The Turkish cuisine – fish restaurant

A typical Turkish mean at a fish restaurant would be as follows:

Cold ”meze”
You start the meal by ordering cold starters or cold ”meze”. This might be small vegetables dishes served in small plates. The meze plates are served at middle of the table and everybody can taste a bit of everything. Order as many meze as you feel like or as many as you want to try. In many restaurants the waiters come to the table with a tray filled with meze, and you can just point out the ones that you want to order. In other restaurants the meze are found behind a glass counter, you go to the counter and find the ones you want to order.



Meze (som examples):
- ”Haydari” (garlic yoghurt with mint, similar to the greek tzaziki)
- ”Patlican salatasi” (aubergin salad, sometimes served as a puré – tastes best when slightly ”smoked”)
- ”Fava” (puré from white beans)
- ”Barbuni” (white beans in mild tomato saus)
- ”Saksuka” (pronounced ”shakshoka”, fried augbergin-dices in mild tomato saus)
- ”Rus salatasi” / ”Amerikan salatasi” (this dish is called Russian salad or American salad; contains potatoes, carrots, peas and egg in a majonaise mixture)
- ”Acili antep” (spicy mix of chopped tomatoes, onions, chili pepper, mint with olive oil)
- ”Midye dolmasi” (large Blue mussels filled with a special rice mixture)
- ”Ahtapot salatasi” (Octopus salad)

Sometimes you can start and end the meal just eating meze, and forget all about the main course and dessert. Turkish meze is typical “accessories” with the Turkish national drink “raki” (an anison spirit very similar to Ouzo), it is usual to sit and drink raki and eat meze whole evening. The restaurants which are called”meyhane” are made just for this purpose, after a while the live traditional Turkish music starts, and later on the people on the table’s starts singing along…

Drinks with the meal
Except from raki, the local beer ”Efes” is nice to drink with the meal. Most foreigners like it. White and red wines of good table wine quality are found. My favourite white wine is ”Sarafin” or the cheaper ”Cankaya”, a good red wine to my taste is ”Yakut”.

Warm meze (Pronounced "Arasidjak")
After the cold mezes it is time to eat some warm meze (can be ordered together with the cold ones at the start). Try for example ”sigara börek” (cigarette börek); a warm deep-fried roll of pastry filled with feta cheese and parsley. Or what about deep fried squid rings,”kalamari”. My absolute favourite is fried shrimps in butter and garlic (”tereyagli sarmisakli karides”), some places they also add a touch of chilli on the shrimps… yummie! Recommended!

Main course
The main course at a fish restaurant is usually fish, and there are many types depending of the day’s catch, season and supply. By the Mediterranean and Aegean sea I recommend especially a fish called ”levrek” (related to cod) or try ”cipura” (a white fish, a bit rounder shape than levrek). Have it grilled, and do not worry that it is served complete with head, skin, bones and tail; the waiters are great and speedy ”bone cleansers”, if you do not want to do it yourself. Remember to order your salad as a side order, try the”coban salatasi” (Shepherds salad). The Turks eats the fish and salad with bread at the side, but are dependant of having some potatoes, it is possible to order French fries as a side order

If you are in the Istanbul area, try a fish called ”lüfer” (or in smaller version; ”cinekop”). It almost looks like a herring, it has a very thin skin and it is incredibly juicy and delicious.

Alternative main courses might be grilled "jumbo karides" (Scampi / King prawns), some places serve lobster or languster (common spring lobster) (usually very cheap compared to Western European restaurants), and if one of you do not like sea food most fish restaurants have meat alternatives, for example ”köfte” (Turkish meatballs). However, the meat that are offered in fish restaurants are often very boring, the sea food is recommended!

Dessert
After sitting a few hours enjoying cold and warm meze, and fish with salad and bread, the time has come for the dessert. The Turks love very sweet puddings and cakes, like ”baklava”, small squares of puff pastry, drowned in sirip and sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts. When the season is right you can find ”kabak tatlisi” (baked sweet pumpkin) or ”ayva” (quinze) served with cream and icing sugar. Many fish restaurants also serve a kind warm chocolate soufflé, very heavy but the sweet lovers love it. Personally my favourite is a plate of mixed fruits of the season after the meal; I have never tastes sweeter watermelon, peach or grapes as I have in Turkey!

Turkish coffee
End the meal with a cup of Turkish coffee in small cups. The Turks never drink coffee with the dessert, but always afterwards. The coffee might be served with a small glass of local liqueur like Mint liqueur or Bitter almond liqueur (tastes like Amaretto).



When you order Turkish coffee, say”sade” (no sugar), ”orta” (medium sweet) or ”shekerli” (sweet). The most usual to drink is the medium, “orta”. Remember not to drink the whole cup; the last ¼ of the content is fine grounded coffee. And if you think that the coffee is too foamy or granular, note that it is supposed to be like that. This is not espresso! They say that a really well made Turkish coffee should be so foamy that a camel can step on it!

Afiyet olsun!
(Bon apetite, in Turkish)

Restaurants and bars in Istanbul

The Turkish kitchen has been called the third best in the world, after the French and the Chinese. One thing is sure; the centuries long cultural mixture which Turkey is a product of has created a fantastic food culture where the taste of the Orient and the West is mixed with Asian nomadic tradition and the Mediterranean delicacies. If you do not have any other reason to go to Turkey, the food can be a reason in itself.

