AQUA Bar Bar Bar Compare Modern Refined AQUA Bar Beşiktaş $$$$ Bar side of Four Seasons' Bosphorus seafood room, terrace to the water, Mediterranean pours
Çırağan Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet Çırağan Bar Beşiktaş $$$$ Wood-panelled clubby signature bar at the Ottoman palace, elite spirits library
Gazebo Bar Bar Compare Craft Cocktails Modern Gazebo Yeniköy $$$$ Waterside mansion cocktails for the Yeniköy yalı row.
Gowden Club Bar Bar Compare Cigar Friendly Refined Live Music Gowden Club Kasimpasa $$$$ Cognac, cigar and Friday-night jazz inside the Ottoman shipyard
Kalamış Paysage Bar Bar Compare View Refined Kalamış Paysage Kalamış $$$$ Pier-tip bar-lounge with live music surrounded by sea on three sides
Kuppel Lounge (Orientbank) Bar Bar Compare Cigar Friendly Refined Chill Kuppel Lounge (Orientbank) Sirkeci $$$$ Glass-domed rooftop cigar room over the historical peninsula
Lalou Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet High End Lalou Harbiye $$$$ Lobby brasserie and terrace at Hilton Bosphorus, all jewel-box finishes and crafted drinks
Le Fumoir at Georges Hotel Galata Bar Bar Compare See & Be Seen Modern Le Fumoir at Georges Hotel Galata Galata $$$$ Velvet-curtained rooftop over Galata with French bistro kitchen
Liminal Bar Bar Compare See & Be Seen Modern Liminal Suadiye $$$$ 2024 World Class Turkey champion's sustainability-led cocktail room
Long Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet Craft Cocktails Long Bar Beşiktaş $$$$ Istanbul twist on Raffles Singapore's original Long Bar, nightly live music
Mavi Balık Bar Bar Compare Traditional Lively High End Mavi Balık Kuruçeşme $$$$ Old-guard yalı seafood and rakı bar, salt-baked levrek, Bosphorus directly underfoot
Orient Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet Orient Bar Beyoğlu $$$$ Belle-Époque hotel bar where Agatha Christie drank, literature nights, Friday live jazz, Istanbul-narrative cocktails.
Paraliaki Bebek Bar Bar Compare Music Forward Intimate High End Paraliaki Bebek Bebek $$$$ Bodrum-born seafood room with a serious Hi-Fi bar inside
Park Fora Bar Bar Compare See & Be Seen Modern Park Fora Kuruçeşme $$$$ Michelin-listed seafood institution whose sunset cocktail bar is a genuine Bosphorus ritual
Ritmo at Arkestra Bar Bar Compare Craft Cocktails Modern High End Ritmo at Arkestra Kadıköy $$$$ Red-velvet audiophile bar with craft cocktails and vinyl, beneath the Listening Room.
Sazzou Bar Bar Compare Live Music Intimate High End Sazzou Harbiye $$$$ Late-night jazz bar with live trios and curated vinyl at the renovated Hilton Bosphorus
Stella Lounge & Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet Chill Stella Lounge & Bar Gümüşsuyu $$$$ Panoramic CVK lounge with live performers and a proper bar program
The Library Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet High End The Library Bar Harbiye $$$$ English gentlemen's-club style bar with whiskey, cognac and live music six nights.
The Listening Room at Arkestra Bar Bar Compare Music Forward Intimate High End The Listening Room at Arkestra Kadıköy $$$$ Hi-fi listening room above Michelin-star Arkestra; rotating record collectors, low-lit cocktails.
Topside Bar Bar Bar Compare Craft Cocktails Modern Topside Bar Galataport $$$$ Chef Fatih Tutak's Silk-Road cocktail room above GALLADA, designed like a vintage grand yacht on the Bosphorus.
Upperist Bar Bar Compare View Elegant Craft Cocktails Upperist Gümüşsuyu $$$$ 20th-floor Marmara rooftop, 360-degree Bosphorus panorama with house-infused mixology for Taksim-edge cosmopolitans
Uskumru Restaurant Bar Bar Compare Traditional Lively Classic Uskumru Restaurant Beykoz $$$$ Gault & Millau-listed yalı for marinated lüfer and rakı
Writers Bar Bar Bar Compare Quiet Intimate Late Night Writers Bar Beşiktaş $$$$ Quiet oasis in leather armchairs with book-jacket shelves
YALI Lounge Bar Bar Compare View Refined Quiet YALI Lounge Beşiktaş $$$$ Four Seasons Bosphorus lounge on one of the best terraces on the water
A'YA Rooftop Bar Bar Compare View Elegant Refined A'YA Rooftop Sultanahmet $$$$ Hagia Sophia-and-Marmara cocktail terrace at Four Seasons Sultanahmet
Au Terrasse Bar & Lounge Bar Bar Compare View Elegant High End Au Terrasse Bar & Lounge Gümüşsuyu $$$$ 270° rooftop terrace above Gümüşsuyu, Bosphorus and peninsula at once
Champagne Room at Raffles Bar Bar Compare Refined Celebration High End Champagne Room at Raffles Beşiktaş $$$$ Glass jewel-box of vintage champagne with sommelier service
Müzedechanga Bar Bar Compare High End Müzedechanga Emirgan $$$$ Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi terrace bar under century-old plane trees
Park Şamdan & The Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet High End Park Şamdan & The Bar Kuruçeşme $$$$ The Nişantaşı 1980s power-lunch institution moved Bosphorus-side, 30-plus crowd, private pier, classic cocktails
Petit "O" Bar Bar Bar Compare Refined Quiet High End Petit "O" Bar Nişantaşı $$$$ St. Regis lobby bar where the Misty Mary is poured under dry ice
Roof Bar 805 Bar Bar Compare View Elegant High End Roof Bar 805 Maçka $$$$ Summer-only rooftop above Maçka Palas with skyline-and-Bosphorus sweeps
The Wine Bar at Park Hyatt Maçka Palas Bar Bar Compare Wine Forward Intimate High End The Wine Bar at Park Hyatt Maçka Palas Maçka $$$$ Seventy-bottle wine bar tucked into Giulio Mongeri's 1922 Art Deco palas
Gina Bar Bar Compare See & Be Seen Modern Gina Kuruçeşme $$$$ Gault & Millau-awarded Italian with a refined Bosphorus-side bar
Vinose Bar Bar Compare Wine Forward Intimate Vinose Kasımpaşa $$$$ Rixos Tersane's wine cellar, Turkish boutique producers on the Haliç.