Meeting at your hotel
Private guide in your language
All the meals, bites and drinks on the food tour
Ferry cruise ticket
Neighbourhood Maps (Online)
Private Mercedes Van (optional)
"We had a really great day together with our guide Betul, exploring the cuisine of Turkey in both knowledge and through our tastebuds. This also involved lots of close contact with the Turkish people, sellers, traders, makers, cooks, chefs and waiters. It's a real insight to the culture and the way things are done in this part of the world" Read more on Tripadvisor.
This full-day culinary experience takes you to the finest specialty food shops and local restaurants of Istanbul’s two most exciting neighborhoods: Beyoğlu on the European side and Kadikoy (Kadıköy in Turkish) on the Asian side. While tasting some of the best examples of Istanbul’s delicacies, you will also listen to the inspiring stories behind these culinary delights, meet the people who make them and delve deep into the bustling Turkish street culture. If you like to eat your way through a city as much as I do, you will enjoy this unique culinary tour that I designed for you.
You must have heard the worldwide fame of Turkish breakfast. This is your chance to taste it. Our journey begins in Beyoğlu with a traditional Turkish breakfast. Next we discover the eateries in Beyoğlu’s local market and learn about the meyhane (tavern) culture, including the proper way to drink your rakı along side matching mezes. We taste one of the best cups of Turkish coffee in town in a historical landmark; a 150-year old arcade. We continue along the back streets of Istiklal where we drink Turkish coffee in a traditional coffee house in a historical passage. We head down to Karaköy to catch a ferry to cross the majestic Bosphorus strait towards the Asian side. The ferry ride is an unforgettable experience in itself, where you get to feed simit (local bagel) to sea gulls with stunning views of the old city serving as a backdrop.
We will be spending the next half of the day between Kadikoy and Moda, the new ‘cool’ neighborhoods of Istanbul. The local market of Kadikoy is beyond compare. You can find most Turkish delicacies lined up one after another in seemingly unending narrow streets. The real challenge becomes in choosing which ones to taste. Do not worry, we have already sampled it all and chose the best list for you: visit to a pickle store and sampling pickle juice, lahmacun from the South East, meat balls from Marmara, dolmas from the Aegean region… The day ends exploring the fashionable Kadikoy district with its hip cafes and fine architecture. Our culinary walk adventure finalizes on a sweet note in a locally famous baklava shop.