Both food and drink is found all kinds of types and price levels, so are you a poor backpacker or going on a five stars luxurious trip, you will find your favourite.

Restaurantes with typical Turkish food, meze and seafood (middle price to cheap):



- Lunch: Sultanahmet Tarihi Köftecisi, Selim Usta: The original köfte restaurant from 1920 on Divan Street, close to the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern. Have a lunch here and order”köfte” (small Turkish meatballs), ”piyaz” (salad of white beans and onions) and rice.

- Lunch: Try a döner kebap (meat grilled while it is turning around), iskender kebap (döner with yoghurt), döner dürüm (döner in a wrap), or readymade casserole kebaps which are found behind a glass counter, you can point out and order what looks most tempting - sulu yemek.

- You find restaurants in the Flower Passage in Istiklal Street (Cicek Pasaji), and lots of fish restaurants behind of Cicek Pasaji in Nevizade Street (Beyoglu)

- Pano and Viktor Levi vine house and restaurant just behind Beyoglu Balik Pazari (fish market), near the British Consulate. (Beyoglu)

- A short walk up the Istiklal Street from Tünel, in the side streets opposite of the Swedish General Consulate, you can find many small restaurants with lovely food. For example Refik , Sofyali, Asmali Mescit Balik Evi, Yakup 2 (Beyoglu)

- Neyzen Restaurant and other restaurants in the Kumkapi area.

- Mehmet Usta, in Kirecburnu which is further up along the Bosphoros, simple standard but great food and very cheap. You can see the mouth of the Black Sea from the window tables.

Trendy restaurants with hip, continental kitchen (European price level):

- Mikla, at the top of The Marmara Pera Hotel is named after the Vikings name of Istanbul; Miklagard. The owner and gourmet chef Mehmet Gürs has Turkish father and Finnish-Swedish mother and his menu mixes tastes from all his worlds. This is maybe the most popular restaurant in Istanbul these days. The bar has a fantastic view over Istanbul and cocktails of great quality. Reservation required. Tel: +90 212 293 5656. (Beyoglu)

- Near by you also find Lokanta which also is owned by Mehmet Gürs. This is a restaurant early in the evening, but changes into a bar/club at night when the tables are stacked away and the music volume is turned louder. In the summer the roof terrace opens, which is called Nuteras. Reservation required. Tel: +90 212 245 6070. (Beyoglu)

- 360 restaurant / bar with 360 degrees view at the top floor of Misir Apartmani, an appartement building with entrance from Istiklal Street, and easy to miss if you do not know about it. Take the elevator to the top floor. Tel: +90 212 251 1042 (Beyoglu)

- Leb-i Derya, restaurant / bar with wonderful view. Indoors and a small ourdoors terrace, plus a tiny terrace at the very top of the roof with only space for around 10 persons. Here you feel like a bird at Istanbuls rof – you must reserve early to get seated at the very top terrace. Walk down the Istiklal Street past The Richmond Hotel on you left hand side. Turn left in the first small street. Go down the hill until you see the sign on the right hand side. Take the elevator to the top floor. (Richmond Hotel has also just opened a second Leb-i Derya at the hotels top floor, but the original is much better). Tel: +90 212 293 4989 (Beyoglu)

- Besiktas/Macka area: Vogue – at the top of Besiktas Plaza. Was voted “Restaurant of the year" a few years ago. Tel: +90 212 227 4404.

- Misc. restaurants and bars in Macka/Nistantasi/Tesvikiye area. This is the most luxurious part of Istanbul, all the restaurants and bars around here are nice (but not the cheapest).

- Leyla and Reina in Ortaköy. These are clubs with several bars and restaurants inside, situated at the shore of the Bosphorus. Here the jet set of Istanbul meet, “see and be seen”, and it is impossible to enter without a reservation – maybe except if you are very hip, beautiful and famous. High price level. Reservation can be made through internet.


(Utsikten fra Su-ada ved fullmåne)

- Su-ada: If you stand by the Bosphorus at Kurucesme (near Ortaköy) and look out over the water, you will see an artificially made island. This is called the Galatasaray Island, because it is owned by the football team Galatasaray. Here you find a swimming pool for paying guests and several restaurants. They have their own boat shuttle at Kurucesme harbour. Try for example Arsipel Restaurant which serves exquisite and unusual Turkish sea food dishes.

Trendy and modern bars (European price level):

- All the previously mentioned trendy restaurants have great cocktails, like Mojito and Strawberry Daiquiri. At the more traditional Turkish bars and restaurants cocktails are not recommended, they often taste more like something the cat dragged in, even though the name of the cocktail looks good in the drinks menu. At such places, drink pure drinks like beer (the Turkish Efes beer is well liked), wine or raki.

Bars with bohemian atmosphere and simpler standard (cheap):

- Most of the bars in Imam Adnan Street, a side street from the Istiklal Street.
- Bars in and around the Büyük Parmak Street, a side street from the Istiklal Street
- The small streets in Ortaköy

Sometimes these bars are almost impossible to find. First you have to find the right door at street level at one of the old scruffy looking houses in Beyoglu, and then climb all the way to the top. Then you suddenly find the most cosy roof terrace bars, with prices for an almost empty wallet…