Istanbul Famous Restaurants: 11 Wonderful Places to Know About

Eating well is half the reason people fall for this city. You can spend a morning at a Turkish breakfast spread the size of a small table, grab a fish sandwich off a boat by lunch, and still want a proper sit-down dinner by night. So if you have been hunting for Istanbul famous restaurants worth booking a table at, this is my honest shortlist. I have kept every place that earns its reputation, added current hours, and pointed out who each one actually suits. Skim the names, see what pulls at you, and build your own list from there.

What makes a restaurant famous in Istanbul?

Fame here comes in a few flavors. Some places are famous for a view, some for a recipe nobody else nails, and a handful for stars the international guides hand out. Most of the names below lean Turkish, but several wander into Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and even Armenian territory, which is exactly the kind of range you want on a trip. You will see steakhouses, old-school meyhanes, rooftop terraces over the Old City, and family kitchens that have been at it for decades. If you only have a few nights, mix one big-view dinner with one neighborhood spot and you will eat better than most guidebooks manage.

Are there Michelin star restaurants in Istanbul?

Yes, and the scene has grown fast. The Michelin Guide first landed in Istanbul in 2022 with seven starred restaurants, and by the 2026 selection the list had widened considerably. TURK Fatih Tutak still holds the city’s only two stars, a tasting-menu temple to Turkish terroir that also carries a Green Star for sustainability. Around it sit a solid run of one-star kitchens, including longtime favorites like Mikla on top of the Marmara Pera, Neolokal at SALT Galata, Nicole, Araka, Arkestra, Sankai by Nagaya, and Casa Lavanda, plus newer 2026 arrivals such as Araf Istanbul and Biz Istanbul. There is also a healthy crop of Bib Gourmand picks (good food, gentler bills) like Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası and Casius Antioch Kitchen.

Here is my honest take: the starred places are special-occasion territory and need booking weeks ahead. The eleven restaurants below are the more bookable, everyday-famous spots most visitors actually eat at, and several of them appear in the Michelin Guide’s recommended (non-starred) listings too. For the proper splurge end of things, I have a separate roundup of high-end restaurants in Istanbul and a wider look at fine dining across the city.

Istanbul famous restaurants at a glance

• Koço Restaurant
• Garden Mezze Steakhouse Restaurant
• F&B Culture
• Jash Istanbul
• Khorasani Restaurant
• The Must Turkish Restaurant
• Ziya Baba Türk Mutfağı Slow Food Restaurant
• Turk Art Terrace Restaurant
• Last Ottoman Cafe & Restaurant
• Deraliye Terrace Restaurant
• Istanbul Anatolian Cuisine

1. Koço: the 1928 meyhane on the Asian side

If you cross to Kadıköy, this is the one I would send you to first. Koço has been serving since 1928, sitting right on Moda Caddesi with a terrace that looks across the Moda boat station toward the Fenerbahçe lighthouse and, on clear days, the Princes’ Islands. The format is classic meyhane: a long parade of cold and hot mezes, then fish or grilled meat, ideally with rakı. Ask for çiroz (dried mackerel) or lakerda (cured bonito) if you want to eat like a regular. At the time of writing it is open daily from noon to midnight, and it slots perfectly into a wider crawl through the top restaurants in Kadıköy.

Related: my full guide to Bosphorus restaurants with a view if a waterline table is the priority.

2. Garden Mezze Steakhouse: for meat lovers in Fatih

In the Fatih district, this is where I would point a steak craving. Garden Mezze leans heavily on meat, with outdoor seating and a fireplace that makes it pleasant in the cooler months. Reviews are consistently warm, and it is the kind of place where a big shared grill plate does the heavy lifting. Hours run roughly 11 AM to about 11.45 PM Monday through Thursday, stretching a touch later (close to midnight) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If steak is your whole reason for the night, compare it against the best steakhouses in Istanbul before you book.

3. F&B Culture: a long, day-into-night spot in Beyoğlu

Over in Beyoğlu, F&B Culture is the one I reach for when plans are loose. It does meat and seafood, and the appeal is partly the hours: open every day from 9.30 AM all the way to 1 AM, so it works for a late breakfast, a long lunch, or a drawn-out dinner. That flexibility is rarer than it sounds in a city where many kitchens keep tighter windows, and it makes the place easy to fold into a wandering Beyoğlu evening.

