High quality pastries that taste sooo good. I tried a few of their authentic pistachio pastries…read more(see photos) and they were very good with both their Tea and Turkish coffee! Highly recommend to go sit down and enjoy some traditional sweets!

This is a well known dessert chain in Istanbul and is somewhat fancy. There are so many places…read moreselling Turkish delight and baklava, but if you are looking for an experience where the staff wears a traditional uniform and everything is color coded, this might be the place for you.

Just inject this good stuff directly into my veins! You just can't go wrong with any of their…read morebaklavas. The Turkish tea is just a great partner to these treats! I personally love the Midye Baklavas with Pistachio the most! The service was prompt and a pretty chill vibe by the Bosphorus.

Baklavas are real in here. Not too much sugar everything is…read morebalanced and fresh. Service was great. The ambience is great.

The owner makes his special Kaymak, buffalo cream with honey in the front of the shop and it is to…read moredie for. He greets everyone and knows about 5 languages. This is a family-owned shop for over 50 years and the family also owns a farm, where they get the ingredients for their dishes. All of the food was amazing. The service was fantastic. You can't go to Istanbul and not have a meal here.

*Note: This place also goes by the name Karakoy Ozsut. The entrance says Haci Hasan Fehmi,…read morereflecting the name Hasan who is the 3rd generation and current owner. Step inside and on the walls you will see featured articles about this place aka Karakoy Ozsut* We not only discovered our favorite breakfast dive in Istanbul at Karaköy Özsüt but a new friendship was made between us and the owner Hasan. For that, Karaköy Özsüt will always have a special place in our hearts. The interior is unimpressive and the fluorescent lights are dull. But, this is what it gives it soul and for their sake, we hope Karaköy Özsüt remains the perfect way it is. Known as having one of the best kaymak in Istanbul, Karaköy Özsüt has its own herd of buffalos whose fresh milk is used to make kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) that makes up a huge part of a traditional Turkish breakfast. Hasan frequently drives his truck out to his ranch, 125km away from Istanbul, where he milks the buffalos and gathers the milk to produce kaymak. At one point in conversation, he whips out his cell phone and shows us a short video of his baby buffalo at the ranch. Awww. A heaping of kaymak and honey are served together on a plate; smeared onto bread and eaten. The kaymak here put us right into a clotted cream high with its smoothness and creaminess. There is something about the Turkish clotted cream that despite its indication of "cream", it does not leave you feeling heavy and sluggish or like one of those feelings where you feel you've really had enough of NY cheesecake. In fact, after a breakfast full of kaymak, I dream of eating it again and again. Another must-have classic Turkish breakfast item is menemen: scrambled eggs made with tomato, cheese, spices. Sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage) is a common favorite added to menemen so be sure to request for that. The menemen is flavorful while exploding with different combinations of spices which we could not tell what exactly they were except to just savor each spoonful of it. Hasan also makes the best lentil soup, ever. We have been hooked since.

We visited the Galata tower location on our recent visit and wanted to try the infamous cheesecake…read more We were promptly seated and service was great. My family is currently obsessed with all things Dubai Chocolate so decided to try the Dubai Chocolate version of the cheesecake along with a few other desserts. Boy oh boy, they sure did live up to the hype! Each dessert was decadent- beautifully nutty pistachios and the smoothest chocolate. Definitely a treat worth indulging in after the long walk up to the Galata Tower.

I went here as it was the most hyped place for dessert. It was the Galata location. It was busy,…read morehappening and full of energy. The wait was long but we got seated pretty quick. We found ourselves a nook facing the Galata tower. It was beautiful. Coming down to the coffee, I had the Turkish coffee and it was delicious you can't go wrong with ordering a Turkish coffee anywhere in Turkey. Came here was for the most hyped cheesecake it was absolutely divine. I did have these at other restaurant but theirs was hand down the best. Super creamy topped with generous melted chocolate definitely a 9/10. Service was superb and that's standard to Istanbul restaurants. Their hospitality is amazing even if they are extremely busy you will still feel welcomed and loved. Craving this cake, until next time.

My friends and I accidentally found this gem. The seller was very nice and friendly. He didn't…read moreforce us to buy anything but gladfully made us tried turkish delights (which were all good.) The shop was also lovely and well-designed!

We did not find this place in any guide or following any online recommendation but this little…read morepastries was a nice encounter. It seemed a bit posh at first, but the pastries were really good and not especially pricey. Go inside and pick what you like and then you can eat outside on the little terrace while you taste the pastries and drink your tea. I am no expert in pastries from arabic countries (i only tasted the ones from Morocco in France, and in Lebanon) but those one sounded very good to me!

