With most Istanbul sightseeing spots only open from 09:00 till 17:00, you of course want to make most of the day and not waste any time by having a timely lunch. Luckily, eating on the street is very much a part of local life. You can’t walk from corner to corner on a street, cross a bridge, enter a square or park without coming across one or more snack shops, street stalls (büfe) or street vendors. Most of the snacks on display are delicious, cheap and innocent. But there are a few you may want to stay clear of to avoid the Sultan’s revenge (diarrhea).

Street Vendors

Street vendors are omnipresent on Istanbul’s street. They display their goods in a variety of ways, going from a plain upside down box used as a table to a more professional glass-fronted push-car. Here’s a sample of what they have to offer.

• 

  Street vendor selling simit and açma.

  Simit – A crisp, ring-shaped, savory roll covered with sesame seeds. Delicious when fresh and preferably washed down with ayran (salty liquid yoghurt).

• Açma – This doughnut lookalike is ring-shaped just like the simit, but doesn’t have a crust. It’s soft and oilier, hence less dry.
• Poğaça – A flaky, savory pastry. They come in different versions: plain (sade) or stuffed with pieces of cheese (peynirli), mince (kıymalı) or olives (zeytinli).
• Mısır – During the summer, you can find street sellers offering freshly boiled or grilled corn (mısır) on the cob. Unless you want it generously sprinkled with salt, make sure to tell the seller in time to go easy on it.
• Kestane – Street vendors selling corn in the summer, mostly shift to roasted chestnuts in winter time.
• Su – Water. With temperatures well above 30 C all summer long, you can’t go long without it. It’s perfectly safe to drink the bottles they offer, as long as you make sure the cap has never been opened before.

Street Stalls (Büfe)

Near busy public transportation hubs or in popular (tourist) areas, you’ll find plenty of small kiosks on street corners. These büfes typically sell cigarettes, phone-cards and non-alcoholic cold drinks in cans or small bottles, but most of them also sell inexpensive, tasteful thin roasted sandwiches (tost) and hot dogs (sosili sandviç). Do try out the kaşarlı tost, a sandwich with melted cheese.

Pastry Shops (Börekçi)

Plate of börek

These too are excellent places for a quick breakfast or lunch, although you normally don’t enjoy it while standing in the street. A börekçi is usually a tiny shop, with only a handful of chairs and tables, offering tea, coffee or a small selection of cold drinks and börek.

Börek is a flaky pastry existing of several thin layers. There are different kinds, based on their shape, filling and cooking method. You may want to try out the juicy su böreği (something in between a pastry and a lasagna), peynirli börek (with cheese filling), patatesli börek (with potato filling), ıspanaklı börek (with spinach filling) or kıymalı börek (filled with minced meat).

Most of these shops also sell pide which is a pita like baked dough with the same filling options as börek.

Kebap, Köfte and Döner

These typical Turkish cheap but delicious eateries couldn’t be left out of this list. Here you’ll find an overview of the different kinds of kebap and 14 types of köfte. In the Sultanahmet area, you simply must check out Sultanahmet Köftecisi.
If you’re wandering around in Taksim, try out Çılgın Dürüm – my favorite döner eatery at the beginning of Istiklal Caddesi. Try out their excellent dürüm, a thin roasted sheet of bread, stuffed with döner, salad, a (hot) tomato sauce and french fries. You can have it spicy (acı) or not too spicy (orta).

Fish Sandwiches (Balık ekmek)

Fish sandwiches being prepared on a boat

Balık ekmek is another typical Istanbul snack, and pretty tasteful and safe when prepared fresh. It’s pretty straightforward – a grilled or fried fresh fish inside a large piece of bread. The best way to explore this snack is in Eminönü, left from the Galata Bridge.
You’ll see them prepare the sandwiches on the nicely lined up boats, after which they hand them to customers on the shore.

Street Food to Stay Clear Of

Unless you want to have an army of bacteria for lunch, pass for the following major offenders:

• 

  Street vendor selling midye dolma

  Midye dolma – These are stuffed muscles. Nothing wrong with them and even delicious, but a huge risk when bought on the (sunny) streets. If you really want to try them, order them as a starter for dinner in a respected restaurant.

• Çiğ köfte – This is raw meat, kneaded by hand for hours, seasoned with plenty of spices. A delicacy, but not when sold on the streets. No matter how long you kneed it, it still stays raw meat exposed to high summer temperatures.
• Kokoreç – Lamb intestines cooked with herbs and spices, roasted horizontally on a skewer. Maybe not so much a bacteria heaven, but still… intestines?

