by Saturday morning, 10am, as I sit at a cafe table on a dusty street in the Beşiktaş neighborhood of Istanbul, sipping a glass of tea (Turkish tea) and waiting for breakfast. At the cafe’s entrance, a grizzled, graying man in a crisp white apron is sharpening a knife, before slipping through what is widely recognized as Turkey’s largest donor kiosk. The kebab weighs 100kg, a meaty monster cooking slowly from the outside in. Our guide, Sinan, tells us that the Black Sea (Karadeniz) donors from this area are always the best – it will all be gone by mid-afternoon.
Istanbul is a city that runs on its stomach. It may be steeped in history, but surely the best way to understand the multi-layered melting pot of east and west, Ottoman and Byzantine, is through its food. I am lucky enough to spend a few days with Cenk Debensason, who was awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant, Arkestra. Another version of Istanbul awaits the opportunity to discover the city through his eyes – and his taste buds.
After breakfast, instead of following the well-trodden tourist trail to the historic Sultanahmet area, we head north to Bebek, a leafy suburb where the streets are dotted with boutiques and small cafe shops. I feel like I’m in the Turkish equivalent of Hampstead. Like London, Istanbul has the same sense of being a collection of villages, stitched together over time, and getting away from the center gives you the chance to feel more like a local than a visitor. We dive into Midnight, where artfully arranged shelves and racks are filled with jewellery, ceramics and clothes from the city’s hottest designers, and head to the Petra Roasting Company, where sofas are shared with cats rest and the rich Ethiopian coffee makes us nutty. up.
From Bebek, we head further north to Tarabya, a waterfront neighborhood that has attracted tourists since it began life as a health resort in the 18th century. As we drive along the Bosphorus, it reminds me of the narrow roads along Lake Como: restaurants and hotels on one side, the water on the other – and on the other, opulent mansions built twenty or so thirty years, even hundreds of years before, for the city of the city. wealthy elite.
We have come for lunch at Kiyi, an Istanbul institution that has been serving the same fish-rich menu since it opened in the 1960s. The meal is exquisite: plump mussels stuffed with mint, crisp calamari, rose-tinted octopus and thick taramasalata with pis. The large turbard featured as our shared main course, buttery soft, sliding off the bone like silk, I destroy all other fish forever.
After lunch, we drive back to Beyoglu to explore the cobbled streets of the Çukurcuma district, where elegant European-style mansions are lined with antique shops selling everything from ancient sculpture to art deco lamps and retro 1960s furniture. could come straight from the set. of Austin Powers. One of the most famous is A La Turca, owned by the awesome Erkal Aksoy, who shows us around his quirky emporium before settling into slouchy leather sofas with tea, biscuits and glasses of his homemade cherry brandy.
The next day we took the ferry to Kadiköy, on the Asian side – one of the city’s foodiest neighborhoods. Next to me, a man produces a roll of bread from his pocket and tears off chunks, throwing them up to the beak of seagulls flying alongside the boat. To my surprise, instead of flicking the crumbs out of the water, they dive and dart to catch the bread in mid-air – a great display of aviation that shows how obsessed the gulls are with food and everyone else in this city has.
We dive into pickle shops, their glass jars stacked from floor to ceiling, and cubby-hole stalls with brilliant gold samovars of olive oil and soft mounds of spices
In Kadiköy, we move into pickle shops, with their glass jars stacked from floor to ceiling, and cubby-hole stalls with brilliant gold samovars of olive oil and soft mounds of spices – scarlet chillies, golden saffron, the brittle wood flowers of star anise. . It’s warm enough to sit outside for lunch at Çiya Sofras, which specializes in traditional Anatolian dishes. The table shines with unctuous aubergine dips and yogurt, crispy lamacun (flatbread with spicy meat) and juicy kebabs.
The ferry ride back is a happy hit of sunshine before we walk through the city’s Dickensian meat district to one of its newest treasures – the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam – a stunningly beautiful Turkish bath, dating back to the 16th century. Opening its doors this spring after a 13-year renovation project, it offers bathing spaces that are bright and dotted with stars cut into the domed ceiling, and houses a fascinating museum that chronicles the cultural significance and history of Ottoman hamams. and in the modern. Turkish life day.
On our last night, we take a taxi through the city’s labyrinthine roads to Arkestra, Debensason’s restaurant, located in the quiet neighborhood of Etiler in Beşiktaş. Stepping through the door is like walking into the coolest house party. Upstairs, cocktails are flowing in the Listening Room bar, while the main dining room feels like a chic, upmarket bistro. The food is modern and creative, a confident blend of classic French technique and vibrant Asian flavors. Sashimi tuna comes with sushi rice ice cream and ginger ponzu vinaigrette, panko fried beef with a sour taste tonkatsu sauce. Everything looks beautiful, tastes delicious and leaves you wanting just a little more – the perfect metaphor for Istanbul itself.
Soho House Istanbul has double rooms from £256 one room (sohohouse.com)