In August 2023, when I visited the store near Taksim Square I purchased a large red tin of mixed…read moretypes of Baklava. I ended up giving it as a gift when I landed in Israel. Since I have returned back to New York, City, I have placed orders directly with the store two different times; each time ordering three large tins of baklava and other Turkish sweets. Customer service: 100%. shipping perfect. Quality of product is as if it were baked in our own kitchen. delicious, varied and presented beautifully. well worth the DHL shipping fees! I will continue to order again and look forward to visiting the store the next time I am in Istanbul. Alan J. B. - Flushing, New York

Yeah, I mean at the end of the day it's baklava. How many ways can you have it?…read more I don't know what I was expecting but those video clips had raised my expectations. Then I got there. I found that this place is on every corner, five of their competitors are on every corner too. It lost the prestige. Baklava! Baklava! Come get your baklava! The realization that this was lower than expectations even impacted my experience with Türkiye experience. I would avoid it. I see why tourists avoid it. I didn't see anyone there, except some others like me who had been impressed by the social media coverage.

I was first introduced to this deliciousness called Knafe when I worked in Israel many years ago…read more Since then, I have traveled far and wide to eat Kunefe/ knafe. It is probably my favorite dessert. I mean, how can you go wrong with cheese baked in a semolina crust and soaked in sweetness? I researched places to eat Kunefe near the Galata tower and Yelp showed me Tandir. It is quite close to the tower and we walked in during one snowy evening around 8pm. We were the only patrons in the small space and the kunefe was made fresh from scratch. No pre-prepared stuff here. Needless to say, it was delicious! It was not as mind-blowing as the ones I had in Akko and Haifa, but it is great. There are other desserts on the menu, but I went here to eat kunefe alone. I left a happy man after finishing my share and my husband's share.

I walked in to this place specifically to try Kunefe since reading from description it sounded…read moredelicious and definitely wanted to try it during my Istanbul trip. The place is nice and clean with a visble kitchen and you can see them preparing your dessert. They do not have a lot of options, but if you want to come specifically for Kunefe then might be worth sitting down. As for the desert itself, the texture was amazing, and highly recommended for everyone with a sweet tooth. It was crispy, fluffy, warm, creamy, syrupy tipped with pistachios. For me little too sweet, but I imagine they are supposed to be that way. I cannot handle too much sweetness but just the texture of the dessert makes me want to have it again.

Located not far from Karaköy Güllüoğlu is Köşkeroğlu Karaköy, to many the only competitor for best…read moreBaklava though Köşkeroğlu's collection spans larger including not just standards featuring Walnuts or Pistachios but also Rice Pudding, Asure Pudding and packaged goods. Actually two separate spaces, one selling Kebap and traditional Turkish Food with the other specializing in Dessert, it is inside the latter that several counters are found covered in Phyllo wrapped around everything from ground Beef in the case of Borek or loaded with Nuts and Honey. Named for the 1946 founder, though he surely had no idea diabetes-friendly or Gluten-free Baklava would one day be a thing, prices trend similar to other shops in the area while textures are a little less well-differentiated than Güllüoğlu except in the case of unrivaled Pistachio "Bride Packs."

I loved this spot! I came here for breakfast to try the su borek and it was so delicious, the…read moreperfect blend of cheese and flakiness of the pastry. I'm was told that this is the place to go to for katmir and I'm glad that I went because it was so good! The katmir is very sweet but I love just how packed with pistachios it is! This paired with a nice cup of cay is so incredible

Came her for dessert around 9pm. We had the baklava's all amazing but special mention goes to…read moreMidye. It's worth noting they still tasted fresh. The pastry was still flaky despite that time of the day. Not as sweet as I'm used to in Chicago

Kuzu sis kebap (lamb shish kebab) (36 lira) - 3.5 stars The…read morelamb chunks were better seasoned than other meats we've had so far and not too dry. The plate came with some rice, a warm tomato, raw onions and parsley. Et doner durum (30 lira) - 3 stars The doner meat was a little like shabu shabu kinda meat, better than Durumzade and Sedef Bufe, but not amazing really. The tomatoes inside were cold. My sister thought it was too dry as there wasn't any sauce inside. Complimentary warm pide. Cleanest nicest bathrooms I've seen! Our waiter was the unfriendliest we've had on the trip so far.