city Essentials · 10 foods
Istanbul Essentials
A considered first route through Istanbul: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Turkey foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
10 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Istanbul, Turkey
Balık Ekmek
Grilled mackerel tucked into half a loaf at the Eminönü boats, eaten standing against the railing with pickles.
Turkey
Kokoreç
Lamb intestines chopped off the charcoal and loaded into bread at the Beyoğlu stalls after midnight.
Istanbul, Turkey
Kumpir
A blasted-open potato from an Ortaköy counter buried under butter, kaşar and a dozen toppings of your choosing.
Istanbul, Turkey
Midye Dolma
Stuffed mussels bought one by one from Galata Bridge trays, opened by the vendor's lemon-squeeze signal.
Istanbul, Turkey
Midye Tava
Skewered fried mussels from Kadıköy carts, dipped in tarator while you stand.
Istanbul, Turkey
Paçanga Böreği
Deep-fried pastry rolled around pastırma and kaşar, the meyhane hot meze of the old city.
Istanbul, Turkey
Lakerda
Salt-cured bonito sliced paper-thin for the meyhane table when bonito season opens in autumn.
Istanbul, Turkey
Piliç Topkapı
Chicken baked over eggplant purée under a golden crust, the palace dish that named itself after Topkapı.
Bulgaria
Simit
Геврек
The sesame ring bought from the red cart every morning, eaten with tea on the ferry both ways.
Istanbul, Turkey
Döner Kebab
Soslu döner
The vertical spit this city gave the world, sliced into bread at counters that never stop turning.