Places in Istanbul

Sultan's palace on the Bosphorus

World's Leading City Hotel 2024 with panoramic Bosphorus views

World-class spa and dining on the waterfront

19th-century Ottoman waterfront mansions reimagined

Creative hub in classic-elegant Palazzo Corpi

Former Ottoman bank transformed into boutique luxury

Private yacht arrival at Galataport's newest luxury address

Waterfront palace with legendary spa and gardens

Former Ottoman prison transformed into cozy luxury

Five generations of baklava perfection

Art Deco heritage hotel in Giulio Mongeri's 1922 masterpiece

Orient Express heritage since 1892

Flagship all-inclusive resort on the Golden Horn

19th-century raki distillery on the Asian shore

City views, infinity pool, and legendary service

Morgans Original in a restored warehouse

All-day venue that flips into a cocktail bar with workshops and guest DJs after sunset.

Upper-tier fish house on Operatör Cemil Topuzlu

Boutique hotel at the marina gate with a chef's kitchen

Retro-boutique hotel bar at the marina entrance, seasonal cocktails

Fixed-menu meyhane with live musicians between tables, winters Kalamis summers Yalikavak

Late-2025 waterfront bar with a beachfront terrace

Cihangir rooftop institution since 1993 with a real Bosphorus view

1800s Rasim Pasa Yali turned boutique hotel with Five Star Diamond award

Brick-lined snug pub with live blues, rock and jazz seven nights a week

World cuisines meets Antakya aromatic culture in Akaretler row house

Michelin Bib Gourmand Italian in a three-story historic Moda house

Traditional Ottoman craftsmanship in the classic-elegant heart

Gile chef's tribute to Marmaris roots, Gault & Millau 2026 Best Street Food

Boğaz-narrowest fish house with full bar program since 1967

Karaköy's benchmark grill, Suadiye rooftop edition

Bar side of Four Seasons' Bosphorus seafood room, terrace to the water, Mediterranean pours

Ex-Periferi chef's own kitchen: bold menu, intimate room

Seasonal kitchen and an opinionated Turkish wine cellar on the quiet Mühürdar slope, adults-only, no menus in seven languages

Tower-foot jazz bar in a former mosaic workshop

Istanbul's most prestigious live-music stage, jazz, funk, electronic, indie in an ex-brewery, the Robert-College-kids' institution

Neighborhood şarküteri where you point and they plate

Compact neighborhood cocktail bar behind the avenue

Burgazada's Rum meyhane legacy lands in Bostancı

Beymen's new fine-dining icon, Roman & Williams design, Michelin-starred consulting chef

Paris-bistro-in-Bomonti, Kojo Hospitality's French-Turkish fusion with a kitchen that gives the bar a reason to exist

Istanbul's legendary patisserie since 1923, home of Kup Griye

A pilot-and-stewardess couple's quiet corner off Bağdat

Neighborhood bistro that turns into a late cocktail room, the kind of address Bebek residents list when asked for 'somewhere normal'.

Cocktails + rakı/meze + live music on the Akaretler row-house strip

German-style beer garden with Weihenstephaner on tap and a real backyard

Gül Sultan mansion, Bosphorus, rakı, fish

Asian side's most serious craft beer list, deep Gara Guzu shelf

Chef Marcello Micci's Tuscan kitchen on Bağdat Caddesi with 120-person garden

Beyoğlu's serious 400-cap live room, international bookings (Sextile, Hugo Kant), no tribute bands

Moda side-street all-day bar, proper cocktails at kind prices

Chef-driven fine-casual seafood with daily catch and creative small plates

Tucked-in Sakız Gülü wine bar with a tight, evolving Turkish-focused list.

Adile Sultan Palace dining in the Michelin Guide

Gayrettepe English-pub-style brewpub, 8 house taps of real ales and lagers, the craft-beer brewery for Levent's after-work crowd

Neighborhood coffee-and-butter bakeshop

Intimate nightly jazz, blues and soul off İstiklal

Sea-view rooftop meyhane reworking Greek, Sephardic and Turkish meze with a real bar.

Cem Mirap (Lucca) brasserie at İstinye Park, designed by Roman & Williams

500+ bottle local-focused wine room next to Göztepe Park

Long-running Italian-influenced bar tucked behind Bebek Hamamı

Historic ferry pier dining with unobstructed Bosphorus Bridge views

800-year plane tree tea garden, the village living room

Cocktail-gastropub from the Joker No:19 crew spilling onto the Avenue, garden, relaxed, serious drinks

Garden coffee roaster under old trees in Moda

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

Emre Şen / Morini team's all-day Mediterranean at İstinye Park

Balat roaster with a Probatino in the center of the shop

Third-wave roaster's 2025 landing on the Anatolian avenue

Living-room-sized wine bar with charcuterie that punches above the General Yazgan address

French-inflected kitchen with seasonal local producers capturing Moda's bohemian spirit

Istanbul's first true Italian since 1993, on imported flour and stone-oven pizza

Shellfish-forward seafood in a 200-year-old Ottoman elephant warehouse

Onur Balk's award-winning mixology with global street food

Divan Group's gastropub in a historic Akaretler row-house

Fifty-plus years on Bağdat, the Anatolian side's classic pub

Watergarden havuz katında meyhane-pub melezi; küratörlü şarap, ekspert kokteyl.