4. Jash Istanbul: for Turkish and Armenian cooking

Also in Beyoğlu, Jash is my pick when I want something a little different from the standard Turkish menu. It serves both Turkish and Armenian dishes, has vegetarian-friendly options, and runs lunch, dinner, and late-night service, open daily from noon to 2 AM. Armenian cooking is woven deep into Istanbul’s history, and eating it here is one of those small, specific experiences that makes a trip stick in your memory.

Related: if you would rather chase pasta, here is Italian dining in Istanbul.

5. Khorasani: the kebab name everyone knows

Khorasani is a Sultanahmet institution and one of the most-searched kebab names in the Old City. It is an ocakbaşı-style grill, meat barbecued to order, with Turkish, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern dishes, outdoor seating, and a fireplace. It is also in the Michelin Guide’s recommended listings, which tells you the quality holds up despite the touristy postcode. Hours vary by day but it runs late, often toward 2 AM on busier nights. If you are building a kebab itinerary, cross-check it against the best kebab restaurants in Istanbul.

6. The Must Turkish Restaurant in the Old City

Sitting in the Fatih district, The Must Turkish Restaurant is a straightforward, well-reviewed Turkish kitchen that draws a steady stream of visitors. The menu covers the classics, there are vegetarian-friendly choices, and it keeps generous hours: 9 AM to midnight, every day. It is not trying to reinvent anything, and that is the point. Sometimes you want a reliable plate of Turkish food near the monuments without a production around it.

7. Ziya Baba Türk Mutfağı: slow food done right

Another Fatih address, Ziya Baba Türk Mutfağı leans into the slow food idea, cooking across Turkish, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern lines with vegetarian options on hand. It is open daily from 8.30 AM to 10.30 PM, which means you can start early. The slow-food framing is a nice fit for travelers who care where things come from and would rather linger over a long lunch than rush a meal between sights.

8. Turk Art Terrace: a rooftop with a view

If you want a terrace and a skyline, Turk Art Terrace in Fatih delivers. It is a popular rooftop serving seafood and meat dishes, open daily from 11 AM to 11 PM, with the kind of Old City rooftop perspective that makes dinner feel like an occasion. Time it for golden hour and you get the food and the view in one sitting. For more of these, my list of rooftop bars and restaurants in Istanbul goes deeper.

9. Last Ottoman Cafe & Restaurant: near the monuments

Right in the thick of Fatih’s tourist core, Last Ottoman Cafe & Restaurant covers a lot of ground: seafood plus Mediterranean and Turkish dishes, with vegetarian and vegan-friendly choices, which is handy if your group has mixed needs. It is open daily from 10.30 AM to 1 AM. The location near the main sights makes it an easy default when you have spent the day on your feet and do not want to wander far for dinner.

10. Deraliye Terrace: Ottoman palace cuisine

This is the one I would book for a memorable Old City dinner. Deraliye in Sultanahmet specializes in Ottoman palace cooking, with Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean dishes and signature plates rebuilt from centuries-old palace recipes, including a goose kebab traced to Sultan Süleyman’s kitchen. It is recommended by Michelin and Gault&Millau, and the terrace looks out toward the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Open daily, roughly noon to 11.30 PM. For the wider story behind these dishes, read up on Ottoman cuisine in Istanbul.

11. Istanbul Anatolian Cuisine: a reliable Old City table

Rounding out the list, Istanbul Anatolian Cuisine in Fatih serves Turkish, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern food and is a steadily well-liked spot. It is open daily from noon to 11 PM. Like several of its neighbors, it is the kind of dependable Old City table that does the classics properly, a good fallback when you want regional Turkish cooking without a long detour. To go deeper on what to actually order, see my rundown of famous Istanbul foods and the broader Istanbul cuisine guide.

Final thoughts on Istanbul’s famous restaurants

Eating in Istanbul rewards a little planning and a little spontaneity in equal measure. My advice: lock in one big-ticket table (a starred kitchen or Deraliye’s palace menu), keep one terrace for sunset, and leave room to follow your nose through Kadıköy or Beyoğlu when a place smells too good to walk past. Use the names above as a starting grid, check current hours before you go since they shift seasonally, and book ahead for anything with a view or a star.

Note: the photos on this post are stock images and may not show the exact venues discussed.