What to try from the national food of Turkey and where to eat deliciously in Istanbul? The top dishes that are worth ordering in the city's restaurants are a must, food prices in stores for independent tourists and where to sit inexpensively with a traditional menu.
What to try in Istanbul from food?
Street food and fast foods
This is the first thing that can be seen in the ancient city. Everything is fresh and prepared right in front of the visitors. To make it easier to try all this in Istanbul, there are whole avenues for breakfast or small tables in parks and on the embankment, the so-called tea gardens.
- Roasted chestnuts and corn. Throughout the city you can find large and small carts, where you will be offered misir - roasted chestnuts or fresh corn. Chestnuts are a very satisfying snack that resembles a baked potato. They are cooked more in winter, and corn is a summer treat.
- Doner - kebab... In Russia, this dish is called shawarma, nothing new except for spices.
- Sesame bagels. Sell them on movable red carts or hand trays. Bagels are called simit, they can be yeast or shortcrust pastry, abundantly sprinkled with sesame seeds. Inexpensive and best-selling delicacy.
- Fish in bread. Usually it is fresh - fried mackerel, which is wrapped in pita bread or a specially prepared form of bread.
- Street ice cream. As a rule, this is a show. Ice cream vendors (dondurma) attract visitors with jokes and tricks to the delight of tourists. Dondurma is made with goat milk. The most delicious is pistachio ice cream.
- Tea and salep. Tea is offered throughout the city, and there are even tea gardens. The most famous garden with a gorgeous panorama is located in the Kadikoy district. The tea portions are very small. It is customary to drink sweet tea. Salep is somewhat reminiscent of coffee and has a healing effect. It is prepared from dried and ground orchid rhizomes with the addition of the same spices that are put in coffee.
- Watermelons. They are also sold on carts, but in the late afternoon. Pieces of peeled watermelon are laid out in plastic molds. Such a portion is quite inexpensive.
What to eat in Istanbul in cafes and restaurants?
- Soups. Traditional Turkish cuisine is not complete without first courses. Lentil soup, tomato, celery and cold ayran soups are especially popular. Basically they have a pasty consistency.
- Dolma. It is similar to our cabbage rolls, but differs in size, and the minced meat is wrapped in grape leaves.
- Kebab. Many national dishes in Istanbul contain meat. Kebab is chicken, lamb or beef fried on a skewer and wrapped in a thin dough cake. Kebyby includes various fillings and sauces.
- Sweets. The must-try in Istanbul is the sweets. The end of the month of Ramadan is celebrated with the holiday of Ramadan Bayram, where a variety of sweet foods are an obligatory element. Prepare them in advance and in larger quantities to treat guests and pamper children. If the world knows 170 types of oriental sweets, then most of them can certainly be tasted in Turkey, and at any time of the year. Here you can find various types of baklava, puff pastries (borek) and cookies with and without fillings, sorbet, nougat and lucuma of different shapes, on different fruit juices. Delight is made with and without nuts. A purely Turkish delicacy - the fibrous qadiaf cake and the most delicate kenefe dessert with goat milk. In addition to the sherbet itself, you can find fruits, nuts and chestnuts boiled in sherbet and dried. Churchkhela, familiar to us, in Turkey is also found on the basis of pomegranate or carrot juice and is called Jezerie.
- Wet hamburger. These hamburgers can be found in many fast foods. They are stored in special transparent containers at a certain temperature. There is an islak hamburger with or without a cheese, meat, fish or olive filling.
- Ice cream. The easiest way to find pistachio ice cream is at the airport or specialty stores.
- Fruits and greens... They are found everywhere, on the streets, in supermarkets and small shops, there are also specialized markets.
Turkish drinks
- Ayran. The most delicious ayran of the machines. There it is constantly stirred.
- Coffee. Very rich, served in small cups, be sure to drink from earthenware.
- Tea. Perhaps the most common drink. The inhabitants of the country themselves use it for breakfast and throughout the day.
- Fresh. These are mainly freshly squeezed juices from oranges and pomegranates, but you can find carrot, strawberry and kiwi juices.
Food and meal prices
Street food costs from 1 Turkish Lira per sesame bagel. A bag of chestnuts, a wet hamburger or a serving of watermelon will cost 5 lire. Freshly squeezed juice - from 1 to 5 lira, depending on the juice and its amount. A portion of balyk ekmek (fish in bread) is more expensive - 7 lira, but it can be successfully divided into two.
Prices in city restaurants
- Check in an inexpensive restaurant for one tourist (three courses) - 27 TL,
- Check for 2 tourists in a mid-range restaurant (three courses) - 100 TL,
- Burger - 20 TL,
- Homemade beer (spill 0.5 l) - 15 TL,
- Imported beer (0.33 l bottle) - 20 TL,
- Cappuccino - 10.73 TL,
- Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) - 4.03 TL,
- Water (0.33 liter bottle) - 1.50 TL.
