Bar in Istanbul

Rooftop cocktails and a Bosphorus view at Bebek Hotel by The Stay

A rooftop terrace overlooking Sultanahmet and the Marmara Sea

Bosphorus-mouth fish-house where the strait opens to the Black Sea.

Over-water fish-meyhane on the Baltalimanı seam.

Brasserie-attached cigar room on the Vadistanbul side

Villa dining in the old Tribeca space, homemade-syrup cocktails, open-kitchen ambition

Kempinski's waterfront aperitivo terrace, Italian spritz ritual over the Bosphorus

Wood-panelled clubby signature bar at the Ottoman palace, elite spirits library

Grand Tarabya's second-floor bar, a Bosphorus-bay cocktail terrace.

Sarıyer Çarşı fish-meyhane known for kalkan and meze depth.

Wide Bosphorus terrace lounge for sundown cigars and the city's best afternoon tea

After-work cocktail room on Büyükdere for the Levent towers

Cognac, cigar and Friday-night jazz inside the Ottoman shipyard

Late-night Kireçburnu fish-meyhane open until 02:00.

Glass-domed rooftop cigar room over the historical peninsula

Lobby brasserie and terrace at Hilton Bosphorus, all jewel-box finishes and crafted drinks

Shangri-La's lobby bar, jewel-box interior, sharing plates, signature cocktails until 1am

Istanbul twist on Raffles Singapore's original Long Bar, nightly live music

A park-keeper's hut built over the water, windows on three sides, classic mezes and full rakı/wine bar

Kireçburnu waterline fish house, rakı nights the neighborhood still uses.

Belle-Époque hotel bar where Agatha Christie drank, literature nights, Friday live jazz, Istanbul-narrative cocktails.

The Tarabya fish crescent local without the tourist markup.

Panoramic CVK lounge with live performers and a proper bar program

Ground-floor hotel bar where the Foxy crowd spills over for DJs and late drinks.

14th-floor sushi-and-cocktails bar overlooking both continents

Hilltop Baltalimanı panorama, bar open until 2am.

Palazzo Corpi ground-floor lounge, the only Soho House bar open to the public, meze-and-cocktail anchor of Meşrutiyet.

Sipping bubbles at the water's edge as the call to prayer echoes

English gentlemen's-club style bar with whiskey, cognac and live music six nights.

27-storey Ataşehir tower with a proper lobby-bar cocktail hour

Gault & Millau-listed yalı for marinated lüfer and rakı

Ottoman-motif velvet lobby bar inside the Akaretler row-house W, late DJ sets

Four Seasons Bosphorus lounge on one of the best terraces on the water

Chef Kaan Kayhan's waterfront meyhane on the Yeniköy pier.

Bosphorus-pier classic since 1949 under century-old plane trees.

33 years of rakı-sunset at the mouth of the Bosphorus

Tarabya marina fish-house with a working bar program.

The Nişantaşı 1980s power-lunch institution moved Bosphorus-side, 30-plus crowd, private pier, classic cocktails

St. Regis lobby bar where the Misty Mary is poured under dry ice