What to eat in Istanbul: the dishes, explained
Every big Turkish dish, explained: what it is, how it is eaten, and which full guide has the places, prices and maps. Pick a section below.
Breakfast: the meal Istanbul refuses to rush
How Istanbul starts the day: the full kahvaltı spread, menemen, börek, and the weekday simit.
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The Best Breakfast in Istanbul What the full spread involves and where to sit down for one. -
Best Menemen in Istanbul The one-pan egg dish, and the places that get it right. -
The Best Börek in Istanbul The layered-pastry morning staple, bakery by bakery. -
How to Make Turkish Tea The double-pot cay method that runs the whole breakfast.
Street food: eating standing up
The dishes you eat standing up: balık ekmek, döner, kokoreç, çiğ köfte and the rest.
- 20 Best Turkish Street Foods All of it in one guide.
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Balık Ekmek: The Fish Sandwich The Eminönü waterfront classic, explained properly. -
Best Doner Kebab in Istanbul Eight wood-fired spots locals line up for. -
Best Kokoreç in Istanbul The offal dish worth being brave for, and where it is done well. -
Best Tantuni in Istanbul Mersin's cumin-spiced wrap and its Istanbul outposts. -
Çiğ Köfte, Explained How a raw-meat dish became a meatless street staple.
The kebab map: Adana to Iskender
The kebab family tree, and how to tell one from another before you order.
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Best Kebab in Istanbul: Top 12 The ranked list across every style. -
The Kebab Family, Explained Every major type and how to tell them apart. -
İskender Kebab The butter-soaked Bursa classic and where Istanbul does it justice. -
Cağ Kebab in Istanbul The horizontal spit from Erzurum, worth seeking out. -
Best Köfte in Istanbul The grilled meatball institutions, some a century old. -
Doner vs Shawarma vs Gyro Same vertical spit, three traditions. What actually separates them, and why in Istanbul you order doner.
Dough and the oven: pide, lahmacun, mantı
The oven canon: pide, lahmacun, mantı and their kin.
The meze table, and what to drink with it
How the meze evening works, and what gets poured beside it.
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12 Most Delicious Turkish Mezes The plates to know so you can order without pointing. -
10 Istanbul Meze Restaurants Where the meyhane evening actually happens. -
Turkish Rakı: A Beginner's Guide Dilution, pacing, and what belongs alongside it. -
Zeytinyağlı: Vegetables in Olive Oil The cold olive-oil dishes that anchor every meze table.
Sweet endings: the three dessert families
The three dessert families: syrup, milk and dough.
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Turkish Desserts: 18 Best Sweets All 18, explained. -
Best Baklava in Istanbul The top shops, and how to tell fresh from tired. -
Every Type of Baklava, Explained Kuru, şöbiyet, midye and the rest of the family. -
Best Künefe in Istanbul The molten cheese-and-kadayıf dessert, served sizzling. -
Best Sütlaç in Istanbul The baked rice pudding locals actually order. -
Turkish Ice Cream (Dondurma) Why it stretches, and where it is churned properly. -
The Istanbul Dessert Crawl A half-day route that tastes all three families in the right order, from lokum to Maras dondurma.
If you only learn five dishes, start here
The shortlist for a first visit: five dishes that explain the whole city.
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What to Eat, for a First-Timer Five dishes to start with, in the right order. -
12 Most Iconic Turkish Foods The dishes to know and where to eat each one. -
The Big Turkish Food List The wide-angle view of the whole cuisine. -
Best Soup in Istanbul The corba culture, from lentil to the 3 a.m. tripe cure. -
Turkish Cuisine, Explained The regions and history behind everything above.