The cost of groceries in stores:
- Milk (1 liter) - 4.33 TL,
- White bread (500 g) - 2.34 TL,
- Rice (white), (1 kg) - 8.75 TL,
- Eggs - 11 TL,
- Local cheese (1 kg) - 29.60 TL,
- Chicken breasts (1 kg) - 20.96 TL,
- Beef (1 kg) - 60.93 TL,
- Apples (1 kg) - 5.23 TL,
- Banana (1 kg) - 10.60 TL,
- Oranges (1 kg) - 4.91 TL,
- Tomato (1 kg) - 6.71 TL,
- Potatoes (1 kg) - 4.53 TL,
- Onion (1 kg) - 4.90 TL,
- Salad (1 head) - 3.90 TL,
- Water (1.5 L bottle) - 2.01 TL,
- Bottle of wine (middle class) - 40 TL,
- Homemade beer (0.5 l bottle) - 10.11 TL,
- Imported beer (0.33 liter bottle) - 13.67 TL.
Where to eat deliciously in Istanbul?
Reviews of tourists about food in Istanbul are usually enthusiastic. On their basis, one can single out the very best establishments. There are not many places to eat in Istanbul, there are a lot of them! Whole streets and avenues can consist of taverns and restaurants. For example, a street loved by tourists and the residents of Istanbul Beyoglu and its alleys... The capital of Turkey is home to a whole spice bazaar, it is the oldest market in the city. According to tourists' reviews, it is in its vicinity that you can taste the most delicious coffee in Istanbul.
- The place to eat in Istanbul is tasty and inexpensive near Sultanhamet Square, in a restaurant Sultanahmet Koftecisi.
Despite the fact that this restaurant is almost 100 years old, it looks quite modern and according to rumors you can try the best lamb cutlets (Izgara Kofte) in Istanbul. It happens that a queue is lined up at a restaurant. The menu includes salads and side dishes from 6 lira, no alcohol. Six cutlets cost 22 lira.
- Where to eat inexpensively in Istanbul and admire the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara - this is El Amed Terrace Restaurant.
It is located at: Alemdar Mh., Nuru Osmaniye Cd. 3, Fatih. The menu includes grilled meat and seafood dishes and a vegetarian menu. The signature dish is kebab with pistachio dressing. Tea and baklava are served additionally as a present from the restaurant. Lunch for 2 people will cost an average of 70 liras.
- For lovers of gourmet cuisine, we recommend the establishment Sur Balik Sarayburnu.
The restaurant is primarily distinguished by its service, where you will be listened to and fed according to your preferences. Located in Sultanhamet (500 meters from Hagia Sophia) at Kennedy Sreet Coastal road No: 38/1. For those who like to spend the evening with a pleasant view of the sea, it will be ideal to book a table here.
- Another place with positive reviews, where delicious local cuisine is prepared - Kucukoglu Barbecue Restaurant.
The average bill is only 700 rubles per tourist when ordering three courses. Located at Prof. Kazim Ismail Gurkan cd. no: 2 kat: 2. The first thing we advise here is to eat lamb and order Turkish tea. And the most important thing that distinguishes this institution is the large portions.
The best cafes according to tourists' reviews:
- Mitara Café &Art in the center of Istanbul, in the Fatih district on Kaleci Sokak street, 9/101. The cafe has a varied cuisine, vegan and alcoholic menus. It is very cozy, there is a fireplace room and a summer terrace. Mitara is ranked number one in tourism rankings for places to eat in Istanbul. The cost of lunch is about 30 liras.
- Velvet Cafe, Galata conveniently located near the Galata Tower at 7A Kule Cikmazi Street, Beyoğlu. This is an atmospheric cafe where love and care for each visitor is felt at every step. The cafe has Turkish cuisine, a menu for vegans. There are several tables outside. The coffee shop is ideal for breakfast, but you can also dine here. An average lunch will cost 17 liras.
The best fast food establishments:
- The best fish fast foods are located on the waterfront in the area Emineu and on the ground floor Galata Bridge... If the bridge has real fish restaurants, then on the embankment there is an antique imitation. The conditions are much simpler, but the prices are much lower. This does not affect the quality of food. The main menu consists of fried fish in bread with salad. Drinks - tea and salem. The cost of a fish sandwich is 4 - 6 liras.
- Sirin... Address: Vezircikmazi (Sirkeci Tren Yani) 7, Sirkeci. The food is delicious. The main course is chicken or lamb shawarma, French fries or rice. Free drinks and sauces. You can take all this with you or have a snack in a separate room. All this costs an average of 18 - 30 liras.
What is the cheapest way to travel to Istanbul?
These tips will help you plan your vacation on your own cheaper:
- We recommend installing the RumGuru application on your smartphone, so you can choose any living space even upon arrival in the city, it is very convenient to find a free living space on a business trip or during an unplanned vacation in real time.
- Tripinsurance will help you profitably insure your health and life while traveling, the service works only with trusted major insurance companies, which already inspires confidence. You just have to choose the most profitable option, but it's better not to save on health.
- Flights? We advise you to use Aviasales empirically.
- You may also find our selection of useful tourist apps useful.
