Food & Drink in Istanbul: A Culinary Journey

Turkish Cuisine

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From kebabs to manti, and from salgam to raki, Turkish cuisine is packed with delicious and remarkable things for your taste buds to enjoy.

Mediterranean Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is one of the few fusion cuisines in the world, and food and drinks are both healthy and delicious. In various regions of Turkey, you can have the opportunity to eat different dishes flavored with diverse plant and animal products. For instance, fruits and vegetables grown in the Aegean Region differ from each other in taste, texture, and appearance from fruits and vegetables grown in the Central Anatolia Region. In the Mediterranean region of the country, mostly vegetable dishes are cooked, and they are pretty healthy. Therefore, Aegean and Mediterranean cuisine has an important place in the diverse food culture of Turkey.

Desserts

Everybody loves desserts. Turkish desserts are amazingly varied and delicious. In this article we have gathered some of the well-known desserts of Turkish cuisine. You may be surprised the ingredients of some desserts. Try all of them and chose your favorite!

Turkish Drinks

While carbonated drinks are often served before or alongside meals in world cuisines, natural Turkish drinks are also offered in Ottoman and Turkish cuisine. It is enriched with delicious sherbets made from various fruits and plants in Turkish cuisine, both in smell and taste and after-dinner drinks such as Turkish coffee.

Traditional Turkish Foods

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Try out the world-famous traditional Turkish foods. Turkish foods have been evolving since the Turkish people started walking the Earth.

Kuzu Tandir

The most delicious dishes made in Turkish cuisine are some with vegetables, others with meat. But such delicacies as kebabs and doner are indeed in another dimension in this kitchen. These delicious meat dishes, which are attractive and tasty for tourists, are prepared by different cooking methods. If you are interested in and want to try dishes such as kebab, doner, lamb tandoori, meatballs, Turkish cuisine is exactly for you. Today, we will dive into detail with one of these dishes: kuzu tandır (lamb tandoori).

Menemen

Turkey has a unique position since it is located in a place that connects the continents of Asia and Europe, and its three sides are surrounded by the seas. Because of the country’s geographical location and structure with various climates, it is possible to grow many vegetables and fruits. When you visit Turkey, no matter which province you are in, you will receive a warm welcome and then tastes that you will never forget. But you will understand how valuable and worth seeing Turkish culture is, especially for breakfasts, and you will be fascinated by the famous Turkish recipes such as menemen, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and pastries.

Turkish Seekh Kebab

When Turkish Seekh Kebab is mentioned in English, and as Şiş Kebap in Turkish, there is no doubt the first thing that comes to our mind is where and how these words came to these days separately without losing their meaning. The origin of these words, which has been used since the earliest times in the time tunnel, dates back to the 10th century. It has come up to the 14th century verbally and was used in writing for the first time in the 14th century. That usage was about the recipe materials and made in the Arabic language, not in the Turkish language. The Turkish meaning of these words goes like Şiş Kebap, and we'll use these two words in the text a few times, so it is essential to know where it comes from.

Street Food

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On every corner of Istanbul, it is easy to find a street food vendor selling all types of traditional Turkish street food types. When visiting Istanbul, it'd be a shame to leave before trying the famous roasted chestnuts or the kokorec.

Dürüm

Turkish cuisine is one of the most delicious cuisines. Dessert, saline, sour and bitter tastes are all over Turkish cuisine. It also is very diverse in its favored ingredients. This diversity offers a broad palate to choose from. Tastes such as kebab, baklava, lahmacun, döner, dürüm, sherbet are just some of the examples. Today, we will be looking at one of these delicacies: Turkish dürüm, or non-veg wrap.

Kumpir

Turkish Cuisine is a fairly wide cuisine, and different tastes are revealed using a variety of rich ingredients. Turkish food recipes usually consist of juicy dishes made up of a combination of vegetables and meat types. Turkish food recipes made at home are very healthy, satisfying, and delicious. But besides this, different street delicacies and delicious must-have snacks are also made in different regions of Turkey, and these dishes are of interest to locals. One of these snacks that will süit everybody’s palate is kumpir.

Simit

Welcome to Istanbul! Istanbul, one of the number one cities of cultural heritage, is a city famous for its food as well as its architectural history. Istanbul, a metropolis where people from all over Turkey live, is the intersection point of different cultures. Breakfast culture, which is one of the indispensable elements of Turkish culture, continues widely in Istanbul. There is an indispensable food for breakfast, and that is simit or Turkish pretzel!

Restaurant & Bars

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There are many great restaurants and bars in Istanbul. Visit Istanbul's best restaurants and bars to have amazing food, listen to great live music, and have fun.

Pubs and Bars

People who are bored with the ordinariness of daily life sometimes prefer bars to relax and listen to music with pleasure. These people immerse themselves in the flow of the atmosphere with the cocktails they choose at the venue that best suits their style. How about going out alone or with your friends in Istanbul evenings to have some fun and have a drink? Let's talk about the best pubs and bars in Istanbul for you.

Fish and Seafood Restaurants

Turkish culture, a culture that has managed to preserve its existence for centuries thanks to its geographical location and historical structure, continues to be adopted throughout the country today. Fish and seafood dishes, which have a vast place in Turkish culture, continue to be consumed once a week all over the country. Being a peninsula surrounded by seas on three sides due to its geographical location, Turkey is one of the European countries where the fishing industry is developed.

Breakfast Places

Turkish cuisine is full of hidden flavors to be discovered. However, there is such a meal equipped with rich and healthy foods that you won't be able to see in any other country in the world. Yes, here is the Turkish breakfast. Turkish people think that productive work cannot be achieved without eating good food due to their lifestyle. You will encounter many organic and healthy products with high nutritional value in the traditional breakfast in Turkey, from olives to cheese, from honey to jam.