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Sitting at the Heart of the Ancient Spice Route Where East Meets West, Istanbul Has Long Been a Melting Pot of People and Cultu

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Sitting at the Heart of the Ancient Spice Route Where East Meets West, Istanbul Has Long Been a Melting Pot of People and Cultu Sitting at the heart of the ancient spice route where East meets West, Istanbul has long been a melting pot of people and Rising cultures. Matt Preston discovers the city’s food scene also offers STAR an eclectic mix of old and new. CATHERINE SUTHERLAND CATHERINE PHOTOGRAPHY MATT PRESTON WORDS 126 delicious. global flavours. Clockwise from left: the view over Istanbul towards the Hagia Sophia, which was built during the Byzantine Empire as a church and transformed into a mosque under Ottoman rule; a mosaic at the Hagia Sophia; inside the Hagia Sophia; looking towards the Bosphorus Bridge. global flavours. TOP TABLES Swedish-born Mehmet Gürs is one of the young firebrands of the modern Turkish kitchen, and the recent move to a totally Anatolian-inspired menu at Mikla (Mesrutiyet Caddesi 15, Beyoglu) marks a steady move away from his Swedish and Mediterranean culinary roots. The new menus are the result of a road trip that spanned the country in search of artisan producers, from the forests of the Black Sea to the sparkling waters of the Aegean coast. Ingredients are treated with a mix of modern and traditional Anatolian techniques, such as cherry wood-smoked lamb rack with walnut pistou. Some of the tables and the less formal bar seating have views over Galata Tower to the Golden Horn, so arrive at dusk for a drink to see the grand mosques and Topkapi Palace light up. Muzedechanga (Sakip Sabanci Caddesi 42, Emirgan) is a 30-minute cab drive along the banks of the Bosphorus. This modern restaurant is attached to an equally modern art museum surrounded by gardens and with glimpses over the water. Set up by pioneering Istanbul foodies Savas Ertunc and Tarik Bayazit, it won Wallpaper’s best new restaurant in 2007 and the interior still looks as sleek. Great cocktails give way to a menu of classic ideas, including the lightest vine leaves I’ve ever had, and octopus with black olive paste and caperberries. Dessert might be a memorable bitter chocolate cake with candied bergamot. For a taste of the past, head into the suburbs that lie on the western side of the Golden Horn. In Edirnekapi you’ll find Asitane (Kariye Cami Sokak 6), a restaurant dedicated to recreating dishes from Istanbul’s Waking to the sound of ferry horns ancient palaces. With its white cloths echoing along the Bosphorus and the “ Istanbul is home and soft lighting, a meal here is far more song of the city’s muezzins calling the than a dusty history lesson. faithful to prayer at the city’s 3000 or so to some of the Take a ferry over the Bosphorus active mosques, you know you can only to the Anatolian side for Istanbul’s be in Istanbul – a city that straddles most exciting food hottest restaurant right now. Musa both the ancient and the modern worlds Dagdeviren owns Ciya Sofrasi as well as the continents of Europe and in the world and (Guneslibahce Sokak 43, Kadikoy) Asia. An enchanting city that is part of and devotes his life to uncovering both continents but also of neither. hip young chefs.” endangered regional Turkish recipes, That’s part of the attraction of preserving them on his menu. He has WIstanbul, yet it’s also home to some of been formative in changing attitudes the most exciting food in the world, from the tastiest street to regional food, encouraging a new generation of cooks to food to hip young chefs rediscovering traditional regional understand old skills. Find here exciting meze, lamb stews of flavours. Istanbul has many culinary claims to fame, as you fresh apricots and chestnuts or tomatoes and soft eggplants, might expect from an imperial city where the rulers’ kitchens followed by sweet pistachio pastry with clotted cream. Serious employed thousands of cooks and the spice trails from the sweet tooths should visit nearby Sekerci Cafer Erol (Yasa East passed through. Caddesi 21, Kadikoy), which specialises in traditional sweets, Istanbul is a city of sour cherries, honey and pomegranate from lokum (Turkish delight) to baklava. molasses. It’s a city of spices and a dizzying array of olives and red peppers, which hail from across the country and are turned into a variety of pastes or flakes. And it’s also the city of creamy Matt tucks into lunch at seafood restaurant Kucuk Ev. Opposite (clockwise from top left): Muzedechanga’s sardine-like delicacy hamsi (local anchovies), plump roast award-winning interior; Topkapi Palace at night; alfresco quinces and snowy plumes of buffalo milk clotted cream. dining at Ciya Sofrasi; Asitane serves traditional dishes; Istanbul is 1001 nights of culinary delights. sweets from Sekerci Cafer Erol; Jale Balci from Antiochia. 