📍Galata Simitçisi (https://maps.app.goo.gl/21CJNCCZZ4FMS...) - You can’t come to Istanbul without trying simit, a common ring shaped bread that you’ll find at bakeries and street food carts throughout the city.
📍Çiğ Köfteci Seyfettin Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/u6i4Fj4LEpNRh...) - One of my absolute favorite Turkish foods is Çiğ Köfte, that includes raw meat, bulgur, and lots of spices.
📍Dürümcü Raif Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/xkrWpGzZeSoBy...) - Turkey is the king of kebabs and a durum is a grilled kebab served wrapped in bread so it’s often fast and on the go.
📍Tarihi Eminönü Derya Balıkçısı 1945 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/qq2h2opz347XS...) - Probably the most iconic of all Turkish street foods in Istanbul is the balik ekmek, a grilled fish sandwich still served on a boat on the Golden Horn.
📍Beşaltı Kirvem Tantuni (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Sbf1E4iCwXEg1...) - It’s hard to find anything tastier than tantuni!
📍Tekrartekrarr Bay Köfte (https://maps.app.goo.gl/GkhSxeCbeQyJW...) - This was something totally unique and that I’d never seen before, an ultimate cheese overdose, and so good!
📍Sokak pilavcısı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/sKCn3GwgLJFa7...) - Another popular Istanbul street food is rice and chickpeas with shredded chicken, and you’ll find it all over the city.
📍Midyeci Erkan (https://maps.app.goo.gl/bfvrVjSiiwJdk...) - If you love mussels, midye dolma are a dream come true. They go down so easily and are so addictive!
Bölüm 2: 10 MUST-EAT Turkish Foods in Istanbul
📍 Karaköy Muhallebicisi (https://maps.app.goo.gl/uTGsyA9vpEKUS...) - Cam here for the Kaymak - Turkish clotted cream, and what they call the King of breakfast! Price - they didn’t charge us
📍 Emek Börek (https://maps.app.goo.gl/hWon3VZguP8qr...) - Börek is a flaky pastry that’s extremely popular across Turkey. Price - 110 TRY ($3.43) total price
📍 Lades Menemen (https://maps.app.goo.gl/XeC8VagLWkFDu...) - One of my personal favorite Turkish breakfasts is menemen, scrambled eggs with toppings. Price - They didn’t charge us (Price - 160 TRY ($4.98) per pan)
📍 Şahin Lokantası (https://maps.app.goo.gl/dFceGkWhEMmV1...) - For homestyle Turkish food, you must visit a Lokantası, where you have a huge selection of dishes to try. Total price - 1,116 TRY ($34.76) for everything we ordered
📍 Sayla Manti (https://maps.app.goo.gl/KnbKLXxJgjCPc...) - Next up on this Turkish food tour in Istanbul we’re eating Manti, Turkish mini dumplings. Price - 500 TRY ($15.57) for everything
📍 Kalkanoğlu Pilavcısı Kadıköy (https://maps.app.goo.gl/gceQpAvNXYvK6...) - Kuru Fasulye is a Turkish white beans stew served with rice, and in this case, shredded meat. Although this might be one of the simplest Turkish dishes, it’s actually one of my favorites! Didn’t charge us (Price - 240 TRY ($7.47)
📍 Borsam Taşfırın Bahariye (https://maps.app.goo.gl/UxuPqvPTM9vN5...) - Lahmacun is a baked Turkish flatbread, topped with meat and spices, and it’s delicious. Price 100 TRY ($3.11) per piece
📍 Nisan Balık Restaurant (https://maps.app.goo.gl/jVDCSZBVZ2cTU...) - Along with all the meat, you can’t miss a delicious fish and seafood meal when you’re in Istanbul. Total price - 2,800 TRY ($87.21) for everything we ordered
📍 Dönerci Engin'in Yeri (https://maps.app.goo.gl/qj3x1HMhHXujX...) - Doner kebab is perhaps the most famous of all Turkish food! I liked this place a lot because of the tomatoes and peppers cooked within the kebab. They didn’t charge us (Price - 250 TRY ($7.79)
📍 Görele Pide Şakir Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/QkuxdTTNQ7PdL...) - Something that Turkish people are extremely proud about is pide, and once you taste it, you’ll be too. They didn’t charge us
Bölüm 3: $5 EXTREME SANDWICH in Izmir
📍 Zeynel Ergin Gevrek Fırını (https://maps.app.goo.gl/BJBkKkeU8SFYW...) - This is one of the most famous and historical bakeries in Izmir. They didn’t charge us, but prices are about $5 - 10 USD per person for a big spread of items.
