Genc Kebap – I’ll never tire of it, never!

5***** 
I’ve eaten here as many times as at nearby Kanaat (Uskudar on Selmanipak Cad), more if you count the number of times we have taken food away, or, when we were being really lazy, ordered in.  This blog is starting to make it look like I can’t cook which is totally untrue.  Not only can I cook, [...]

Zencefil – A vegetarian oasis

3*** 
I’m not a vegetarian but I do often act like one so I am almost as appreciative of a vegetarian restaurant as a real meat avoider.  I very rarely cook meat at home and go for weeks without really noticing I haven’t had any.  Despite Turkish food being a very meat orientated cuisine, I don’t think [...]

Saray – My Turkish dessert education

4**** for how I felt 10 months ago, 3*** for how I feel now
I have had a longer relationship with Saray than any other restaurant in Istanbul so far.  Its Istiklal branch in Taksim has a huge window crammed full of sticky looking sweet things that had a Little Match Girl effect on me when I [...]

The House Cafe – A lifestyle

5**** 
You could build an entire Saturday around The House Cafe on Ortakoy waterfront.  Walk there along the Bosphorous from Besiktas to avoid the traffic and work up an appetite for breakfast or brunch.  Then spend the afternoon  trinket collecting at Ortakoy’s street market to fill the time before a late lunch.  Relax on the terrace drinking cocktails until you’re hungry again [...]

Cin Bufe – Sweet or sour?

2 ** 
Once someone suggests going for a Chinese, the idea takes hold and won’t let go until you seek out a place where you get chopsticks with dinner.  Usually, in my experiences of living abroad in countries with a low Asian population, the chopsticks are about the most authentic thing about the food.  We decided to get the [...]

Kanaat – Olive oil HQ

5 ***** for the first visits, 4 **** for how I feel about it now, 6 ****** for the magical fig dessert 
In Uskudar, (Selmanipak Cad) on the main street next to the market, Kanaat is a place I’ve been often.  More than I would normally ever eat anywhere, barring maybe my own flat.  You can’t get a better recommendation [...]