The Best Restaurants in Istanbul
The StarTripper Journal presents the best places to dine in Istanbul,
both International gourmet and good Turkish choices.
Our Team to Istanbul are professional female Travelers.
They love to travel and they love Istanbul – the magical meeting place of East and West with more
top attractions than it has minarets – and that's a lot.
They love the endless hospitality, good-humour and insightful conversation – to walk down a city
street and layers of history unfolds – the prayers from the minarets and the sun set over the
city’s beautiful skyline.
Istanbul, a vibrant city, 15 mill citizens who work and party hard, treasure family and friendships,
melding tradition and modernity in their everyday lives – meet them in their tea gardens,
coffeehouses, taverns and restaurants (kebapçıs).
In Istanbul an extraordinary cultural experience lies around every corner. Musts are The Blue Mosque,
Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern – commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in
532 – and the location for the James Bond film “From Russia with Love”. In a rainy day, why not
step into the tourist trap and visit Istanbul's two covered Bazaars. It's really worth a couple
of hours.
Istanbul’s cuisine is as diverse and delicious as its heritage – the restaurants here are the best
in the country. You can find aromatic Asian dishes or French classics, but sample the kebabs,
mezes or freshly caught fish – the city's signature dishes – followed by the national drink rakı
or locally produced wine or beer.
For shopping go to Beyoglu – the modern part of Istanbul – where you will find everything you may or
may not need.
So go to Istanbul – a hyper modern high-tech alpha-global city – with fashion shops, wine houses and
open-air seaside nightclubs – and most of all, if you like to know tomorrows fashion go to
Istanbul today.
Currency is Turkish Lira (YTL).
The StarTripper Journal Recommends these Restaurants:
Restaurant Seasons is located in the Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet. Enjoy a meal served with fresh
air and sunshine. Seasons Restaurant features a glass-enclosed courtyard and an outdoor terrace,
both of which are guest favourites. The elegant, refined décor combines Turkish artwork with more
contemporary elements, and the beautifully landscaped garden serves as a peaceful oasis in the middle
of high-energy Istanbul.
Executive Chef Savaş Aydemir and his culinary team have crafted a menu that features local cuisine,
including homemade pastas and bread and Chef Aydemir’s signature boneless lamb shank cooked for
eight hours. Delicious international and Turkish specialties made from fresh products from local
suppliers.
If you want a private Rooftop Dining, enjoy a dinner at a private terrace just for two with an
enchanting view of the Old City and the beautiful Istanbul night.
Excellent cooking.
Restaurant Mikla is located on the roof top floor of the fashionable “The Marmara Pera” hotel, “Mikla
is urban, sleek and stylish. The restaurant is funky retro with chrome 70’s and 50’s furniture and
a stunning wooden rail-sleepers bar.” The magical views over the city stretch to the Hagia Sophia
and the Topkapi Palace where you almost travel back through time to the heart of the Old Istanbul.
The Turkish-Scandinavian Chef-Owner Mehmet Gürs opened restaurant Mikla in 2005 and has developed
the cuisine from contemporary “Istanbullu” to his visionary New Anatolian Kitchen, where traditional
and true ‘noble’ products are treated with utmost respect while being transformed with a blend of
new and ancient techniques. Ingredients from Istanbul and throughout Turkey are carefully sourced
and selected, “mostly humble”, not necessarily fancy, but they are interpreted with the utmost
respect. At the core of each search lies an understanding of the land, its traditions, and its
people.
Outstanding food, breathtaking view and proper service - one of the best restaurants i Istanbul.
Marmara Pera, Meşrutiyet Cad. 15
Atelier Real Food is the new resteaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, offering Mediterranean-inspired,
upscale contemporary Turkish cuisine, including à la carte dinner selections and an elaborate Sunday
brunch.
Luxurious, chic and romantic, with glittering views of the Bosphorus while the open kitchen entices
with its French Rotisserie. Here, all dishes use fresh local seasonal ingredients and culinary
excellence is celebrated by delicious ‘farm-to-table’ flavors created uniquely in the chefs’
‘atelier’.
The restaurant enjoys an indulgent winter garden terrace ‘Atelier Terrace’ for social celebrations
and lovers of alfresco dining, as well as a private chef’s table for those seeking dining exclusivity
and a showcase cellar with 150 local and international wines.
Excellent cooking.
Suzer Plaza, Askerocagi Cad., No. 6
Restaurant Nicole is locaded in Beyoğlu in a boutiful earlier Franciscan monastry. The restaurant’s
name is inspired from mother Agnès Marthe Nicole who healed numerous patients in this historic
building.
Chefs Kaan and Aylin are reinterpreting classic flavours with a light and modern touch. The
restaurant’s dynamic menu is changing every six weeks depending on what the seasons has to offer.
The contemporary mediterranean cuisine is served at a chic terrace with a magnificent view of the
Old Town, Prince Islands and beyond.
Restaurant’s wine cellar includes chateau style local wine producers from Aegean, Thrace and
Anatolia regions as well as imported varieties.
Classic flavours, French style with a light and modern touch. Excellent cooking.
Boğazkesen Cad. Tomtom Kap. Sok. No: 18
Restaurant Giritli is located in old Istanbul, in an old restored Sultanahmet house with a
boutiful rustic garden.
Chef Ayşe Şensılay is serving a prix-fixe Turkish menu with delicious appetizers and excellent
fresh fish, and unlimited local alcoholic drinks (wine or raki). The right place for fish
lovers.
A very good restaurant. Top Service.
Keresteci Hakki Sokak, Sultanahmet