This year was one of tragedy and tumult for Turkey, as the devastating earthquakes of February 6 ripped through the southeast of the country, leaving more than 50,000 dead and displacing millions. If that weren’t enough, the focus then shifted to highly-polarizing general and presidential elections held at the end of spring, with the economy spiraling ever downward and unofficial inflation rates soaring past three digits. The Turkish lira continued losing value and the prices of so many consumer goods increased every couple of days. The word “expensive” lost all meaning.
Having established that gloomy context, the Istanbul food world nevertheless remained resilient. There’s still excitement to be found in the form of excellent spots that further confirm our belief that we could never run out of intriguing places in this sprawling city. These could be long-running, tried-and-true establishments that we had yet to stumble upon, or daring new restaurants with specialities that had never before appeared on a menu in Istanbul. Without further ado, here are our best bites of Istanbul for 2023.
Aphöse Sızbal at Sılaşara
This unassuming spot in the suburban Maltepe district of Istanbul’s Asian side holds the status as the only Abkhaz restaurant outside of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia or Georgia proper. Sılaşara offers traditional dishes that have been passed on through generations of the Abkhaz diaspora, which has called Turkey home for a century and a half. Fans of Circassion or Georgian cuisine will be delighted by Abkhaz cooking, which is quite similar if a bit more spicy and herb heavy. One dish that we can’t forget about is aphöse sızbal, a cold appetizer/dip made with a befuddling yet resoundingly harmonious array of ingredients including yogurt, bits of boiled egg, chopped sour green plums, spring onions and spicy acıka paste. This is just the beginning when it comes to the menu at Sılaşara, but it’s a spectacular start. –Paul Benjamin Osterlund
Chili Momos at The Himalayan Restaurant
One of our key hobbies in 2023 involved discovering a number of authentic restaurants representing the cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and Nepal – many of which have emerged in central Istanbul within the past couple of years. This includes The Himalayan Restaurant in the rough and tumble Tarlabaşı neighborhood, serving dishes as excellent and hearty as the owner and staff are friendly and welcoming. Overconfident in our penchant for fiery food, we ordered the chicken chili momos, classic Nepali pan-fried dumplings. We requested a 6-7 out of 10 in terms of spice level, and proceeded to shed tears and sweat our way through what was otherwise a truly enjoyable and revelatory plate of food. We left feeling slightly high after our sinuses were no longer being bombarded. On our next visit, we downgraded to a less-scorching level 3, and went for the lentil version. Rather than the filling, the searing red pepper sauce and slightly crunchy exterior of the dumplings are what make these momo sing. – Paul Benjamin Osterlund
Butcher Pepe at Salepepe Tokyo Style Pizza
Having opened to unexpected fanfare at the beginning of 2023, Salepepe is the first and only place in Istanbul serving Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza. The unassuming five-stool pizza bar in Istanbul’s Yeldeğirmeni neighborhood on the Asian side fires up pies in small ovens that cook on high heat for exactly one minute, rendering the dough perfectly charred and chewy. Across two meals, we enjoyed their Butcher Pepe, a margherita pizza made with fresh, high-quality mozzarella and topped with thickly-cut discs of salty spiced beef sausage and parmesan. We finished half at the shop and happily carried a box with the other two slices across the Bosphorus. It was just as good cold at home later that evening. – Paul Benjamin Osterlund
Lamb Rib Skewers at Kaburgacı Koray
After a year of eclectic eating, we found it appropriate to conclude with a pleasing discovery involving what Turkish cuisine is best known for worldwide: grilled meat. Kaburgacı Koray opened its doors this year tucked behind a bustling part of Istanbul near the massive Çağlayan courthouse, serving up staples from Turkey’s kebab capital of Adana. The owners themselves are from Adana and source all of their meat from the southern city. The kaburga çöp şiş (lamb rib skewers) were the best we’ve ever had, succulent morsels of magnificent meat spiced and grilled to perfection. These guys could easily compete with even the most iconic kebab slingers of their hometown. Served with freshly-baked flatbread, salads and ezme (spicy salsa) chopped to order, Kaburgacı Koray maintains the sky-high standards of Adana in Istanbul. -Paul Benjamin Osterlund
