Intimate in Istanbul

The corridor's literary meyhane, keeping a guest-book tradition since 1967.

A three-storey mansion off Kadıköy's beaten track, meze-first, with a garden of old Turkish records.

Koşuyolu's Aegean meyhane, a proper meze cabinet and a neighborhood that keeps it to itself.

Fixed-menu meyhane with live musicians between tables, winters Kalamis summers Yalikavak

World cuisines meets Antakya aromatic culture in Akaretler row house

Live jazz, refined cocktails and dining inside Khai Hotel Karaköy

Michelin-recognized chef kitchen and cocktail bar with rotating art

Seasonal kitchen and an opinionated Turkish wine cellar on the quiet Mühürdar slope, adults-only, no menus in seven languages

Tower-foot jazz bar in a former mosaic workshop

Turkish viticulture by the glass at the Tünel mouth, 85 boutique producers, no foreign-name flex

Beyoğlu's serious 400-cap live room, international bookings (Sextile, Hugo Kant), no tribute bands

Chef-driven fine-casual seafood with daily catch and creative small plates

Tucked-in Sakız Gülü wine bar with a tight, evolving Turkish-focused list.

Three sisters' intimate Italian with 72-hour fermented Roman pizza

The original: Chef Khun Nuch, ex-Thai royal family chef, since 2006

Living-room-sized wine bar with charcuterie that punches above the General Yazgan address

Cafe by day, hi-fi cocktail bar by night on Şakayık

Day-to-night high-fidelity bar and bakery on Hüsrev Gerede

Maksut Askar and Levon Bagis pair Anatolian grapes with endangered regional plates.

Selectist's harbour-side hi-fi house with Funktion One sound

Microphone-free fasıl ensemble in a restored 20-year house, the real version of what Sultanahmet sells tourists

Quiet Jurnal Sokak şaraphanesi pouring small Anatolian producers and Georgian qvevri

Cognac, cigar and Friday-night jazz inside the Ottoman shipyard

Small Bebek room with 20+ wines by the glass, Bosphorus-edge tables, and the early-evening crowd that owns the neighborhood.

Bosphorus-side live-rock institution out at Burunbahçe

1871 Pera wine house in the Hazzopulo Pasajı arcade, intellectuals' canteen, not a museum

Three-storey 19th-century Greek house turned wine room

Michelin-listed culinary archaeology reviving forgotten Anatolian dishes

Upper-floor vinyl room above a Bosphorus nikkei kitchen

Authentic Japanese by Chef Horikoshi with omakase by reservation

Neighbourhood listening bar on Ahmet Fetgeri with vinyl-only program

Modern twist on traditional Turkish cuisine with daily-changing market menu

One legendary steak, one unforgettable experience

Rooftop dining with stunning Bosphorus views near Galataport

Hidden 350m² walled garden of lemon and linden trees

Chef-driven lokanta by day, modern meyhane by night on the Bosphorus

Five-table tasting menu by a German chef with Turkish ingredients and French soul

Historic 200-year-old han with lokanta lunch and meyhane evenings

Japanese chefs at counter: kaiseki and omakase praised as Istanbul's best

Tekel-fronted natural wine cellar on a Halaskargazi side street

Exclusively Turkish-sourced: octopus orzo and lamb shank on farmers' pasta

Balyan-brothers building turned bookshop where regulars sip wine after dark

Creative sushi and ramen on the Asian side

Bodrum-born seafood room with a serious Hi-Fi bar inside

Tiny Tünel wine room famous among regulars for its mulled wine and queer-friendly door

Lobby-floor jazz room at The Marmara Pera, four nights a week of local and international sets.

Refined seasonal menus championing small Anatolian wine producers

Late-night jazz bar with live trios and curated vinyl at the renovated Hilton Bosphorus

Three-table omakase fusing Pan-Asian technique with Anatolian soul

Alacati's beloved neo-bistro brings Aegean flavors and craft cocktails to Etiler

Cevdet Paşa cafe-bar with Bebek-old-guard regulars

Ten-tap Somx microbrewery with a vinyl wall and DJ booth on Jurnal Sokak

Proper Napoli-style with San Marzano, fermented dough, and standout tiramisu

Hi-fi listening room above Michelin-star Arkestra; rotating record collectors, low-lit cocktails.

Zorlu PSM's 120-seat jazz box, live programme, intimate room, cocktails with the set

10-course Anatolian tasting menu with Far Eastern whispers on Karaköy's rooftop

Quiet oasis in leather armchairs with book-jacket shelves

Boutique wine and olive house on Emirgan's prettiest backstreet

The neighborhood's modern meze bar with creative interpretations

Old Style New Generation Meyhane with chef-driven seasonal menus

Lal Dedeoğlu's French Passage hideout, kitchen counter, candlelight

1980 Sıraselviler wine cellar, Cihangir's reference for natural pours and serious staff advice

Turkey's only rooftop dedicated to reggae, dub and dancehall

Seventy-bottle wine bar tucked into Giulio Mongeri's 1922 Art Deco palas

Library-fronted speakeasy, no sign, no social media, referral entry only

Kapadokya-rooted wine bar bringing cellared bottles to the avenue

Rixos Tersane's wine cellar, Turkish boutique producers on the Haliç.

Michelin-listed modern lokanta with fire-focused open kitchen

Michelin-recommended casual fine dining with North Aegean soul

Fire-driven chef's table in a historic Pera passage

Natural wine bar with chef-driven small plates in Nişantaşı