In Istanbul, Turkey on an amazing food tour with Culinary Backstreets (Gonca, our guide) and Milk…read moreStreet. On our first night in town, we ascend a walking historical tour through the streets of Upper Beyoglu. We are walking uphill for our meal, meaning our meal will taste even better. In a quiet neighborhood, we arrived at an unassuming building with no sign, named Cuma. This old house is separated into individual dining rooms with exposed concrete walls, small hallways, creaky wood floors and floor to ceiling heavy drapes. The feeling is that this is going to be an amazing night. I under estimated just how great it could be. Ten worldly travels are joining us this culinary adventure. As we are seated for a fixed service, the dishes, start coming out of the kitchen. The description of what we are having is causing me the salivate. The first dish was lightly steamed snow peas with a dusting of hazelnut taratore. Simple and amazing! Our next dish was Turkish pastrami with roasted eggplant, tahini yogurt and crispy onions. I don't like eggplant but there is nothing left on my plate and my senses are on high alert. Simply delicious! Our next dish is minced kibbeh, tahani and fresh herbs. A new dish for me and over the top, again. Georgian dumplings with salted antakya yogurt and porcini mushrooms are up next. What a beautiful dish and packed with a smooth creamy flavor. We finish off the night with baklava, quince paste, pistachios and kaymak. It was light, savory, crispy and delightful. Hands down, one of the best evenings of dining I have experienced. The presentation, flavors, portions and experience were INCREDIBLE. If you are in Istanbul or planning a trip, please place Cuma on your list. To the staff and chefs, thanks for making our first night in Istanbul and great memory.

TLDR: Cuma offers great bistro-style food with Turkish flavors in an intimate indoor/outdoor…read moresetting alongside a quiet alleyway. Recommend the signature cocktails, ceviche, friend oysters, and chicken. They accept credit card and speak English. I'd highly recommend Cuma. We booked a reservation via phone for 8pm on a weekday. The restaurant was about half full. Most of the seating is outdoors in their cute garden courtyard. You can smoke out there. If you wanna avoid the smoke, sit indoors which has roughly 6 tables with 2-4 seats per table. The food is best described as French bistro meets Turkish flavors. We had the fried mussels, ceviche, duck, and chicken. All were cooked perfectly. Lots of citrus flavors. We didn't have dessert. You won't find traditional Turkish desserts here if that's your thing. However they have the standards you'd expect from a bistro like apple crumble and carrot cake.

Vegan latte (18 TL for medium ~16oz) - 2 stars They use…read morehazelnut milk, which I haven't had elsewhere, but it kind of curdles. You can definitely taste the hazelnut milk but the coffee is sour!

It may be a very personal opinion, but I didn't like Kronotrop that much. I had read fantastic…read morethings about it and I was excited when I found out that our apartment was right on the corner so I thought it would be a fantastic spot for an early coffee. But first of all, as I read in another comment, I felt that service was a bit too cool for school. I wasn't there for that long, but it wasn't one of those places where you feel comfortable at. The point of specialty coffee places is not just offering good quality coffee, but also a whole experience, good client service included. At least, a smile! Second, there was literally nothing to eat with the coffee. I understand that the main product is the coffee, but for a place that opens that early in the morning, at least a piece of cake, a croissant...? Of course, that is the owner's decision, but I just found it a bit poor. I don't know if that's always like this, because when I was there, they had a full tray of bakes that weren't serving but instead, they took somewhere else. ¿? I didn't get it. And third, my flat white was just ok, it had a caramelized flavour that I didn't like that much, I've tried better. If I am ever back to Istanbul, I don't think I would go back to Kronotrop again... Although as I said, the reviews that I had read were very positive... maybe my expectations were too high!

I usually come here for the kenefe dessert. They specialize in desserts.read more

My friend took me here as I was jonesing for a coffee after my long flight…read more The barista was nice and explained the different coffees (ranged from Americans, lattes, to Turkish coffees to Aeropress and syphon coffee). I was especially interested in trying authentic Turkish coffee. Even though he honestly recommended adding sugar, I stubbornly refused (when in Turkey, eh?). It was bitter and exactly as the barista predicted. No worries, as I still enjoyed it. He recommended a sweeter version to try next time. My friend ordered a cappuccino and I tried that too. It was amazing! Super chill place and loved the coffee.

I went to the one at taksim square it's very good place but small space ,I tried the croissant with…read morecheese it's so good and the Nutella one was so delicious

Solid little coffee shop in Pera/Beyoglu neighborhood. I stopped in here for a Turkish coffee as I…read morehad a half hour to kill. Was good. 25 TL and it came with a water. Shady spot with a few outdoor tables too. Good for people watching. Neighborhood is awesome. Chill vibe and friendly staff.

I went to Drip for breakfast the other day and absolutely loved it! Clean and elegant design,…read morefriendly staff (I speak zero Turkish and had no problems), and great coffee! I tried the "healthy plate" with filter coffee and left stuffed and satisfied (cost 28 lira). I liked it so much that I came back this morning for another breakfast ("the big plate"). It was also good, but not as good as the other plate.

This is a little cafe with sweets and borek and coffee. It's quiet and clean. They had American…read moremusic. The food was good.

Serving Sultanahmet since 1961 Çiğdem Pastanesi sees its fair share of locals and tourists, a wide…read moreselection of sweets and savories similar to other local spots luring guests in where a tight space is found decorated with aged wood and iron. Surprisingly limited in English, uncommon on the street between Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, prices are a bit higher than Patisserie further from city-center while the products themselves are fair-to-middling and highlighted by Syrup-soaked Halka Tatlisi with Jam at the center.

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.

Big store filled with sweets and pastries. If you are buying presents this could be an alternative…read moreto the Spice Bazaar, but you still need to go there for the vibe. We came here after dinner for a quick peruse before going to the hotel. Those sticky pastries looked very inviting!

My favorite Turkish delights shop! Usually I buy all sweet souvenirs here: loukums, halva, honey,…read morenuts. Take a chance to taste local tea and dondurma, especially of you'll be here in June. Love it so much!