Tahini & Roasted Peppers at Mezme
When you throw a house party in Turkey, someone’s always going to show up with hit or miss meze. One fateful evening, a friend living on the European side lugged a bag of the most spectacular mezes over the water to Üsküdar – and everyone immediately wanted to know where they were from. “Mezme, Mezme, Mezme,” she repeated throughout the night. Open since 2020, Sasun Estukyan’s tiny cold-counter in Kurtuluş is the perfect spot for a casual meze hang, complete with rakı, an anise-flavored spirit that is Turkey’s favorite meze companion. The dish that drew the most attention was his tahinli közlenmiş biber (tahini folded into yogurt mixed with roasted red peppers). Earthy, creamy and smoky, Sasun’s take is a unique one. Many of his mezes draw on his Antakya and Armenian roots. There’s cracked and spiced halhal olives, Istanbul’s finest topik (a sort of chickpea and onion dumpling), soft and sweet stuffed cabbage and many more daily-made mezes that will spice up any dinner spread. – Tas Anjarwalla
Beyran Çorbası at Dürümcü Emmi
Wow, how had we never been here before? That made up most of the conversation at this popular Kadıköy spot as we scarfed down our beyran çorbası, a spicy lamb soup that hails from Turkey’s gastronomic meat capital, Gaziantep. Rich, meaty and dripping in flavor, it’d been a while since we’d had beyran like this in Istanbul. This city lives by its own strange food trends, and Instagram reigns supreme in drawing a crowd. But upon arriving and seeing a line forming outside a seemingly random corner near Söğütlüçeşme station, we were quick to learn that Dürümcü Emmi is what they call insta-famous. While we’d normally side-eye such a descriptor, we’ve got to hand it ‘em, the beyran is that good. We were so focused on the soup, that when our fıstıklı (pistachio-studded) kebab came, we worked ourselves into a frenzy. The meat just melted in the mouth. And though we were stuffed, we couldn’t help but order one more. – Tas Anjarwalla
Green Beans (and Laghman) at Yüksel Restaurant
I’ve always said a favorite movie has to be one you could watch any time, any place – and a favorite restaurant should really be held to the same standard. While I would have no more money if I made Çiya my go-to, I’ve managed to thrive in almost a decade of eating at Yüksel Restaurant. This is where my cravings for hand-pulled Uighur noodles (laghman) truly find solace. And once you’ve had these thick, chewy strands flash fried in an umami-rich sauce, you’ll never stop thinking about them, not to mention the rest of the menu. Our perpetual order: çuçure (garlicky soup with meaty dumplings), the laghman special, kazan kebab (beef and onion stir fry), succulent kuzu şiş (lamb skewers) and the silkiest fried eggplant. In an attempt to branch out, we discovered our new favorite: seared green beans coated in spices. Ultra-flavorful, fresh and juicy, with the perfect amount of bite, these beans had a note of star anise with an almost Sichuan quality to them. It might seem like something unusual for Istanbul, but this end of the Fatih neighborhood is home to a number of other greasy-spoon Uighur joints, bearing witness to the resilience of an embattled community that has long made a living here.
-Tas Anjarwalla
Published on December 18, 2023
Related stories
January 19, 2015
DelhiThe official cold blew in last month. Winds pierced thick cotton clothing through to the skin, into the body and further into the bone while we were driving in the open rickshaw, after the sun slipped down. Then it rained and thundered, the kind that makes one jump with the clap. When the morning air…
August 27, 2021
IstanbulIn these days of viral Instagram videos and WhatsApp chainmail, Turkish ice cream has become synonymous with fez-clad pranksters swooping and slinging a mound of sticky Kahramanmaraş dondurma (ice cream) out of the hands of questionably amused tourists. But Turkey’s dondurma tradition goes far beyond these attention-seeking tricks. Beloved institutions offering more than simple (though…
Meander through the bustling central market on our Tbilisi walk!
April 29, 2019
TbilisiWe were strolling through the Dezerter’s Bazaar building when a little woman, about 5 feet tall, interrupted a pair of our German guests with “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” Instantly charmed by her bright expression and linguistic dexterity, they stopped and chatted away in German. That’s how Tina Nugzarashvili became a must-stop on our Tbilisi market walk.…