A quiet Aegean-air meyhane behind Beşiktaş fish market

Michelin-starred chef Emre Şen's new Istanbul canvas

Since 1979: cilek milfoy, Ibiza pastasi, Kadıköy classic holding the line

French-influenced coffee with signature orange cold espresso and unique cup service

Berlin-feeling daylight cafe with Dutch babies and serious coffee

Tight Moda Caddesi bar with a deep beer fridge and a surprisingly serious cocktail menu, distinct from the Şaşkınbakkal Fil

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

Artisan macarons and sourdough pastries above Istanbul's standard

Caddebostan all-day bakery with serious croissants and egg plates

Dimly lit Esat Işık room pairing classics-first cocktails with a short, serious kitchen

Day-to-night high-fidelity bar and bakery on Hüsrev Gerede

Stone-oven bakery with Balat's best croissants and weekend Turkish breakfast

Selectist's harbour-side hi-fi house with Funktion One sound

Expertly crafted cocktail menu refreshed every ten days

Quiet Jurnal Sokak şaraphanesi pouring small Anatolian producers and Georgian qvevri

Waterside mansion cocktails for the Yeniköy yalı row.

After-work cocktail room on Büyükdere for the Levent towers

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

Sunday jazz brunch and upper Bosphorus marina dining

Topağacı neighborhood bar with a sharp cocktail list and a proper local crowd.

Historic waterfront yali next to Anadoluhisari fortress with fresh daily catch

Small Bebek room with 20+ wines by the glass, Bosphorus-edge tables, and the early-evening crowd that owns the neighborhood.

Bosphorus-side live-rock institution out at Burunbahçe

1871 Pera wine house in the Hazzopulo Pasajı arcade, intellectuals' canteen, not a museum

Three-storey 19th-century Greek house turned wine room

Art Nouveau Ottoman pavilion in Cubuklu forest with Bosphorus views and garden dining

70-seat fish house at the Göksu estuary

Two-floor bistro-bar a few steps off Ortaköy pier, Bosphorus view, locals over tourists

Beans scoring 90+ SCA, roasted by a 2025 Türkiye champion

Small Teşvikiye cocktail room with a considered signature list.

Home-party-style Topağacı bar with assertive cocktails and a real neighborhood crowd.

The city's flagship Bosphorus-side shisha-and-cocktail lounge, a Kuruçeşme nightlife fixture

Small family trattoria with Michelin 3-pearl mention

The Asian side's oldest real Italian, since 1990

Chef Utku's southern Italian in a Caddebostan villa garden

1951 iskele-side meyhane, Can Yücel and Nazım Hikmet's haunt

Nişantaşı sibling of the legendary Beşiktaş gastro-pub with craft beer and whiskey.

Street-level micro-bar on Esat Işık, creative cocktails, vinyl-leaning music, no-frills Kadıköy at its best

Cult Izmir-style breakfast with cast-iron tulum cheese and vegan options

Historic Refi Pasa Yali turned upscale breakfast with Bosphorus-front setting

Seaside breakfast with small-producer ingredients

Compact meze-first meyhane steps from the marina

Pier-tip bar-lounge with live music surrounded by sea on three sides

Long-running marina brasserie known for grilled salmon

Terrace tucked below Rumeli Hisarı's ramparts, shadow of the fortress on one side, the Bosphorus narrowing on the other.

Former metal workshop anchoring Karaköy's creative revival since 2011

Former antique shop turned speakeasy: billiards, vintage decor, theatrical cocktails

Marina-facing grill, seasoned Fenerbahçe regulars

Cihangir garden-club where DJs push funk, disco, chill house past midnight

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

Modern meyhane in historic brewery walls with lentil 'ice cream' signature

Tepebaşı rooftop with Golden Horn view and ethno-house program

Second chapter from the Urban/Boden team, classic and signature cocktails

Garden setting, reusable cups, sustainability-focused by Büyük Sefler group

Cold War–era Soviet space-program aesthetic on Topağacı Meydanı.