📍 Tarihi Basmane Lokmacısı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/JGh6VqBFao7dc...) - They take sweets very seriously throughout Turkey, and we couldn’t miss the local specialities of Izmir. They didn’t charge us.
📍 Meşhur Kuyum Pide Salonu (https://maps.app.goo.gl/RmQ8KqtcxHv6S..., Price - 210 TRY ($6.51) for 2 pides
📍 Doydum Kokorec (https://maps.app.goo.gl/VsdFq4rj35nRB...) - Kokorec is one of the ultimate street foods in Turkey, and Izmir is known to have some of the best - rolled and stuffed lamb intestines. Don’t let lamb intestines scare you, they taste is incredible - seasoned with cumin, chili, and oregano. Price - 250 TRY ($7.75)
📍 Cızz Bızz Balık evi (https://maps.app.goo.gl/TVMw3sqotifDg...) - Within the market we stopped for a quick snack of fried sardines. Total price - 300 TRY ($9.30) total price
📍 Cimbomlu Söğüşçü (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Feb1T54JuuRqu...) - Söğüş is one of the most popular and important Turkish street foods in Izmir. While I’ve eaten lamb head in many countries, in Izmir they enjoy lamb head boiled, and served cold, chopped up in a sandwich. They didn’t charge us (but price is 230 TRY ($7.13)
📍 Doyuran Manisa Kebap (https://maps.app.goo.gl/9f9xeDEvk3n4a...) - Finally, we tried the famous Manisa Kebap. Total price - 270 TRY ($8.37)
Bölüm 4: Best Turkish Food in Gaziantep!!
📍 Ciğerci Ali Haydar (https://maps.app.goo.gl/HHx9w3h4og5Tt...) - One of the best ways to start your day is with fresh grilled lamb liver. Choose your own skewer and they grill it up fresh, season with cumin, chili, onions, and parsley. didn’t charge us . After breakfast we then walked around the main market, the Coppersmith Bazaar.
📍 Beyoğlu Katmercim (https://maps.app.goo.gl/oWCN6NTD6wjP8...) - For something sweet for breakfast, you have to try katmer, a Gaziantep pastry made with thin dough, lots of butter and cream, and a mountain of pistachios. Price - 500 TRY ($15.54) for everything
📍 Metanet lokantası (https://maps.app.goo.gl/e7JYZ6UhQorpz...) - Easily one of the best foods I ate in Turkey is beyran, a traditional soup made with sheep fat, rice, sheep neck meat, and chili. They boil it up and it’s pure meaty goodness. Price - 200 TRY ($6.21) per bowl
📍 Dürümcü Recep Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/gqNe6bWBv6tGs...) - When it comes to delicious Turkish fast food, it doesn’t get better than Nohut Dürümü, a super loaded chickpea wrap! It’s one of the most affordable meals you can eat in Turkey. Price - 55 TRY ($1.71)
📍 Kebapçı Halil Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/k5M2xz5u5Jyru...) - Gaziantep is known for its meat, and for kebabs it doesn’t get more legendary than Kebapçı Halil Usta. Their most famous kebab is Küşleme - lamb backstrap loin. Price - 450 TRY ($13.98) per mixed portion (but they didn’t charge us)
📍 İmam Çağdaş Kebap ve Baklava Salonu (https://maps.app.goo.gl/h1T56uSJiBQy9...) - Another famous Turkish food in Gaziantep is Alinazik kebab - roasted eggplant, yogurt, lamb kebabs - and this restaurant is an institution. Price - 200 - 400 TRY (but they didn’t charge us)
📍 Yesmek Gaziantep Mutfagi (https://maps.app.goo.gl/urYFFhh8f2mZr...) - For homestyle Gaziantep dishes, Yesmek Gaziantep Mutfagi is a fantastic restaurant to try. They didn’t charge us.
📍 Şeker Han Cafe - Finally, something unique to try in Gaziantep is their pistachio coffee - which is not coffee at all - but made from pistachio paste. It’s amazing!
Bölüm 5: HUGE TURKISH BREAKFAST + World’s Best Baklava in Gaziantep!!
📍 Udma Peynir Müzesi & Restoran (https://maps.app.goo.gl/4c16viefxSBGd...) - For a huge Turkish breakfast, where you can taste a massive variety of Gaziantep local dishes, Udma Peynir Müzesi & Restoran is the place. It’s a higher end restaurant, but great quality. Price - About 1,200 TRY ($37.28) for everything
📍 Güllüoğlu - Ömer Güllü Baklava (https://maps.app.goo.gl/FMgxZLA2X6wBf...) - Gaziantep is known for making some of the best baklava in the world, and it was an honor to have a tour of this generations old baklava factory. The process is absolutely fascinating!
