops in Istanbul

Istanbul

13 Best Coffee Shops in Istanbul: Third-Wave Cafés and Roasters

Friends raising narrow glasses of rakı in a toast

Istanbul

Turkish Raki: A Beginner's Guide to Lion's Milk

12 Most Delicious Turkish Mezes to Cement that Friendship

Istanbul

12 Turkish Mezes to Know: Dips, Salads, and Small Plates

The Food Calendar

What to eat by season, from hamsi winters to lüfer falls.

The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Istanbul in Winter

Istanbul

Istanbul in Winter: What to Eat and What to Do

The 9 Soul-Warming Soups in Istanbul

Istanbul

Best Soup in Istanbul: 9 Soup Restaurants, from Tripe to Lentil

A bowl of mercimek çorbası with a spoon, next to a puffed seeded lavash

Istanbul

List of Turkish Soups and their Recipes

Shoppers walking through the vaulted, lamp-lit lanes of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

Istanbul

20 Best Markets and Bazaars in Istanbul, From the Grand Bazaar to Flea Markets

Vegetables and Olive Oil in Turkish Cuisine

Istanbul

Olive Oil in Turkish Cuisine: 10 Classic Vegetable Dishes

Restaurant interior with green velvet booths, blue and yellow chairs, marble tables, and a plant wall

Istanbul

12 Best Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Istanbul

Neighborhood Food Guides

Where to eat, district by district.

The pedestrian side of Galata Bridge leading toward Istanbul's historic peninsula skyline

Istanbul

Best Areas to Stay in Istanbul for Food: 6 Neighborhoods Compared

Pandeli is one of the oldest and best restaurants in Sultanahmet

Istanbul

The 14 Best Restaurants in Sultanahmet (Istanbul Old City)

6 Best Sirkeci Restaurants: A Complete Guide w/ Maps

Istanbul

6 Best Sirkeci Restaurants: Where to Eat Near the Station

14 Best Restaurants in Fatih: Locals Favorite Places to Eat

Istanbul

14 Best Restaurants in Fatih: Where Locals Actually Eat

Ultimate Guide to Sultanahmet: 10 Best Things to Do & More

Istanbul

Sultanahmet, Istanbul: Area Guide + Where to Eat

Crowd entering the Grand Bazaar through the Nuruosmaniye Gate

Istanbul

Grand Bazaar Istanbul: 17 Best Shops and What to Buy

Food Itineraries

How to plan a day, or a few, around eating.

A shopper walks a narrow Istanbul market lane lined with food stalls and shopfronts

Istanbul

Free Self-Guided Istanbul Food Tour: 3 Routes, 16 Stops

full round tray of syrup-glazed pistachio baklava wedges at an Istanbul bakery counter

Istanbul

Istanbul Dessert Crawl: A Half-Day Sweet-Tooth Route

Practical Answers

Tipping, paying, menus, dietary needs: the how-to layer.

A çay seller carries a swinging tray of Turkish tea glasses through an Istanbul street

Istanbul

Tipping in Istanbul: How Much, When, and Where

Turkish Recipes

Home versions of the dishes you will meet all over Istanbul.

Turkish lentil soup in a bowl flavored with ground red pepper

Istanbul

Turkish Red Lentil Soup Recipe: Easy & Homemade

Ezogelin soup served in a soup bowl

Istanbul

Turkish Ezogelin Soup Recipe: Easy & Homemade

Bowl of cooked tarhana soup beside dried tarhana powder and two wooden spoons on a board

Istanbul

Turkish Tarhana Soup Recipe: Easy & Homemade

Small bowl of turkish tomato soup topped with fresh basil leaves on striped tablecloth

Istanbul

Turkish Tomato Soup Recipe: Simple & Homemade

White bowl of golden chicken soup topped with shredded chicken on a saucer

Istanbul

Turkish Chicken and Vermicelli Soup Recipe: Easy & Homemade

Creamy white yogurt soup with chickpeas and dill in a yellow bowl beside a wooden spoon

Istanbul

Turkish Ayran Aşı Soup Recipe: Easy & Homemade

Istanbul Travel Guides

Mosques, museums, hamams and parks, with where to eat nearby.

The 17 Most Stunning & Beautiful Mosques in Istanbul

Istanbul

17 Great Mosques in Istanbul + the Food Streets Around Them

22 Best Museums in Istanbul that Every Traveler Must Visit

Istanbul

22 Best Museums in Istanbul + Where to Eat Near Each One

Palaces in Istanbul: The 10 Stunning Royal Ottoman Palaces

Istanbul

10 Palaces in Istanbul + the Ottoman Dishes to Taste the Era

15 Best Istanbul Parks to Enjoy All Year Round

Istanbul

15 Best Istanbul Parks to Visit, Plus the Picnic Food to Pack

Crowd entering the Grand Bazaar through the Nuruosmaniye Gate

Istanbul

Grand Bazaar Istanbul: 17 Best Shops and What to Buy

Shoppers walking through the vaulted, lamp-lit lanes of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

Istanbul

20 Best Markets and Bazaars in Istanbul, From the Grand Bazaar to Flea Markets

Yummy News

Awards, press and announcements, dated and sourced.

Yummy Istanbul Rated as Europe's Top 10 Food Tours & Experiences

Istanbul

Yummy Istanbul Named One of Europe's Top 10 Food Tours by Viator (2022, 2024 & 2025)