Istanbul?

[Lord Michael Lewis]

Recommendations please.

[tighe]

I posted the following in an Istanbul thread over in the 'Europe' section. Happy eating.

Food in Turkey, one of my favorite subjects!!

In Istanbul, it's kind of hard to go too far wrong as long as you stay away from the most touristy places. My reccomendations would be:

Develi - a kebab house not far from the main tourist area of the city. Steve Raichlen chose it as one of his 10 favorite grill restaurants in the world. I was duly impressed

Tugra in the Ciragan Palace Hotel - pretty much the ultimate for high end Ottoman/Turkish food. The meal I had there was spectacular both in terms of the food and the setting. It's expensive by Turkish standards, but not by American. One warning: avoid the chicken desert at all costs

Pandeli in the Spice Market - very good food and good place to stop for lunch.

There's also a lot of good street (or boat) food in Istanbul. Down on the waterfront you will see fishermen selling grilled mackerel and other fish from their boats. It's great!

Over in the Beyoglu district (accross the Golden Horn) there are a couple large markets that have a variety of great food to offer.

If you're going to travel along the coast, try to stop in Dalyan in the southwest. It's a really interesting little town that hasn't been overrun by tourists (yet). There are some really great fish restaurants there along the river. Near the center of town there is a completely non-descript place that serves the best lamb sandwiches ever. Look for line of locals out the door at lunch time.

Have a great time!!

[anil]

Recommendations please.

What a catholic guilt you impose - QnD (Quick-n-Dirty) I stayed Taksim Sq., and ate mostly at non-descript,but excellent small eateries....

For a formal meal, my abode, Hotel Marmara; had a decent restaurant on the top floor that we had an OK meal.

[Wilfrid]

I recall being served a Sultan's banquet of many dishes in the luxurious top floor of the Sheraton. Competent rather than remarkable, except for the price which was vanishingly small.

[tighe]

With all due respect to the Sheraton, there's no reason to settle for "competent" over "remarkable" at any price level in Istanbul. Throughout my time in Turkey I was amazed at the exceptional food that could be had for a pittance.

[Lord Michael Lewis]

I recall being served a Sultan's banquet of many dishes in the luxurious top floor of the Sheraton.

So the Sultan got your order then?

[Wilfrid]

With all due respect to the Sheraton, there's no reason to settle for "competent" over "remarkable" at any price level in Istanbul.  Throughout my time in Turkey I was amazed at the exceptional food that could be had for a pittance.

It's a fair cop, tighe, I just couldn't remember the names of any of the remarkable little places.

[robert brown]

Haji Baba is delicious. There's a restaurant serving food made from old recipes of the Topkapi Palace. I will try to get the name for you. I have the name of a good Iranian caviar dealer in the Spice Market. You pay about 1/3rd of the price of what you pay in France or NY. Are you coming straight home or going to a place you can serve it properly?