This post is for the foodies and the foodies ONLY.
BEVERAGES
Ah, Turkish coffee! It’s such a staple of Turkish culture that it’s recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
What makes Turkish Coffee special is its distinctive brewing process: finely ground coffee beans and water are slowly brewed over low heat in a special pot known as a cezve. This results in a thick, rich, and somewhat bitter cup of joe. It’s often served in a small cup with a glass of water. Most tourists I crossed paths with didn’t like the taste, myself included, but I drank it anyway–it’s amazing what you’ll do to feel cultured.
A single cup has slightly less caffeine than a shot of espresso, so you might need multiple throughout the day… and be careful at the end! The grounds settle at the bottom.
Turkish coffee was introduced to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and my favorite social ritual is fortune telling using the coffee grounds that are left in the cup (aka tasseography).
A couple I met took a Turkish coffee class (they highly recommend it!) and word on the street is that you shouldn’t have your sisters or aunties read your fortune because they will tell you what they think, not what the coffee grounds say. 😉
Turkey has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world, so it’s no surprise that Turkish Tea is everywhere. Unlike other black teas, Turkish tea is brewed in a double-stacked teapot over a long period of time. It tastes subtly sweet and astringent.
The tea is served on a saucer with sugar cubes in a small tulip-shaped glass to encourage slow sipping. The tulip is the national flower of Turkey and was a prominent feature of Ottoman artistic expression, but I’ve also heard the glass be described as a woman’s body and must be held like one. Take your pick.
My favorite tea by far was the pomegranate, mint, and cinnamon mixture served at the hamam. It was life-changing and not to be dramatic, but I’ll be chasing that high for the rest of my life.
Raki is the national drink of Turkey made of twice-distilled grapes and aniseed with an ABV of 40-50%. It’s served cold and straight up in a highball glass, and it’s common to have a glass of water on the side. I’m not a big anise fan so I only had it once (and I was so buzzed I agreed to go out on the town in my PJs).
I tried several local Turkish beers: Efes Pilsener and Bomonti. I prefer Bomonti; it’s 100% malt and the oldest brand of Turkish beer, first brewed in 1890. Efes is a bit boring and tastes like your standard pale lager.
I feel confident when I say you’ll dislike Ayran the first time you try it. It’s a yogurt drink, often paired with spicy food, that tastes aggressively salty.
I think of myself as a “garbage disposal” eater, but I was struggling to get my first one down. My body felt like it was consuming rotten milk.
That said, struck with supernatural courage, I gave Ayran another go a few days later and started to like it. By the third one, I was a fan. It’s something you have to gaslight yourself into liking (like alcohol or coffee) but once you do, it’s quite nice.
My favorite drink in Turkey is… *drum roll please*… the fruit juice. I was too late to the game, discovering this elixir on my second to last day, but I made up for lost time by purchasing a cup from the stand next to my hostel multiple times a day.
The owner must’ve sensed my loyalty early on because the second time I went, he insisted I get behind the counter and pose for a photo. (I’M STANDING ON A STOOL. I’M NOT THAT TALL.)
I didn’t know this but Turkey is one of the world’s largest orange producers and exporters. Sorry, California, but these are the best oranges I’ve tried. There are other fruit options but go for the orange if you’re in town when they’re in season (Nov – May). Most stands are near Galata and Taksim.
DESSERTS
[No picture. Oops.]
Turkish delight is Turkey’s most famous candy. It’s very sweet and has a jello/taffy texture. There are often nuts or dried fruits inside. If you want to give it a try, go to the Egyptian Spice Market for the candy store’s free samples. Best to do a drive-by snatch so you don’t end up buying a big bag of it… unless?
The best baklava I had was at a café in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Besiktas. Life-changing experience. No notes.
For those unfamiliar, baklava is a flaky pastry made up of layers of phyllo dough (similar to puff pastry), chopped nuts, and syrup.
Whereas baklava involves layering phyllo sheets with filling, katmer dough is folded in on itself multiple times. The main ingredients are ground pistachios, kaymak, and sugar. It’s supposed to be an envelope-like square but the one I tried was giving pie energy (and probably store-bought). Still good though!
STREET SNACKS
My favorite street snack is simit aka Turkish bagel. Some stalls have the option of adding Nutella or cream cheese. Both are delicious!
In addition to simit, you can find corn on the cob and roasted chestnuts (not pictured). The stall street trifecta is cheap ($1-2 USD) and can be found in all major gathering areas and plazas.