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Köfte is commonly translated as meatballs – but this is selling the Turkish versions a bit short. It is believed that there are 291 different kinds of meatballs (köfte) in Turkey. However, originally meatballs came from Iran. They called a mixture of vegetables and eggs covered with meat küfte. Once the Turks got their hands on them, they increased the diversity of the dish enormously and called it köfte. Make sure to eat at least once this Turkish delicacy.

Köfte Ingredients

The diversity comes from a number of sources, such as:

• the minced meat used: lamb or calf
• the onion: grated or chopped
• the cooking style: fried, grilled or baked
• variety and preferences in spices
• type and amount of oil or butter used for frying
• amount of the fat the meat has

Most Common Köfte Dishes

Below you will find the most common meatball dishes (köfte çeşitleri) that you can find in Istanbul (or Turkey for that matter).

• Kuru köfte – Kuru means dry because there is no dressing or sauce, just kneaded and pan fried rolls of minced meat, onion, egg, bread (soaked in water and squeezed), parsley, pepper and köfte baharı (spices mixed for meatballs). Cumin and garlic are optional.
• Dalyan köfte – It is prepared as kuru köfte and rolled as a big loaf with carrots, peas and even hard boiled eggs in the center. Baked in the oven and served in slices.
• İzmir köftesi – The kuru köfte and potatoes cooked with tomato sauce in a pot on the stove or in an oven.
• Çiğ köfte – Fatless minced meat kneaded with grinded wheat (ince bulgur), onion, tomato or red pepper paste and spices like cumin, paprika, pepper, mint, coriander, cinnamon. This is a raw dish, served with lettuce and is ordered as a starter.
• Şiş köfte – It is prepared as kuru köfte, wrapped around a skewer and grilled (originally on a charcoal fire).
• Harput köftesi – Small balls of kneaded minced meat, wheat, onion, parsley, pepper and sweet basil cooked in a sauce of butter, water, tomato and/or red pepper paste.


İçli Köfte is served with lemon and parsley.

• Mercimek köftesi – Red lentil and grinded wheat kneaded with onion, parsley and tomato paste. Served with rocket or lettuce.
• Izgara köfte – It is prepared as kuru köfte only the egg doesn’t participate in the game and it is grilled.
• İçli köfte – Roasted minced meat, onion and walnut with a coating of wheat, flour, egg and red pepper paste. Generally served as a starter. It looks like a big egg, mostly fried but can be boiled as well.
• İnegöl köftesi – Balls of very thoroughly kneaded minced meat, onion, pepper and sodium bicarbonate are cooked in the oven. To get the taste of the meat, very few spices are used.
• Kadınbudu köfte – Big balls of kneaded roasted minced meat and onions with boiled rice are fried after being dipped in flour and eggs.
• Tekirdağ köftesi – It is prepared as kuru köfte, only the bread is used as dry small pieces.
• Sulu köfte – It is a soup like dish. Small balls of kneaded minced meat, grinded wheat or rice, onion and parsley are cooked in a sauce of butter, tomato paste and water. Some prepare the sauce with small cubes of carrots and potatoes as well.
• Ekşili köfte – It is called terbiyeli köfte, too and prepared as sulu köfte. The difference is the additional sour (ekşi) taste. An egg, lemon, yogurt and flour mixture is used to get the sour taste.

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This may seem like a strange restaurant tip. Sultanahmet Köftecisi is a place that doesn’t have a real menu, obviously doesn’t care too much about its interior design, doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages, has no starters and only one dessert, expects you to vacate your table in less than 30 minutes, yet is a must-have-done experience even the locals queue for.

Sultanahmet Köftecisi
Location
Divanyolu Caddesi 12A, Sultanahmet (the main street with the tramway)
on Map with My Favorite Restaurants in the Historical Part of Istanbul
Tel: +90 212 513 14 38
Open
Daily from 9 a.m. till 11 p.m.
Credit cards are accepted.

Sultanahmet Köftecisi is the ideal place for a quick and tasteful lunch. The restaurant is famous for its delicious meatballs (köfte) and has been an institution in Sultanahmet since 1920. The place is crowded with locals grabbing a quick and cheap lunch. Beware though, there are many restaurants carrying the same name in the area, so make sure you enter the original.

This no-frills restaurant only serves meatballs (köfte) and shish kebab of lamb (kuzu şiş kebap). They are served with bread. If you prefer a side dish, you can choose between rice (pilav), a season salad (mevsim salatası) or a mixed salad with beans (piyaz).

Unless you’re really not into meatballs, I would highly recommend the köfte. You can season it with crushed dried pepper (pul biber) which you’ll find on the table. Go easy though, they can be very hot! A refreshing glass of cool buttermilk (ayran) goes very well with it, but you can of course also order a coke, mineral water (kapalı şişe su) or soda (maden suyu).

Enjoy your meal.

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