turkey · April — October
The Bosphorus at six. The fine dining with the old-city view. Nişantaşı for the shopping that does not look like shopping. Bebek for the long lunch that turns into a long night. Istanbul, where the address book matters as much as the view.
Where to begin
The addresses I would send to a friend on the first visit. The full guide is below.
Seafood · ArnavutköySix partners trained in the city's older fish rooms, the result is the Arnavutköy waterside standard for daily catch.
Bistro to club · BebekCevdet Paşa Caddesi since 2004 — the Bebek bistro that turns into the neighbourhood's dancefloor at eleven.
Italian market · Zorlu CenterThe Italian market and restaurant inside Zorlu — the right pasta lunch when the day is in Beşiktaş.
Italian · EtilerEtiler's Italian institution since 1996 — the room Istanbul's socialite set still treats as the long lunch and the long dinner.
Steakhouse · EtilerNusret Gökçe's original Etiler steakhouse — the room the global chain was built from, the Tomahawk and the salt drop.
Japanese · İstinye ParkThe Zuma format inside İstinye Park — izakaya-style modern Japanese, terrace with fire-pit, weekend resident DJs.
Festive · clubs, line-ups, long lunches
Reserve the table for the night out.
Niçoise · İstinye ParkThe LPM format on two floors of İstinye Park — Niçoise and Ligurian cooking, central bar, the same long-lunch room as London and Dubai.
Brasserie · İstinye Parkİstinye Park's courtyard brasserie — a high-ceiling salon, a garden, international cuisine, open from morning to one.
Authentic · the quiet rooms
Reserve the quiet dinner.
Bosphorus view · UlusThirty years on the rim of Ulus Park — Mediterranean, Turkish and a serious sushi bar over the cleanest view of the strait.
Antep kebab · SamatyaThe 1966 original of the Develi family — the Marmara terrace, the patented pistachio kebab, four generations on.
Breakfast · BebekThe Bebek classic since 2004 — the breakfast above the waterside that the neighbourhood organises its weekend around.
Seafood · ArnavutköyThe Arnavutköy fish house that takes 200 covers without losing the kitchen — the Bosphorus seafood dinner at scale.
Bosphorus view · UlusThe Ulus Park institution since 1983 — modern Turkish on a floor-to-ceiling view of the two bridges, Michelin recommended.
Seafood · BebekSeventy years on the Bebek waterside — the Bosphorus fish dinner with the deboning at the table.
Seafood · ArnavutköyA three-storey waterside mansion in Arnavutköy — fish prepared in nine ways, view to the bridge.
Kebab and steakhouse · EtilerThe Etiler branch of the kebab-and-steakhouse Istanbul's regulars rank in the city's top three — meze, kebap, katmer.
1★ Michelin · TepebaşıMehmet Gürs's rooftop above the Marmara Pera — the New Anatolian Kitchen, with the cleanest old-city view in the room.
Brasserie · NişantaşıThe Nişantaşı institution under the Beymen department store — French brasserie, since 2003, the right shopping lunch.
Brasserie · BebekThe Divan Group's Bebek room with its own Bosphorus pier — Turkish and international, a retractable skylight, weekend brunch.
Pan-Asian · EtilerThe Etiler garden room with the high ceilings — Pan-Asian and French seafood, and a slide to the dancefloor after eleven.
Patisserie · BebekThe 1923 Istanbul patisserie's Bebek address — three floors, the legendary Kup Griye dessert, the right weekend breakfast.
NişantaşıThe Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi room — Turkish and international, an outdoor terrace, the Nişantaşı dinner that travels easily.
Ottoman cuisine · NişantaşıFounded in Fatih in 1950, Nişantaşı since 2000 — the Uğumu family's Ottoman-Turkish kitchen, four generations on.
Antep kebab · NişantaşıThe Nişantaşı branch of the Antep house that opened in Samatya in 1912 — pistachio kebab in a brasserie setting.
Tables
Book the table.
Turkish brasserie · Zorlu CenterThe Zorlu Center concept that runs a contemporary Turkish brasserie — daily list, full bar, all-day.
Italian · Zorlu CenterMichael White's Altamarea Italian inside Zorlu — pasta and the Italian fish programme in a polished room.
French Mediterranean · Zorlu CenterThe Zorlu Center's French address — Mediterranean kitchen, deep wine cellar, handmade pasta alongside the seafood line.