At 10:00 on a Saturday morning, I am sitting at a cafe table on a cobblestone street in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district and sipping a glass of wine. tea (Turkish tea) and waiting for breakfast. At the entrance of the cafe, a plump, grey-haired man in a crisp white apron sharpens his knife before slicing into what is considered Turkey’s largest doner kebab. Weighing 100 kg, the kebab is a meaty monster that is cooked slowly from the outside in. Our guide Sinan says that the Karadeniz (Black Sea) doner shops in this region have always been the best, and that they will all be gone by the afternoon.
Istanbul is a city that works with its stomach. It may be full of history, but the best way to understand this multi-layered meeting point of east and west, Ottoman and Byzantine is undoubtedly through its food. I was lucky enough to spend a few days with Cenk Debensason, who was recently awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant Arkestra. The chance to discover the city through his eyes and taste promises a different version of Istanbul.
After breakfast, instead of following the frequent tourist route to the historic Sultanahmet district, we head north to Bebek, a leafy suburb whose streets are lined with boutiques and small cafes. I feel like the Turkish equivalent of Hampstead. Like London, Istanbul shares the feeling of being a collection of villages stitched together over centuries, and moving away from the center offers the chance to experience it like a local rather than a visitor. We dive into Midnight, where artfully arranged racks and shelves are filled with jewellery, ceramics and clothing from the city’s hottest designers, and we head to Petra Roasting Company, where couches are shared with snoozing cats and wildly rich Ethiopian coffee fuels us. above.
From Bebek, we head further north to Tarabya, a seaside neighborhood that has attracted tourists since it started life as a health resort in the 18th century. Driving along the strait reminds me of the winding roads on either side of Lake Como: restaurants and hotels on one side, water on the other; On the other hand, ostentatious mansions built for the prosperity of the city decades, even centuries ago. rich elite.
For lunch, we came to Kıyı, an Istanbul establishment that has been offering the same fish-rich menu since the 1960s. The food is exquisite: plump mussels stuffed with mint, crisp calamari, rose-coloured octopus and thick tarasalata with roe. The gigantic turbot that turned out to be our shared main course, soft as butter and sliding off the bone like silk, would ruin me forever for any other fish.
After lunch, we return to Beyoğlu and explore the cobblestone streets of the Çukurcuma district; The elegant, European-style mansions here house antique shops selling everything from antique statues to art deco lamps to retro 1960s furniture that may have come straight from the set. Austin Powers. The most famous of these is A La Turca, owned by the enthusiastic Erkal Aksoy; After showing us around his extraordinary store, he settles us into slouchy leather armchairs with tea, biscuits and glasses of homemade cherry brandy.
The next day, we set out by ferry to Kadıköy, one of the most delicious districts of the city on the Anatolian Side. A man next to me takes a loaf of bread from his pocket, tears off pieces of it and throws it at a flock of seagulls flying next to the boat. Surprisingly, instead of jumping down to swallow crumbs in the water, they dive and dash to catch bread in the air; It’s an impressive aerial display that shows that seagulls are as obsessed with food as anyone in this city.
We wander into pickle shops with glass jars stacked from floor to ceiling, and small hole-in-the-wall stalls with large golden olive oil samovars and mounds of soft spices.
In Kadıköy, we wander into pickle shops with glass jars stacked from floor to ceiling, small perforated stalls filled with large golden olive oil samovars and clusters of soft spices (paprika, golden saffron, the fragile woody flowers of star anise). . The weather is warm enough to sit outside for lunch at Çiya Sofraları, which specializes in traditional Anatolian dishes. The table is bursting with crispy eggplant and yoghurt sauces Lahmacun (spicy meat flatbread) and meat kebabs.
Our journey back by ferry is a blissful blast of sunshine before walking through the city’s Dickensian meatpacking district to one of the city’s newest treasures, the Zeyrek Tiled Bath, a stunningly beautiful Turkish bath dating back to the 16th century. The bathhouse, which opened its doors this spring after a 13-year restoration project, offers pristine and freckled bathing areas with stars carved into the domed ceiling, and there is a fascinating museum showing the cultural significance and history of both Ottoman and modern baths. day Turkish life.
On our last night, we pass through the city’s labyrinthine roads and take a taxi to Debensason’s restaurant, Arkestra, in the quiet Etiler neighborhood of Beşiktaş. Stepping through the door feels like walking into the coolest house party. Cocktails flow in the upstairs Listening Room bar, while the main dining room has the feel of a bustling, upscale bistro. The food is modern and creative; It’s a confident blend of classic French technique and vibrant Asian flavors. Tuna sashimi, sushi rice ice cream and ginger ponzu vinaigrette come with sweet and sour panko braised beef tonkatsu SOS. Everything looks good, tastes delicious, and leaves you wanting a little more; A perfect metaphor for Istanbul itself.
Soho House Istanbul has double rooms. £256 room only (sohohouse.com)