Intimate in Istanbul

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

World cuisines meets Antakya aromatic culture in Akaretler row house

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

Istanbul's most prestigious live-music stage, jazz, funk, electronic, indie in an ex-brewery, the Robert-College-kids' institution

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.

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

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

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

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

Hidden 350m² walled garden of lemon and linden trees

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

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

Cemil Topuzlu'da 30 yıllık kurumsal-canlı müzik adresi, soliste kadeh kaldırılan yer.

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

Bağdat Avenue branch of historic Beyoğlu Pano; fasıl music, straight rakı, serious wine cellar

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

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

Restored Camondo vault with local-producer wine list and nightly saxophone.

Quiet oasis in leather armchairs with book-jacket shelves

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.