Smelt & Co

While Balat's transformation has been talked about for years, the area already offers some very enjoyable options. Smelt & Co is down a side street in Balat, a place you'd walk straight past without knowing. To put it plainly: we ate one of the best meals we've had in Istanbul. Everything we ate was delicious, but what struck us most were the smoked mackerel pâté, the dates with roquefort cream, the taramasalata, the octopus, the sea bass and the chocolate meringue. If you can get a table on the terrace, you could have an unforgettable experience.