Restaurants Istanbul: 10x leuk uit eten (2023)

FAQs

How much is a plate of food in Istanbul? ›

Average cost for a meal ranges from 20 to 50 Turkish Liras. As a city with many different nationalities, the range of cuisine types and restaurants in the largest city of Turkey is wide.

Regarding "prime" dinner hour in Istanbul, I'd say it's between 9-10 PM. Although along the coast, people seemed to start dinner later than that! Ofcourse this timing issue depends on the time of the year. Generally speaking 19;30 to 21:30 hours.

It is customary to tip a restaurant in Istanbul if the tip is not already included in the bill. It can be 10% of the total bill. You can leave a tip in the bill book.

Tip between 5 – 10 TL, more for exceptional service. You can leave 20–50 Turkish Lira at the reception when you are leaving, if the service was noteworthy.

Lamb. Lamb is the most popular type of meat used in Turkish food. When someone says “meat” in Turkey, more often than not they're referring to lamb. Turkish people eat a lot of lamb so you'll find it in many meat dishes like kebabs, kofte, lahmacun, pide, ragout, and casserole.

Meet raki – otherwise known as Lion's Milk – the Turkish national drink made of twice-distilled grapes and aniseed. Raki is serious business in Turkey.

Accordingly, a classic Turkish breakfast is generally comprised of black and green olives, cucumbers, cured meats, dips and sauces, eggs, fresh cheeses, fresh tomatoes, fresh-baked bread, fruit preserves and jams, honey, pastries, and sweet butter.

1. Baklava. Dating back to the Ottoman Empire, baklava is one of the most iconic Turkish dishes and a must for anyone with a sweet tooth.

A typical meal starts with soup (especially in wintertime), followed by a dish made of vegetables (olive oil or with grounded meat), meat or legumes boiled in a pot (typically with meat or minced meat), often with or before Turkish pilav, pasta or bulgur pilav accompanied by a salad or cacık (diluted cold yogurt dish ...

What is the average price of a meal in Istanbul? ›

Plan to tip around 10-15% in Turkish restaurants. However, the exact tip amount when eating out in Turkey depends on the place, occasion, and order size. It's customary to give your waiter or waitress a slightly higher tip than you would a bartender, as they are likely sharing their tip with the kitchen staff.

After extensive research on the topic, the short answer is: Yes, you can drink the tap water in Turkey. In large cities such as Istanbul, Turkish tap water is safe to drink. However, there are some areas where tourists should opt for bottled water or a traditional Turkish drink instead.

Many good food tours of Istanbul include the chic neighborhood of Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Kadikoy is the most hip neighborhood of Istanbul and is full of incredible restaurants, cafes, and bars.

Tipping is expected in Turkey and leaving a 10-15% tip on your bill in a restaurant is generally an acceptable amount. When it comes to other areas of the service industry, such as taxis and hairdressers, rounding up the fare is a nice gesture but not obligatory.

Restaurants. Tipping at restaurants has become much more common and expected throughout Turkey. A tip of 10% - 15% is considered appropriate at most places. You can leave it in cash on the table, or ask the waiter to add it to the bill.

Staff prefer to receive their tips in Turkish Liras, both notes and coins are fine. Foreign currency is also appreciated, however, bear in mind that foreign coins cannot be exchanged into Turkish Liras.

Is it better to use a card or cash in Turkey? Both methods have their pros and cons. However, we suggest you have both because you need cash to spend money in local streets as local shops or vendors don't accept card payments. On the other hand, a wide range of hotels and restaurants accepts card payments.

Taxi Drivers: Should I tip? Turks simply do not tip taxi drivers. The common pratice (which is more to avoid headache for the driver and yourself) is to simply round up the fare. For example, on a fare of ₺8.60, leave ₺9.

For budget travelers, you can survive on less than $20 a day, mid-range travelers can budget $50 per day. For more luxury hotels and dinner, plan for $150 a day. All prices are in US dollars.

What meat dont they eat in turkey? ›

The eating of carrion (animals which died rather than being slaughtered) is forbidden as well. With the exception of fish, all animals living in the water (such as mussels, lobster, shrimp, oysters, snails, crab, seahorses etc.) are considered evil, and eating them is not permissible.

More than 90% of the Turkish population is muslim, whom are not allowed to eat pork for religious reasons. Pigmeat in Turkey is sold to ethnic minorities like Greeks, ex-patriates and tourists. In addition, pork is increasingly popular in secular high society.

The most popular dishes are leek, runner bean, and artichoke, but you can also find eggplant, celeriac, and red and green peppers. Onions and carrots are sautéd in olive oil to form a base to which a single vegetable, not a mix of vegetables, and water is added together with a little rice and lemon juice.

