Laid-back air, quiet grace. A special seafront playground with good cafes (but 18TL for 3 coffees), Laleli shop (olives, oil & soap), patisserie, and as you walk down the coastal road towards Ortakoy, mussels stuffed with rice and a good fish shop called Adem Baba with Ottoman houses in the area.
Taxi from Besiktas. Or bus from Eminonu.