Istanbul can definitely be an awesome city to visit, as there are lots of things to do in this city. One of these things to do in Istanbul can be exploring the local cuisine and tasting delicious dishes. If you are planning to do this, you may be curious about Istanbul famous dishes. By learning about the well-known foods to try in this city, you can make yourself a list of dishes to try. On this blog post, we will talk about 10 of the famous dishes and street foods in Istanbul. You can check out the options on our post, make yourself a nice list and indulge yourself while visiting Istanbul…
Istanbul Famous Dishes: What are popular street foods in Istanbul?
Are you planning to visit Istanbul? If so, while visiting this city, one of the things that you can do is discover what the local cuisine can offer and enjoy various Turkish foods. As Turkish cuisine is full of many different delicious food options, you can have an exciting culinary journey in this city.
Especially if you have limited time in this city, you may be wanting to narrow down your choices. For this, you may be looking for Istanbul famous dishes that can be worth trying. On this post we will talk about some of these, such as döner kebab and some other kebab choices, midye dolma, kokoreç and many others… Now let’s start with döner kebab and see what other options we will discuss on our list!
Istanbul Famous Dishes
1. When It Comes to Istanbul Famous Dishes, We Should Definitely Mention Döner Kebab
Without a doubt, there are many well-known foods in Turkish cuisine. But when discussing this cuisine, one of the most popular choices that comes to mind can be döner kebab. One of the reasons why this is the case is because it is a delicious food option. Another reason can be because it is a convenient street food to eat. Döner kebab can be made using meats such as beef, lamb or chicken and it can be served in various ways. For example, it can be served between bread or lavash, which is a type of flatbread. In addition, it may be served with rice, various vegetables, etc.
2. A Popular Street Food Option in Istanbul is Midye Dolma
In Istanbul, another popular street food choice is midye dolma. This food is basically stuffed mussels. It contains rice, along with a variety of spices. When walking on the streets of Istanbul, you may see vendors selling this tasty street food choice. It can be a nice snack to enjoy on the go. Due to its popularity, we can consider this food choice to be among the Istanbul famous dishes. When trying this food, don’t forget to squeze some lemon on top of it as it adds some extra flavor, which goes great with midye dolma.
3. When Prepared Correctly, Kokoreç Can Be One of the Delicious Choices
While enjoying your trip in Istanbul, there can be a wide variety of food choices to enjoy. One of these delicious food choices is kokoreç, as long as it is prepared properly. Because it is made with goat or lamb intestines and it needs to be cleaned properly before cooking. So as long as you are sure of the place you go to eat kokoreç, it can be an awesome food to enjoy. It is usually served between bread. While other ingredients like onions and tomatoes can be added, just the meat with spices between bread can allow you to really taste this food. Although it may sound gross for some, it is definitely an amazing food to try.
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4. There are Many Other Kebabs Like Adana Kebab, Iskender Kebab and So on…
As we have stated before, when talking about Turkish cuisine, döner kebab is one of the foods that you may think about. Also, there are many other kebabs and there are lots of popular choices among those. So, if you are looking for Istanbul famous dishes to try, you should definitely consider checking out some kebabs. Examples for this may include choices like Iskender kebab and Adana kebab. In addition to those, there are others like Urfa kebab, beyti kebab, chicken kebab and so on… Kebabs mostly consist of some meat, served with sides like rice or bulgur, bread and various vegetables. Depending on the kebab option, the ingredients may differ to a degree.
5. Another One of the Istanbul Famous Dishes is Köfte
As you may probably understand from the other options that we have discussed on this post, popular foods in Istanbul tend to be foods that contain some meat. One of these dishes is köfte, which is meatballs. An important difference between meatballs in western cuisines and köfte is that köfte is flattened like a burger while cooking. Köfte can be served between bread or with rice or potatoes, accompanied by some vegetables. If you are visiting Istanbul, one of the local foods to try can be this one, as it is a delicious food option.
6. Baklava is a Popular Dessert in Istanbul
On this post we discussed many options regarding Istanbul famous dishes. But we main dishes, with the exception of midye dolma, which can be considered a snack. After enjoying foods like those, you may start looking for some dessert. And when it comes to dessert in Turkish cuisine, a popular choice that we should definitely mention is baklava. You may have already heard about this dessert choice, as it is a fairly well-known one. Depending on its type, baklava can contain different ground nuts inside, such as pistachios or walnuts. Even though some may find baklava too sweet, it can be an awesome dessert to try.
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7. When Visiting Istanbul, A Delicious Street Food to Eat Can Be Islak Hamburger
Do you like burgers? If you do, and if you are looking for Istanbul famous dishes at the same time, one of the delicious food options to enjoy can be ıslak hamburger, which means wet burger. Unlike a regular hamburger, these burgers usually don’t contain many ingredients between the patties like lettuce or onions, but just the burger itself. But what makes these burgers special is that they are covered with a special tomato paste sauce, which is what makes them wet. Along with making the burgers wet and juicy, this special sauce also gives it a delicious flavor.
8. Looking for Istanbul Famous Dishes? How About Trying Börek Varieties?
Another one of the tasty foods in Turkish cuisine is börek. But when we say börek, we can’t just talk about a single type. Because there are many different types of börek which can be worth trying. Examples for this include choices such as gül böreği, kol böreği, sigara böreği, çi börek, su böreği and many others… Börek can have fillings such as meat, cheese, spinach, potatoes and lots of other options. One of the Istanbul famous dishes to know about can be börek and there are many different places where you can find many different types of this delicious food.
9. Kumpir is One of the Delicious Istanbul Famous Dishes
If you like foods with potatoes, kumpir can be an awesome choice to try. Basically, kumpir is baked potatoes mixed with butter and cheese, and topped with a variety of topping options. When ordering kumpir, you can choose from many different toppings that you want. Examples to these are olives, pickles, sausage, Olivier salad, corn and so on… When the butter and cheese is mixed with the potato, it gets a wonderful consistency and with all the delicious toppings, kumpir becomes a tasty combination of many awesome ingredients. So if you are visiting Istanbul and looking for a nice food to enjoy, kumpir can be among the choices to consider.
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10. Balık Ekmek (Fish Sandwich) Can Be Another Nice Food to Try in Istanbul
If you are looking for Istanbul famous dishes, there are definitely many food choices to talk about regarding this topic. One of the well liked choices among the foods that you can try in this city is balık ekmek, which is basically a fish sandwich. There are many different places to enjoy this awesome dish in Istanbul. Balık ekmek (fish sandwich), as you may probably guess from its name, consists of fish between bread. Along with fish, it can contain other ingredients like lettuce and onion. A nice drink to have with this food is şalgam suyu, a fermented beverage.
Istanbul Famous Dishes Final Words
If you are visiting Istanbul or planning to visit this city, you may be curious about Istanbul famous dishes. There are many options for this and you can enjoy many different delicious foods when in this beautiful city. On this blog post, we have talked about a variety of Istanbul famous dishes, such as balik ekmek, ıslak hamburger, börek, baklava and köfte. Aside from the ones on our list, there are many other well-known and well liked foods in Istanbul, as well. When enjoying your trip in Istanbul, you may consider trying such local foods and finding out if you like this local cuisine or not.