MEALS (or more street food)
Something to note: almost all restaurants serve dishes with towelettes, and, as a self-identified messy eater, I found this very considerate.
Below are all the dishes I tried…
Turkey is known for kahvalti aka traditional Turkish breakfast. Staples include: eggs, cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and jam.
Above is what my hostel served in the morning and it was delicious. I didn’t order a full breakfast from a restaurant but based on my light internet research, it sounds like a feast and worth doing at least once!
Balik ekmek aka fish sandwich. You can find these in Eminonu by the Galata Bridge. Look, maybe it’s the Pacific Northwesterner in me, but I can be a seafood snob and I thought they were okay.
They serve these fermented vegetable cups (official name unknown) near the fish sandwiches. Pretty good if you like sauerkraut.
Above are two versions of Cig kofte aka raw meatballs. Fear not, this dish is vegetarian and made from bulgur, onion, tomato or red pepper and isot pepper. It’s light and incredibly flavorful.
They can be hard to find but I found a place near the Grand Bazaar called Tarihi Eminönü Dürümcüsü and another north of Karakoy called Serince Cig Koftecisi. I highly recommend the latter if you’re in the neighborhood, it was less than $2 for the wrap and Ayran.
Borek is a savory pastry filled with different ingredients, such as cheese, spinach, meat, potatoes, or vegetables. I tried patatesli (potatoes) & kiymali (ground meat). A local recommended Sariyer Borekcisi and it was tasty and affordable.
The Islak hamburger, or “wet burger,” is a street food allegedly invented by Kristal Bufe in Taksim Square in the 1960s or 1970s.
The burger is soaked inside and out in garlickly tomato sauce and has the same perfect drunk-food aura as a Dick’s burger in Seattle.
Only after eating it did I learn that Anthony Bourdain tried one in 2009 and that stroked my ego more than I want to admit.
Doner means “rotating” in Turkish and refers to how the meat is cooked on a vertical spit. It’s often served in a wrap (durum) like the Kasarli Durum above.
You can find them everywhere but this one is from Bambi Cafe in Taksim Square. I recommend you grab one after trying the wet burger next door.
Durum Tavek Donor is a rolled-up flatbread filled with sliced grilled chicken. Halic Doner serves one of the cheapest meals advertised and made me a repeat visitor.
Kokorec is a popular street food of seasoned offal wrapped in lamb or goat intestines. Like the doner, it’s cooked on a skewer.
I thought it was okay, but would’ve liked it more if the sandwich had a better ratio of meat to bread. Please give it a try and redeem my experience.
I don’t know what to call this besides a Black Sea arrangement?
Funny story: I was starving in Balat looking for something to eat that wouldn’t blow my budget, but I waited too long to eat. I was–kid you not–nonverbal by the time I walked into this restaurant. The server straight-up thought I couldn’t speak English.
Kind as ever, he gave me a little bit of everything. And a big bowl of bread. And tea.
After dining and resurrecting myself, I tried to save the restaurant in Google Maps but I had already saved it as a place I wanted to try. It was meant to be!
I highly recommend you go to Kastamonu Sultan Lokantasi if you’re in Balat! So, so, so good.
And finally, this lahmacun, or Turkish pizza, is from Pide Sun in Moda. It was super tasty and the staff were very friendly, but it was a little bit more expensive than some of the other dishes included in this post.
…
And that’s a wrap–or a durum! (Bad joke, bad joke.)
There are many more dishes to try, as is always the case, like a yogurt dish such as cacik or haydari or a restaurant-prepared Turkish breakfast.
I’m operating on a small budget and the street food scene felt like a splurge for me, but Istanbul (and my stomach) better watch out when I come back employed and financially stable!
Speaking of stomachs, I had zero digestive issues eating street food in Turkey. I could’ve gone for more vegetables–the juice was doing the heavy lifting for my fiber intake–but that’s on me.
As for water, I’ve read mixed reports online. Some sources say the tap water is fine and others recommend not drinking it. Here’s the anecdotal evidence I can offer you:
- A German man I met only bought bottled water because of the chlorine (but unlike Germany, we have chlorine in American tap water).
- Another American drank straight from the tap for two weeks and had zero issues.
- I filtered all my water through my LifeStraw water bottle and had zero issues.
I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through me and one day get to experience the various Turkish delights in person, if you haven’t done so already.
All love,
R
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