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Like Atatürk statues and crescent-and-star flags etched into the sides of mountains, the öğretmenevi (“teacher’s house”) is an integral part of the Turkish landscape. Found in almost every city in Turkey, these government-run institutions serve as affordable guesthouses for educators on the road and – since anyone is welcome if space is available – for those traveling on a teacher’s budget.

For the most part, they are drab affairs, 1970s-era concrete boxes usually painted in a shade of pink and found in some of the least interesting parts of town. Not so in Istanbul’s historic Beyoğlu neighborhood, where the local öğretmenevi is a grand, late-19th-century building, formerly a French-built hotel that – just like the more famous Pera Palace Hotel nearby – put up travelers arriving on the Orient Express.

A “teacher’s house” since the 1980s, the building underwent a complete remodeling a few years ago, resulting in the addition of a top-floor restaurant and bar. We were initially intrigued by the building’s front sign, which looked more like that of a boutique hotel than that of a state-run institution. The lobby smacked of a Miami Beach retirement home, but a quick trip up the elevator took us into a modernish dining room that had several tables with fine views of the Golden Horn (the poor man’s Bosphorus, some might say) and a cozy, five-stool bar at one end.

Curious, we returned for dinner to find out just what Istanbul’s teachers are up to at night. We were initially met by a stern maître d’ who, treating us like a bunch of students who had arrived late for detention period, informed us that no tables were available. It seems reservations are a must on most nights, especially if you want one of the few tables with a view. Fortunately, the bar was empty and the friendly bartender – dressed, like the rest of the waitstaff, in a white shirt and satiny black tie – was happy to let us eat there.

The menu holds no surprises – the usual mezes and kebabs, along with grilled fish – but the reasonable prices are unheard of for this trendy part of town, especially for a place with a view. The lamb chops we ordered were not exceptional, but, like the mezes, no worse than anything you get in any of the meyhanes along Beyoğlu’s touristy Nevizade Street. “Mexican steak,” a fillet of beef covered in a tomato-mushroom sauce and melted cheese, seemed like a high-concept take on school cafeteria food, but was surprisingly good.

The truth is, more than the food, what keeps us coming back to the öğretmenevi is the unpretentious bar and its wonderful view, especially in summer, when the restaurant’s big windows are opened up. It may not be the finest dining experience in Beyoğlu, but it’s certainly one of the more memorable.

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Published on August 14, 2012

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