American-style Chinese buffet in the middle of Istanbul, what's not to love? They do a great job…read moreon the "classics" like sweet and sour chicken and hot and sour soup. They do have some more Turkish items in their buffet lineup to satisfy the local crowd (borek...), but the core items are about as close to the US/UK version of Chinese cuisine as you will get in Istanbul. And, unlike some of the places in Atasheir and Bagadat St that seem to take advantage of Istanbul's upper-middle class in its obsession with high-status foreign stuff (*cough* Sushico *cough*), this one is very fairly priced at 19 liras for the buffet and 2.50 for soft drinks. It would get six stars if it wasn't in rundown, grimy, foreigner-infested Cevahir Mall, but dodging all the Middle East package tourists dropping hundred-dollar-bills for makeup and handbags is a small price to pay for a good Chinese buffet!

Etibeyaz was near our hotel, and made a convenient pit stop for lunch on our walk to Taksim Square…read more They are not on the tourist track, so the proprietors spoke no English, and I spoke no Turkish. Therefore I ordered "two" and was given two delicious chicken doner wraps. We ate them outside, where we had some gross street sweeping happening right next to our table. Low on ambiance, but a great quick and cheap lunch.