Heyamola Ada Lokantası:: Island time

Editor’s note: This post was written by “Meliz,” an intrepid explorer of Istanbul’s culinary backstreets and frequent Istanbul Eats guest contributor who would like to keep her anonymity.

While the Princes’ Islands make for a great escape from the city, it used to be hard to think of them as a culinary destination. That is, until Heyamola Ada Lokantası opened. The restaurant is a perfect storm of inspired food, chill ambiance and small-label Turkish wines, all at ridiculously low prices. Heyamola is reason in and of itself to organize a day trip to the islands, and if you’re already planning your island adventure, the place is a compelling argument for jumping off the ferry at Heybeli Island, often overlooked in favor of the more popular Büyükada.

At Heyamola, the meze tray rolls 20 deep and changes with the seasons. The selection often revolves around the herbs and greens chef Semra Hanım forages on the island. On one visit, a wild fennel sauté and a nettle and nigella seed salad truly blew our minds. Semra Hanım ran one of the best places on the Datça Peninsula for years, and she has a genius for innovative takes on Aegean standards.

The rest of this previously featured review can be found on CulinaryBackstreets.com, here.

Published on November 27, 2015

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