On Peykhane, one of the streets running off Divan Yolu and about ten minutes' walk from Cemberlitas. Unassuming, bright diner, with excellent, cheap meals (pide, kebab, salad, soup), no hassle or hustling, friendly staff, and the best fresh bread we tasted in the whole city. 12-20 liras for two. Convenient for Sultanahmet hotels but out of the tourist beargarden.

Karadeniz kebab, Peykhane

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I think it is the best restaurant in Istanbul. Wonderful atmosphere with friendly service. I was very impressed with the menu and excellent quality of the food. Some dishes are exclusive to the restaurant. The Destiny Special is a delightful combination of tender beefsteak with a cream and mushroom sauce, served with a cinnamon cabbage in red wine sauce. Also recommended is the Destiny cake made with spinach - it melted in the mouth and tasted just of vanilla and cream. Don't be put off by the green colour! Definitely worth a visit. Reasonably priced too.

Bereket Mah. Haci Ali Sok. No. 11/A, Galata-Byoglu, Istanbul. Can be found by walking down from Galata Tower or by climbing up the steps by the Oyak Bank near the tramway in Karakoy.

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A great place to watch an authentic folklore and dance show and for dinner. Very happy and friendly atmosphere.

On Cumhuriyet Caddesi, 10 min walk from Taksim Square towards Hilton.

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This is a new restaurant which is known as the best seafood restaurant in Sultanahmet. The food is outstanding, you should ask the staff for the special of the day.

The restaurant is on the shore of Marmara Sea with a view of Turkish islands. The "Boukoleon" name comes from the 5th century. There used to be a "Boukoleon Palace" standing right where you sit.

Now you can easily see the archeeological heritage of the old time palace. If you are interested in history, looking for a nice Istanbul view and also outstanding food, I would highly recommend you go to this restaurant.

www.boukoloen.com
Hagia Sofia, Sultanahmet, Istanbul
90212 6387148

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In the basement of the Kariye Hotel, spilling into the secluded garden. It is not cheap, but it is a perfect, civilised place for lunch before/after visiting the delights of the Kariye Mosque (St Saviour Church) museum and a modest lunch of mezze will not cost you a fortune.

Kariye Camii Sok 18
tel 0212/534 8414

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Great food, great atmosphere and a great price!

Surprising that it is so close to the main sites of Sultanhamet and yet such good value.

As in all places in Istanbul, the price of wine / alcohol is very high. Our two mains and bottle of wine came to 66 lira - of which 30 lira was for the wine.

At an exchange rate of 2.5 lira to £1, this meant that our meals cost just a little over £14.

Wonderful fish on the menu and I recommend the chicken hagiasophia.

They have a terrace that looks onto the Blue Mosque.

All along the street there are "kapici" (managers/head waiters) trying to lure you into their respective establishments, but to be fair they do this with good humour and banter.

Incili Cavus Sk No 21 Sultanhamet.
If you stand facing the Haghia Sofia the street is across the road on your left parallel to the Divan Yolu street (which has the tram line). It is next to the Mozaik restaurant on the corner of the street.

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Sutis was recommended by the owner of the Cagaloglu Hamam (Turkish bath) in the Sultanahmet area. We were expecting a tourist trap, but loads of locals eat there - always a good sign.

Prices are insanely low for the area and you can definitely find something for under six lira. We tried the tavuk durum for 3.75ytl - chicken, fresh vegetables and fries in a thin flatbread. It was the best thing we'd eaten in Istanbul!

Paket Servisi Saatlerimi - just up the road from Cagaloglu Hamam, towards the Grand Bazaar.

Tel: 512 01 61 - 522 02 54

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With lamb shank with pomegranate and tomato salsa, and cognac chocolate pot on their menu, this is the place to be for a taste of Istanbul's fusion offering. This one stands out in the trendy Beyoglu neighbourhood and is a bar and restaurant, so perfect to start a night out. For a 3 course dinner with wine, it came to £26 a head and was excellent value.

Mesrutiyet Cad. No. 149/1, Tepebasi Tel: (212) 245 60 70

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If you would like to visit the Anatolian side of Istanbul, you should definitely go and eat in this small, independent, local restaurant in Baglarbasi. Its name is "Baglarbasi Iskender" just on the main road in Baglarbasi.

Portions are huge and very reasonably priced, the owner is back in the kitchen, preparing the most delicious doner kebab and other wonders.

Take a "Dolmus" from Kadikoy Rihtim to "Baglarbasi" and get off in Baglarbasi
Tel: +90 216 310 62 80

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This tower's history goes back to 340 BC. It is in the middle of Bosphorus, and it has recently been renovated. It has 5 floors, top floor being the bar, and you get a free soft drink here, which is included in your ticket from the shore.

You can get the best scenery for the Bosphorus from this floor. Don't forget you are in the middle of Asia and Europe here. Ground floor is a very good restaurant, although prices are above the Turkish average, you're guaranteed to have good food here.

www.kizkulesi.com.tr/en/collection/default.asp


There are frequent boats from Uskudar, Salacak, it takes aroung3 minutes, but you can also take the boat from Ortakoy (though as not frequent as from Uskudar)

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This restaurant, open only for lunch, is one of the loveliest in Istanbul.

It is situated inside the northern wall of the Spice Bazaar, and is entered via a stone stairway just inside the gate.

Remarkably quiet, decorated with lovely Iznik tiles, Pandeli is famous for its vegetables, and though it is always said that the food is not as good as it was in its fabulous heyday, one can still find subtle evocations of Ottoman cuisine.