Legal drinking age in Turkey is 18. Anyone over the age of 18 can drink and buy alcohol in Turkey.

Rakı is rarely consumed without the addition of water. Ice cubes are often added. Dilution with water causes rakı to turn a milky-white colour, similar to the louche of absinthe. This phenomenon has resulted in the drink being popularly referred to aslan sütü ('lion's milk').

Yes, alcohol consumption is legal in Turkey. Who can buy alcohol in Istanbul? Everyone older than 18 years old can purchase alcohol in Turkey.

Basic white cheese called beyaz peynir is the most common breakfast cheese, which can be soft and creamy or quite hard with less fat. Other common cheeses are kasseri, which is a semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk, and çeçil peyniri, which is stringy with very little salt.

Kars Gruyere: Kars Gruyere is one of the most famous Turkish cheeses in the world with its tang, rich odor, and flavour. This traditional gruyere cheese is usually made with pure cow's milk or a mixture of cow and goat's milk.

Why is Turkish food so oily? ›

Turkish food is chiefly cooked and preserved in olive oil, even cakes are made with olive oil instead of butter! Olive oil has been shown to assist in lowering cholesterol, risk of diabetes, stroke and possibly Alzheimer's.

Döner kebab is a delicacy that is known throughout the world, consisting of grilled pieces of meat that are shredded from a vertical skewer. The meat is typically seasoned with fresh herbs and spices.

Kumru is a Turkish sandwich on a bun, typically with cheese, tomato, and sausage. The name of this street food translates as 'collared dove', and derives from the shape of the sandwich. The original kumru was ring-shaped and covered with sesame seeds.

The hours of business for official establishments, banks and private businesses are generally between 8.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. A lunch break occurs between noon and 1.30 p.m. Stores, restaurants and markets often have different hours of business.

For the most part, no – Turkish cuisine is a melding of spices and herbs but not particularly hot and spicy. There is however a very traditional Turkish pepper paste that is used in many dishes but again not very “hot”.

A generous budget of 276 USD per person per day (or 1932 USD/week) is more than enough for Istanbul.

Tram Ticket: 2.50 TL ( US$ 0.10) Half-liter bottle of water: 1 TL ( US$ 0) Tea: Between 1 TL ( US$ 0) and 2.50 TL ( US$ 0.10) (depending on the area you're in) Soft Drink: Between 2 TL ( US$ 0.10) and 3 TL ( US$ 0.10)

You can get a cup of instant coffee in Istanbul for around 36p. At Starbucks in Turkey coffee is between 6 and 15 lira (72p – £1.80) depending on the kind of coffee you order.

An average meal at a modest cafe will cost about 20-25 TL with the drinks. You should figure about 50-70 USD/person/day, including lunch and dinner, transportation, small souvenir purchases, museum entrance fees, incidentals, etc. However that excludes hotel expenses and major shopping.

Turkish breakfast – 85-155 TL / person ($4.5-$8.2) lunch for one in a local cafeteria-style establishment “Lokanta” – 60-80 TL ($3.45-$4.22) dinner for two with wine – 400 TL ($21) full-course meal in a traditional Turkish restaurant – 230-300 TL / person ($12.15-$15.85)

How much do you spend on food in Istanbul? ›

Average Daily Costs

While meal prices in Istanbul can vary, the average cost of food in Istanbul is TRY396 per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Istanbul should cost around TRY159 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner.

A spend of 83 USD per person per day (or 580 USD/week) is ideal for mid-range travellers.

The average price of a 7-day trip to Istanbul is $1,123 for a solo traveler, $2,017 for a couple, and $3,781 for a family of 4. Istanbul hotels range from $36 to $122 per night with an average of $65, while most vacation rentals will cost $130 to $380 per night for the entire home.

A traditional Turkish breakfast is divided into two, either served on a plate or served as a spread. The price of this breakfast, which usually includes items such as olives, cheese, salad, bread, oil, eggs, and tea, is between 30 and 40 Turkish liras per person.

depends on where you eat - but i would say the range is from truly inexpensive to moderately expensive - most restaurants have their menus posted on in front with the prices… but everywhere we ate, the food was excellent...

The price of Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar) in Istanbul is 114TL. This average is based on 52 price points. It can be considered reliable and accurate. Latest update: June 07, 2023.

On average, you can expect to pay around 30-40 Turkish Lira (TL) for a traditional Turkish breakfast. This would include a variety of items such as olives, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bread, as well as a selection of spreads such as hummus and muhammara.