🇹🇷 Culinary journey through Istanbul: 15 dishes you need to try 🍽️

The national cuisine of Turkey is a non-existent concept, since dishes differ greatly by region. And in general, dishes migrated to Istanbul both from Turkish regions and from the cuisines of other countries – Syria, Bulgaria, Armenia, Greece… So, five dishes that you need to try in Istanbul.

Testi kebab

Many street shops in Istanbul sell clay pots. For tourists, at first glance, they do not represent any value – they are too primitive and nondescript.

But if you order the Testi Kebab dish at a restaurant, you may well want to take several of these pots with you to prepare this amazing dish at home.

Testi kebab is meat (lamb, chicken, beef) baked in a pot along with vegetables and potatoes. The pot with the contents is tightly sealed with dough and sent to the oven for several hours. When serving, the waiter brings out the pot on a platter with hot coals and breaks it right in front of the visitors. It looks very impressive, and the strong aroma of spices and vegetables instantly fills everything around!

However, carefully choose the restaurant where you decide to order Testi Kebab. Be sure to read the reviews. The dish is prepared according to a complex recipe: the meat is marinated for a long time and “simmered” in the oven for several hours. In cafes designed for mass tourists, no one will do this – it’s expensive and takes a long time. Place the stewed meat in a pot and heat it up. No aroma, no taste…

Balyk-ekmek

To try fresh fish in Istanbul, you can visit a specialized fish restaurant. A more economical option is to buy “Balyk-ekmek”, which translates as “fish in bread”.

This is one of the types of fast food, sold on the streets and in small cafes on the Galata Bridge. Such establishments are visited by many tourists, they have a large turnover and there is no need for them to store frozen fish. And if you order a fish dish in a non-specialized restaurant, there is a chance that they will bring you a defrosted product: expensive and tasteless.

Recommendations:

If you want to take a break from the noise and crowds of Sultanahmet Square, then find Eagle's İstanbul restaurant near the Blue Mosque. The food here is adapted for tourists, there will be a 10% surcharge for service, but – I have tested it many times from my own experience – the restaurant is decent and the food is served on the cleanest dishes. And for me, the main thing when traveling is not to get food poisoning.

But I wouldn’t recommend ordering European food in Istanbul street cafes. The same pizza will likely be a traditional Turkish flatbread baked with vegetables, sausage and local cheese, rather than the expected salami and mozzarella dish.

Ayran

Real ayran is an incredibly tasty and healthy fermented milk drink! It has nothing in common with those sour mixtures that are sold in supermarkets.

Delicate, slightly sour, ayran perfectly quenches thirst. It also improves the intestinal microflora – if you drink ayran every day, even after a week of rest you will feel significant changes in the digestive system.

The drink also increases muscle tone and strengthens the cardiovascular system. With him, any excursions to Istanbul’s attractions will not seem tiresome.

Ayran can be ordered in a cafe or bought in a store – it is sealed, like yogurt, in small plastic cups or poured into liter bottles.

Baklava

Baklava is a traditional Turkish sweet pastry. It is prepared from nuts placed between layers of thin dough. Baklava is baked in a stove or oven, and then soaked in syrup or honey.

Baklava is a rather expensive delicacy due to the expensive ingredients: almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts and other types of nuts. You can order baklava in a cafe (very expensive), buy it in shops and specialized stores (simply expensive), or go buy it at the nearest supermarket, which has its own bakery (moderately expensive).

Turkish coffee and tea

The history of Turkish coffee began in Istanbul – in 1543, the governor of Yemen brought this drink to the capital of the Ottoman Empire and treated it to Suleiman the Magnificent.

Since then, incomparable coffee has been brewed in Turkey – strong and with added spices. But, as with any dish, you can save money on coffee. If you are served a cloudy, bitter liquid in a street cafe, do not be lazy to call the waiter and ask, pointing to the cup: “And this is what you call the national Turkish drink, your pride?” They will do it right, no doubt about it.

And in a cafe they can serve you tea for free, just so you don’t get bored while waiting for the bill.