Sample the meze, try the hünkar beğendi. A wonderfully civilised place in which to pass part of an afternoon.

Spice bazaar, inside the gate facing the water.

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Almost a town in its own right, it's on the Asian side, a pleasant place reached by ferry from Kadiköy. A very Turkish resort and a stop-off point for the unmissable Princes Islands. It also has the best fish soup this side of Atlantic! Find it at the Yildiz Yakamoz restaurant right in the centre. The squid was pretty amazing too.

On the edge of the Sea of Marmara, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

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Tucked in a busy street of bars, restaurants, hotels and hostels, Albura offers a large selection of Turkish and International dishes at very reasonable prices.

Wooden floors and ceiling are offset by orange/ochre walls and exposed brickwork, the walls also decorated by interesting metal lamp fittings. Seating is on iron or wooden chairs and some very comfortable leather banquettes.

The menu is extensive with traditional Turkish dishes – such as mixed meze, kebabs and fresh fish – on offer next to wider ranging fare such as crepes, salads and pasta. There are also a number of vegetarian options.

The food was well cooked and very tasty, more along the lines ‘comfort food’ than modern or fusion cuisine but nothing wrong with that, as attested by a number of people in the restaurant who were visiting for a second time. Indeed had we not wished to sample as many restaurants as we could we may have returned as there was a number of different things on the menu I would like to have tried. We had a couple of criticisms, the salad we ordered had a bit too many pickled/bottled vegetables, making it rather less fresh and more bland then I would have liked, and the baked potato accompaniment with one of the dishes was slightly cold, however, these are really minor caveats and didn’t effect our overall enjoyment of the meal.

Combine all the above with friendly staff and a price tag for two starters, two main courses, a dessert, two beers and a coffee of 83 YTL (approx. £34.00) and you’ve got a good evening out.

Yeni Akbiyk Cad. 26

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Walking into Balicki Sabahatin is a little like walking into a favourite Aunt’s front parlour – white linen tablecloths, white lacy coverings at the window, cream and sea-green walls with a few pictures - all neat, tidy but not off putting.

The restaurant specialises in fish and seafood - there isn’t a menu as such – although I believe you may be able to ask for one which includes hot starters. After showing you to your seat and taking an order for drinks (raki is a good accompaniment though we went for beer, they do have a wine list but we found it a little on the expensive side) a waiter will present a tray of mezes from which you make your choice. These include salads, marinated fish – the sea bass was delicious – mussels and rice (a speciality of the restaurant, a great mix of textures and flavours) dips etc.. If you are unsure what to have – and there is a wide choice – ask the, very helpful, waiting staff for their recommendations.

A little later, while enjoying your choice of meze, a waiter will bring a platter of fresh fish of the day from which you select your main courses, again if you are unsure - or indeed you need some pointers, as we did, to what fish is which - ask for a recommendation. Once your choice is made sit back, relax, finish your meze and wait for the fish fest to arrive!

The fish is either grilled or fried ( we went for red mullet and swordfish kebab) and simply presented with a small garnish of tomato, a slice of potato and a slice of mooli – the latter three acting more as palate cleansers than an accompaniment. Not that you need any accompaniment, the freshness and taste of the fish is what’s important and all you really need.

After that you may not feel the need for dessert but, if you do, there is a small but tasty selection of cakes and other traditional desserts.

Round this of with Turkish coffee and maybe even a liqueur and you have a great dining experience. In summer you should also be able to take advantage of the outside tables. Reservations are recommended, we went mid-week and it was pretty busy then.

Cost for four meze dishes, two fish dishes, 2 beers, water, a Turkish coffee and a dessert was 110YTL (approx. £39.00).

Seyit Hasan Kuyu Sokak 1
Near Cankurtaran Caddesi - a short-ish stroll from the Blue Mosque

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Interesting authentic recipes from the Ottoman period - located next to St Chora (must see Byzantine mosaics and frescos).

Kariye Camii Sokak No 18
Edirnekapı Istanbul Türkiye;
tel: 212 635 7997;
fax: 212 521 6631;
www.asitanerestaurant.com
www.kariyeotel.com/
Email: info@kariyeotel.com

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I came across this little cafe/restaurant during my visit to Istanbul and felt moved to write to you about two ladies I met there - Ayse Cetin and Emine Tuncel. They are the sisters who run this establishment located just 350 metres from Taksim Square. We stopped in for a drink to escape the city bustle and discovered a wonderful garden hidden at the back. Both the ladies were born and raised in the 100-year-old apartment, the ground floor of which is now the business. We even saw their 90+ year-old mother sitting in the garden reading her paper.

Emine spoke good English as she had lived in the UK for over 30 years and both sisters were so helpful when we badgered them with questions and requests for tips on things to do. In an area that was crowded with bars/cafes and restaurants, we found this place to be excellent value and quality and we ended up eating breakfast, lunch and dinner there on separate occasions. I would recommend a visit here to anyone. You couldn't hope to meet a nicer pair of Istanbulites in an authentic atmosphere.

96 Siraselviler Cadesi (opposite the German Hospital)
Taksim
Istanbul

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Nothing special about the hotel itself - standard 3-star fare. But the views of Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Bosphorus from the rooftop restaurant and bar are pretty hard to beat.

Yerebatan Cad. Cami Cikmazi No:36-40 34410 Sultanahmet Istanbul. Tel: +90 (212) 512 02 07. www.andhotel.com

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