Nevizade's 1941 original, no singing, just rakı

Turkey's pioneering third-wave roastery, owned by Mehmet Gurs's Istanbul Food & Beverage Group (acquired 2014)

Beyoğlu's long-running blues dive run by Mehmet the Blues

Glass-domed rooftop cigar room over the historical peninsula

Italian fine dining honored by the Italian government since 2012

Tiny family pizzeria with perfect thin crust

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

Velvet-curtained rooftop over Galata with French bistro kitchen

Narrative-driven cocktail room on Moda Caddesi where each drink is a paragraph, not a prop

Best croissants in Kadıköy: cruffins, Saint Honore, gluten-free options

2024 World Class Turkey champion's sustainability-led cocktail room

Hidden 350m² walled garden of lemon and linden trees

45-seat Amalfi-inflected Italian room at The Ritz-Carlton

Pigalle ve MiniBar ekibinden izakaya esintili Japon tapas barı, vinil geceleri.

Bosphorus-front institution: elaborate breakfast plus fresh-catch seafood

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

Turkey's first female-run meyhane, Tatavla's living memory since 1946

Old-style neighbourhood meyhane near Akaretler

Bosphorus-view ocakbasi: organic Kars breakfast mornings, charcoal-grilled evenings

Fifth-floor Taksim meyhane where Tatavla Keyfi plays rebetiko Fri-Sat

Japanese chefs at counter: kaiseki and omakase praised as Istanbul's best

Old-guard yalı seafood and rakı bar, salt-baked levrek, Bosphorus directly underfoot

Cihangir duplex tapas bar with a balcony and neighborhood regulars

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

Wood-coal döner with Kepsut thyme and Konya lavash

The former Babylon Kilyos, now curated music festival beach.

Michelin-starred chef Michael White's handmade pasta since 2013

Exclusively Turkish-sourced: octopus orzo and lamb shank on farmers' pasta

Intimate Fenerbahçe-park-side cocktail room tucked off Bağdat on Faruk Ayanoğlu, the quiet alternative to Suadiye

23-year Nevizade meyhane named for a Can Yücel poem

Turkey's first authentic Vietnamese restaurant with genuinely excellent pho

House Cafe stable's tiny day-to-night cocktail room on Atiye Sokak

House Cafe's neighborhood-bar sibling, coffee by day, DJ nights Thu-Sat

Owner-run third-wave pioneer that defined Suadiye coffee culture

In-house sourdough, brioche, granola, breakfast until 5pm

New-generation Teşvikiye meyhane – contemporary meze, raki, serious pours.

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

The Moda sushi favourite on a quiet Erenköy side-street

SCA-champion roaster, barista represented Turkey at Worlds

Bodrum-born seafood room with a serious Hi-Fi bar inside

Tiny Tünel wine room famous among regulars for its mulled wine and queer-friendly door

Michelin-listed seafood institution whose sunset cocktail bar is a genuine Bosphorus ritual

Modern Neapolitan with imported San Marzano tomatoes

Pioneer specialty coffee roastery with training center

Contemporary luxury at Zorlu Center

Cemil Topuzlu'da 30 yıllık kurumsal-canlı müzik adresi, soliste kadeh kaldırılan yer.

Istanbul's most authentic Mexican, Tanyeri-González family since 2005

Three-storey corner building on the Moda tram line, evening-favourite room with sharing plates and a confident cocktail list

Red-velvet audiophile bar with craft cocktails and vinyl, beneath the Listening Room.

House-music rooftop facing Galata Tower

Jigger Istanbul's flagship, signature cocktails with Turkish bitters

Kalamis Marina views with creative cocktails and proper kitchen

60+ organic Anatolian specialties with Bosphorus views

Kiz Kulesi views from the terrace: the most iconic Asian-shore panorama

Rooftop seafood house with Marmara view

Twenty-four-tap craft beer bar on Ferah Sokağı, the Sarıyer original's central outpost

Late-night jazz bar with live trios and curated vinyl at the renovated Hilton Bosphorus

Ottoman-era confectionery since 1807: Turkish delight and akide craftsmanship

2026 opening in restored 19th-century Hovagimyan Han

Turkish fine dining with Anatolian recipes and extensive wine cellar

The Tarabya fish crescent local without the tourist markup.

Tea, light plates and salads on the water beside İstinye iskelesi

Asian hospitality excellence with stunning water views

Chef-driven Aegean gastro in a pastel townhouse: Balat's serious dining address

Late-1800s building, seasonal mezes, Greek-Turkish soul

The Black Sea's original beach-club institution, open June–September.

In-house roasting with rotating guest-roaster program

Panoramic CVK lounge with live performers and a proper bar program

Cycling culture meets specialty coffee on the Caddebostan coast

Bağdat Avenue branch of historic Beyoğlu Pano; fasıl music, straight rakı, serious wine cellar

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

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

Faux-supermarket-fronted late room running consistent house and disco edits till 04:00

48-hour sourdough and French-inspired pastries anchoring Akaretler mornings

Cevdet Paşa cafe-bar with Bebek-old-guard regulars