📍 Ali Usta Gurme (https://maps.app.goo.gl/7aUjWAY8kv37T...) - This kebab shop is famous for their lamb kebabs, and for their eggplant kebabs. They didn’t charge us.
📍 Paçacı Şahin Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/DDCyK2Lb5bZfq...) - Along with serving beyran, one of the best dishes in all of Turkey, this soup restaurant specializes in all sorts of lamb soups and stews.
📍 Efe kasap kebap (https://maps.app.goo.gl/J3PWXTnoroqZr...) - Although they mainly serve kebabs, we came here specifically to eat lahmacun, flatbread topped with meat and chopped peppers, tomatoes, and onions.
📍 Yasayan Muze Tarihi Gumruk Hani (https://maps.app.goo.gl/9LXNRfZVBoDLw...)
Bölüm 6: KING OF KEBABS + 14 Hour Food Tour in Adana
📍 Levent Börekçilik (https://maps.app.goo.gl/MiHj4L7cp7SC2...) - This famous borek was started right here from this humble food stall and now has spread all over Turkey. Their borek is fantastic.
📍 Hacının Şalgamı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/aGQEon5BNPjNw...) - One of the most famous beverages in Adana is a pickled fermented juice that includes carrots and beets.
📍 iştah kebap 1950 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZevXEBqfvGTo2...) - Next up, one of the most world famous Turkish foods of Adana are kebabs - called Adana Kebabs throughout Turkey. The lamb is loaded with seasoning and spices before being skewered and grilled.
📍 Tarihi Şampiyon Ocakbaşı Seyfo Usta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/x3iSuXAXxQbBo...) - Adana is also known for their excellent liver kebabs, and they didn't disappoint!
📍 Meşhur Bicici Abuzer Kadayıf (https://maps.app.goo.gl/D1AroJNTwhUrB...) - In the afternoon, one of the great Turkish summer sweet snacks is bicibici, their version of a shaved ic.
📍 Meşhur Ayranci - Additionally down the road you will find spicy ayran to wash it all down.
📍 No 12 Lokanta (https://maps.app.goo.gl/sYoP3RaSA8CNc...) - Along with Gem who we hung out with today, he’s the co-owner of No 12 Lokanta, a Turkish restaurant serving classic home-style Adana dishes.
📍 Tatli Gonul Kardesler (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ohjLLAKtEGkbz...) - Adana is also famous for sweets, so Ugur and I tried some local sweets in the evening.
📍 Şırdancı Naci Dayı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/JXjRddAAx8CPS...) - All the food I tried in Adana was fantastic, but if I had to pick one dish, it was the peculiar looking Shirdan - stuffed sheep abomasum with rice and lots of spices. All jokes aside, it was probably one of my favorite foods in all of Turkey.
Bölüm 7: EXTREME Turkish Meat Tour in Istanbul
📍 Şehzade Cağ Kebap (https://maps.app.goo.gl/CKVeD7MLuzTPt...) - This legendary restaurant is famous in Istanbul for their Cağ Kebap, which is serves on a horizontal kebab. The lamb is so flavor and so tender it’s almost unbelievable. Owner didn’t charge me.
📍 Güvenç Konyalı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/BGcKCV3GpcPmc...) - This restaurant specializes in meat dishes from Konya, Turkey, and especially long oven braised meats in their own juices! Owner didn’t charge me.
📍 Köfteci Yaşar (https://maps.app.goo.gl/6d58yWYABCoBH...) - For a fast Turkish meat meal on the go, kofte is something very common. This hidden gem is located without the Egyptian bazaar. Price - 300 TRY ($9.19) total price
📍 Siirt Şeref Buryan 1892 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/oWhnboqSPJdbP...) - One of the kings of all meats in Turkey is buryan, originating from Eastern Turkey. The lamb is slow cooked in an underground pit, and you have the choice of both roasted and confited lamb ribs. Price - Owner didn’t charge me
📍 Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası (https://maps.app.goo.gl/1fZ2dMcAhjAb3...) - Although Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası mainly serves food from Hatay, they also have some meat dishes from around the country. I was especially excited to try their testi kebab from Cappadocia and their salt baked chicken. Price - Owner didn’t charge me.
📍 Zübeyir Ocakbaşı (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y893V1x6WyhWp...) - Finally we couldn’t have a Turkish meat tour without Ocakbaşı, a barbecue grill right in front of you. Total price - 1,365 TRY ($41.82) for everything
