Food and cafés in Nişantaşı

Eating out in Nişantaşı (Nisantasi) starts with a long Turkish breakfast, carries on through café culture and specialty coffee, and ends with dinner, which most locals eat from 8 pm. Meat is generally halal and pork is rarely served, vegetarian meze are easy to find, and in restaurants a tip of around 10 percent is usual if service is not included.

Nişantaşı eats out a lot. Between the boutiques you will find long-running breakfast places, third-wave coffee bars, patisseries, simple lunch canteens and some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants. This page explains how eating out works and what to look for; for named places, see restaurants and cafés and breakfast.

The Turkish breakfast

Kahvaltı is the meal to plan your morning around. A full Turkish breakfast arrives as a table of small plates: white and aged cheeses, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers, honey with kaymak (clotted cream), jams, eggs and warm bread, with black tea served in tulip-shaped glasses and refilled without asking.

• Menemen: eggs scrambled with tomatoes and peppers, eaten straight from the pan.
• Simit: the sesame-crusted bread ring sold everywhere, good with cheese and tea.
• Sucuk: spiced beef sausage, often fried with eggs.
• Börek: flaky pastry filled with cheese, spinach or minced meat.

Weekend breakfasts run late and the popular places fill up from about 10 am. On weekdays you will usually get a table without waiting.

Cafés and coffee

Café culture is at the heart of the neighbourhood, and a pavement table on Abdi İpekçi or Teşvikiye Street is the classic place to watch Istanbul go by. Specialty coffee bars sit next to traditional cafés, so you can choose between a flat white and a Turkish coffee, which is served in a small cup with a glass of water and often a piece of Turkish delight. Let the grounds settle and do not drink the last sip.

Lunch and dinner

At lunchtime, look for an esnaf lokantası: a simple canteen with a counter of home-style dishes that change every day. You point at what you want, and it is one of the best-value meals in the city. In the evening the choice widens to modern Turkish kitchens, meze restaurants, steak and grill houses, and international cuisine.

Dishes worth ordering while you are here:

• Meze: small cold and hot starters to share, from smoky aubergine to stuffed vine leaves.
• Mantı: tiny meat dumplings with garlic yoghurt and chilli butter.
• İskender kebap: sliced döner over bread, with tomato sauce, yoghurt and melted butter.
• Pide and lahmacun: Turkish flatbreads baked in a wood oven, good for a quick lunch.
• Zeytinyağlı: vegetables slow-cooked in olive oil and served cool, often vegetarian.

Locals tend to eat dinner late, from around 8 pm. Book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings, especially at well-known restaurants.

Something sweet

Nişantaşı’s patisseries do both French-style cakes and Turkish classics. Try baklava with a glass of tea, warm künefe (shredded pastry with melted cheese and syrup), or sütlaç, a baked rice pudding. Boxes of baklava and Turkish delight also travel well as gifts.

Halal, vegetarian and allergies

• Halal: meat in Turkey is generally halal and pork is rarely served. Many restaurants in Nişantaşı also serve alcohol, so ask if that matters to you.
• Vegetarian: meze, olive-oil dishes, lentil soup and cheese börek make vegetarian eating easy. Ask for dishes etsiz (without meat), because some vegetable dishes are cooked with meat stock.
• Allergies: nuts, sesame and dairy are common ingredients. Carry a note in Turkish that lists your allergy and show it when you order.

For named places, with streets and what to order, see restaurants in Nişantaşı and cafés and breakfast.

Frequently asked questions