Meat and kebab places in Istanbul
34 meat and kebab places in Istanbul that we tried and liked. We went to every one and paid our own bill — no scores, no advertising.
Ahmet Ustam Ocakbaşı
In Etiler, on one of the back streets of Akatlar, there is an ocakbaşı: Ahmet Ustam. Ahmet Karoğlu started out at nine or ten years old, beside a gril…
7 Mehmet
One of the oldest and most important names in Antalya’s food scene, 7 Mehmet is now in Istanbul too, right on the water at Tersane İstanbul. The story…
Fiko
First in Etiler and later in Yeniköy, Fiko has left its mark on the kebab scene for years — and now it's back with a brand-new, far smarter room. Fiko…
Koska Köftecisi
In places where simplicity can't produce quality, plenty of restaurants try to reach for goodness through sophistication — yet simplicity is beautiful…
Ispartalı 1937
Ispartalı 1937 is in Şişli and, as the name suggests, serves the flavours of Isparta. The şiş köfte served with soaked flatbread is very good, and the…
Chef Erdal Adana Kebap
Chef Göktürk Erdal has been keeping his customers happy since 2016 with a quality he hasn't let slip. Serving under the slogan 'you don't go to Adana …
Adana Ocakbaşı
Serving since 1978, Kurtuluş Adana Ocakbaşı has for years been in our eyes one of the best ocakbaşı restaurants in Istanbul. The room is small and rou…
Alaf
Alaf may be our very favourite restaurant in Istanbul. We think Michelin did it a great injustice by not awarding a star. Alaf presents Yörük culture …
Tatbak
Tatbak means our childhood and our youth. Very few restaurants in Turkey have run uninterrupted for more than sixty years; Tatbak is one of them. Serv…
Önder Ocakbaşı
Önder Ocakbaşı, whose praises we've been hearing a great deal lately, more than deserves them. We ate one of the best Adana kebabs we've had in Istanb…
Şeyhmus Kebap Salonu
Şeyhmuz Kebap Salonu in Çemberlitaş has been welcoming guests with a lunchtime service for nearly fifty years, since 1975. A long-standing favourite o…
Ali Ocakbaşı
Ali Ocakbaşı, which we know from Karaköy, has created a very pleasant place in Kuruçeşme, right on the water inside Oligark. First of all, it has a wo…
Sıralı Kebap
Sıralı Kebap's journey, which began in Antalya and continued in Ankara, has recently reached Etiler in Istanbul. We finally got the chance to try the …
Tehroon
Iranian food is both close to ours and different from it. Among its many rice dishes, saffron rice is the best known. Tehroon in Maslak, with its Iran…
Nazende
We finally got the chance to visit Nazende, whose praises we'd been hearing for a long time. With the slogan 'the neighbourhood restaurant that loves …
Esentepe Köftecisi
In Tuzla, famous for its köfte, Esentepe Köftecisi was our choice for its quality. With fresh, good ingredients, cheerful and fast service and real fl…
Kulu Büryan
In Istanbul, the first area that comes to mind for büryan kebab is Kadınlar Pazarı in Fatih. But there are good examples in other districts too. Kulu …
Markus
Markus first showed its mastery of short rib at its shop inside the Maslak auto industrial estate. As its reputation spread, we started to see more of…
Tütsü by Düvee
Tütsü by Düvee is an important address for meat lovers. Cooking meat from animals raised on its own farm for hours over oak, Tütsü pleased us with eve…
Zübeyir Ocakbaşı
We're regulars at Zübeyir Ocakbaşı's Beyoğlu shop. We finally got the chance to try the Ataşehir branch we'd heard so much about. The meat quality is …
Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabı
Şehzade Cağ Kebap in Sirkeci has carried the flavour of Erzurum to Istanbul. Cooked over a wood fire, cağ kebab of this quality is hard to find even i…
Çamlık Ocakbaşı
On a cold, snowy day, the neighbourhood ocakbaşı is the right address. At Çamlık Ocakbaşı in Etiler we put ourselves in İzzet Usta's hands. With meze …
Madam Niça
After Bozcaada, Madam Niça now also serves in Istanbul, on the terrace floor of the Artisan hotel in Gümüşsuyu. With a superb 270-degree view of the B…
Günaydın Kebap
You don't often find chain restaurants on acıktım.be. Holding a standard usually means compromising on quality, so they rarely satisfy us. The Etiler …
Emre Mermer Ocakbaşı
Emre Mermer, one of the first names that come to mind for steak in Turkey, has opened an ocakbaşı in Armutlu, where he started out, and it's become a …
Tike
Founded in 1998 and one of the first brands to spread kebab culture to a wide audience, Tike is renewing itself after a quiet period. We've tried the …
Yıldız Konyalı
Yıldız Konyalı is a family business on Ortaklar Caddesi in Mecidiyeköy, serving examples of Konya cooking since 1995. We were very pleased with the fl…
Elbet Steakhouse
Elbet is a steakhouse that combines good meat with creativity. Elbet has never let us down, and we'd say don't leave without trying the beef sushi, th…
Birbiçer Ciğer
Ataşehir is an area offering a very wide range of options for eating. Birbiçer Ciğer scored positively with us for its accomplished grill, delicious e…
Şeref Büryan
Without getting into the argument about whether büryan kebab originates in Siirt or Bitlis, you can find several different büryan options at the mostl…
Antiochia Concept
We tried the large, airy new home of Antiochia, which has been serving from its small shop since 2008, and gave it full marks. Details on our website.…
Namlı Kebap
Time for a good lahmacun.…
Markus To Go
The back garden of Boyner on Bağdat Caddesi has been turned into an oasis under the name Vertical İstanbul. This pleasant space, holding Markus, Nappo…
Necip Uludağ Kebapçısı
Staying open for fifty years in a city like Istanbul is no easy job. Necip Uludağ Kebapçısı has been welcoming guests on Bağdat Caddesi since 1972. Wi…
Other cuisines in Istanbul
Our picks: Alaf (Kuruçeşme), Elbet Steakhouse (Etiler), Çamlık Ocakbaşı (Etiler). 34 places in total — every one tried by us, every bill paid by us.
Hear about new places
We will send a short email when a new place joins the guide. Entirely optional, and you can leave whenever you like.
Your address is used only for this newsletter and shared with nobody.