Hüsrev – Black Sea Kurufasulye Magic

5 *****
Comfort eating Turkish style means Kuru Fasulye, a vastly superior version of the baked beans Heinz could only wish one of their 57 varieties equalled. Hüsrev (Dedeman İş Merkezi, Yıldız Posta Caddesi No: 48/1 Esentepe) has been serving up its Black Sea home cooking since 1928 and is now quite a grand affair, complete [...]

Güveççi Abdullah 1944 – Stew you!

4****
Despite working round the corner for 3 months, I never noticed this restaurant (Aytar Cad 14/A, 1 Levent) and am now mourning all the missed opportunities for dining there.  More noticeable at night when it is all lit up with red and orange lanterns, Güveççi Abdullah is a cosy 2 floor restaurant with live music [...]

Garden Cafe – Winter hangout

3 ***
 
To find this place you must have been inducted by someone else who has, in turn, been brought by another insider. Tucked away between apartment buildings just behind Mecidiyeköy’s noisy crossroads (Ortaklar Caddesi, Bahçeler Sokak, Somay İş Merkezi C Blok 1-2, Mecidiyeköy), Garden Cafe takes its theme seriously. Plastic frogs croak and stuffed cats [...]

Konyalılar Etli Ekmek – where bread is thin

 
3 ***
 The description I had to go on from the people that recommended this lokanta to me was “thin bread with meat”. Er…so it’s döner kebab then?  Or pide?  My excitement managed to contain itself even when I found that Turkish food critics heap praise on it and I set out sceptically.  How different could [...]

Hidiv Kasri – Ottoman style

4 *** There are good ways to get all the way out to Kanlıca and then there is the wrong way.  Don’t get on a bus from Üsküdar going in the general direction of Beykoz, get off in Kavacık and walk for 40 minutes, following signs for Hıdiv Kasrı.  Instead, once you’ve successfully navigated yourself to [...]