Lara & Simon

Breakfast (kahvaltı)

A Turkish breakfast is meze style and typically includes olives, cheese, tomato, cucmber, bread, and honey. There are few breakfast dishses, however, one of our favourites is menemen (scrambled egg dish).

 

Snacks/Lunch

Lahmacun - flat bread, tomato sauce, mince

Gözleme - a savoury Turkish crepe, often with spinach and feta

Balik ekmek - chargrilled small fish in bread found under the bridge over the Golden Horn

Börek - filled filo pastry

Pide - Turkish pizza

 

Meat

The main meats are chicken (tavuk), lamb (kuzu), and beef (et ; simply means 'meat'). Meat is served in a variety of ways.

 

You will know of kebabs ('kebap') and especially doner. Our favourites are İskender kebap (served with yoghurt and tomato sauce. and griddled bread), adana kebap (mince meat with parsely served on a flat bread, and ciğerli kebap (lamb liver). Meat is also served as köfte, essentially a type of meat ball. 

 

Fish (Balik)

The fish in Istanbul is excellent and there is a lot of variety. There are many varieties that we simply do not have in the UK as well as favourites like sea bass. When asking for fish, ask if each fish is big (buyuk mu?) or small (küçük mü?)

 

Vegetable dishes

Most vegetable dishes are served as meze dishes. Some of our favourites are:

• Dolma (stuffed veg.) - typically stuffed vine leaves, but you can have many types of dolma, inc. aubergine, courgettes, etc.

• Fava - broad bean puree

• Patlican Salatasi - smoked aubergine salad

• Acılı Ezme - spicy mashed tomota and herb 'salsa'

 

Breads (Ekmek)

There are lots of great breads to try for breakfast, as a snack, or with dinner.

• Simit - a hoop shaped bread.

• Dürüm - a flat bread often used with kebabs, grilled on the same spit

• Pide ekmek - thicker bread, also served with kebab.

 

Sweet Things!

Turkish delight (known as lokum) and baklava are well known sweets. But do not miss out on dondurma (Turkish ice cream) and milk based deserts known as sütlü tatlılar.

 

Drinks

• Ayran _ a yoghurt and salt drink. Very refeshing in the heat

• Türk kahvesi - Turkish coffee, served in a small cup

• Cay - Turkish tea, black, no milk, served in small cups

• Rakı (alcoholic) - a strong,  anise-flavored spirit best drank slowly with fish. They will serve it to you, have no more than half a glass and fill the rest with water until it goes milky. Add ice.