Where to eat near Taksim and İstiklal: streets, meyhanes and traps
Taksim and İstiklal pack thousands of tables into a few hundred metres: fish restaurants, meyhanes (mezze taverns), home-cooking lokantas, kebab places, pastry shops and fast food. It is also one of the places in Istanbul where it is easiest to be caught out. This guide describes the streets worth a detour, the types of venue, a few established houses mentioned with caution, and the habits that help you eat well. No prices are given: menus change fast with inflation, and only the menu displayed on site counts. ## The principle: leave the avenue for the side streets On İstiklal Avenue itself, terraces live mostly off tourist traffic: touts at the door, menus with photos, menus in several languages. You can have ice cream, a börek or a simit there, but rarely a real meal. To eat well, turn into the cross streets, where local and tourist crowds mix, and prefer rooms where the waiters do not call to you from the pavement. ## Balık Pazarı, Nevizade and the Flower Passage This is the most famous area for the evening, behind Galatasaray Square: - **The Flower Passage and the fish market**: the covered arcade (Çiçek Pasajı) and the market (Balık Pazarı) bring together fishmongers, fruit and vegetable sellers, cheese sellers and taverns. The tables in the passage make an ideal setting, but are often more expensive than those on neighbouring streets. - **Nevizade Street**: a narrow lane lined with meyhanes with outdoor tables, with a loud and festive atmosphere. Waiters grab you as soon as you enter: first walk from one end to the other, look at the tables, then choose. Among the houses often mentioned are Krependek İmroz (fish, lunch and evening) and Boncuk (meyhane cooking with Armenian touches, with dishes such as topik); always check hours and menus on site. - **The musicians**: musicians play from table to table. It is customary to tip them if they play for you; if the music is not for you, politely decline as soon as they approach.  ## How to order in a meyhane The meyhane is the Turkish tavern where you share: you start with mezzes (small cold dishes, often shown on a tray or in a display), then order grilled fish or meat, with rakı, water and bread. The waiter often brings a tray of mezzes: choose what tempts you and decline the rest, nothing is compulsory. Any dish that is brought and touched is charged. For alcohol, see alcohol in Istanbul, and for eating without meat, vegetarian eating in Istanbul. ## Around Taksim: quick meals and coffee Around Taksim Square there are many options for a quick meal: lokantas with dishes of the day (stews served at the counter, often the best budget option), kebabs, pide, döner and pastries. The cafés on the square and on İstiklal serve Turkish coffee and tea; Mandabatmaz, in a nearby passage, is known for its very thick coffee. For what comes next, see cafés and tea houses, pastries and baklava and what to eat in Istanbul. ## Traps to avoid - **Touts**: anyone who stops you for a short chat and then invites you to a bar or restaurant is to be avoided. In some Beyoğlu bars, customers have been presented with outrageous bills; read scams and safety. - **Fish sold by weight**: ask the price per kilo before ordering and have the fish weighed in front of you; check the total. - **Menus without prices**: a menu with no prices, or prices "on request", is a warning sign. Walk on. - **Cover charges and "free" dishes**: check for lines for cover, bread and trays you did not ask for. - **Change and payment**: most restaurants accept cards; check the amount before entering your PIN (see money, payment and tipping). ## Our tips - **In the evening**: book for a group on a Friday or Saturday, especially in Nevizade. - **After dinner**: carry on the evening with our guide to Istanbul nightlife. - **For sightseeing**: combine the meal with Gezi Park and Aya Triada church, both close to the square. ## Going further To place the district, see our guide to Beyoğlu and Taksim.
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