128 delicious. Jale Balci’s hip little restaurant celebrates the food of her part of southern Turkey and the plates here vibrate with flavour. Bowls of fat bitter green olives and chopped parsley are tangy with her family’s own pomegranate molasses, while a rich puree of walnuts (muammara) is sweet with slow-roasted red pepper paste. It is, however, incredible skewers of butter- tender beef that steal the show. For dessert, my pick is the kunefe – a sort of sweet buttery pancake of threads of kataifi- like pastry around an oozy soft, sweet cheese. Afterwards, EVERYDAY EATS get Jale to read your fortune in the substantial grounds of The European side of Istanbul is divided by a narrow finger your Turkish coffee – she’s spookily intuitive. of water called the Golden Horn. On one side you’ll find If there were a Turkish sisterhood of chefs, then young Sultanahmet, the old religious and royal centre of the city. Didem Senol would be the other high priestess. Her restaurant It can be hard to find good places to eat among the restaurant Lokanta Maya (Kemankes Caddesi 35A) down in Karakoy, spruikers, but there are some hidden gems to seek out. has a relaxed confident feel that matches her fresh and light Near the Blue Mosque is Rumeli take on Turkish flavours. Warm up (Peykhane Caddesi 41/5, Sultanahmet), with dishes such as crispy fritters a simple little bakery serving flaky of zucchini with a dill yoghurt, golden fingers of (non-oily) borek filled Where to stay or a cauliflower soup with cubes Witt Istanbul is a great modern with sweetish meat, cheese or spinach, boutique hotel. Splash out a bit to of caramelised Turkish Deveci pear. and cinnamon-spiced apple turnovers get one of the upper-storey rooms Then work your way up to a fennel and in flaky shortcrust. And be sure you try with a view. From $200 per double. sea bass stew or roast eggplant puree their benchmark home-style baklava. Visit: wittistanbul.com. with leg of lamb. There’s a breeziness One stop on the underground Four Seasons Istanbul at the to Didem’s cooking that’s exciting in funicular from the Blue Mosque is Bosphorus is a luxurious oasis a city often very conservative and Kumkapi, where you’ll find Doyuran located in a 19th-century Ottoman protective about its cuisine. (Ordekli Bakkal Sokak 10), a cafe palace. From $470 per double. Set among the international designer continuing the Istanbul tradition of Visit: fourseasons.com/bosphorus. boutiques of Nisantasi is Kantin feels like lokantsi – tradesmen’s restaurants. The Istanbul Edition (Akkavak Sokagi 30). Chef Semsa the coolest New York hotel with Point and smile and you’ll end up with Denizsel is a champion of slow food, so its sleek design. From $280 per simple, cheap, but delicious food, such double. Visit: editionhotels.com. traditional ideas and great produce are as chicken baked with capsicum, or Eternity is a cute and friendly at the fore. The thin-crust pizzas (chitir) stock-cooked Turkish zucchini stuffed boutique hotel that’s also a bit are things of beauty whether topped with meat and rice. of a bargain. From $125 per double. with cheese, pear, walnuts and rocket Further west towards the airport, Visit: hoteleternity.com. or gravlax. On warm days, sit at the among the narrow lanes of former marble-topped tables spread on the fishing village Samatya, is the rather leafy terrace and drink their perfumed wonderful Kucuk Ev (Kuleli Caddesi 46). From a fridge full homemade ginger beer or sherbetty lemonade. of great local fish appear skewers of plumphamsi, which are For something a little earthier for lunch, try Hayvore grilled with a few red pepper flakes. Best is battered calamari (Turnacibasi Sokak 4, Beyoglu), which specialises in Black served with a wonderful garlic, bread and yoghurt sauce. Sea dishes. The must-have here is a cute little ‘baked loaf’ (I loved this place, but the food wasn’t as cheap as the decor of currants, baby borlotti beans and dark, pinenut-studded when the bill came.) rice topped with hamsi fillets. Mouthful by mouthful, it is Across the Golden Horn in Karakoy and Beyoglu is where sweet, salty and rich, but never fishy. most of the real restaurant action is. Most tourists head to For a bohemian vibe, head to Furreyya (Serdar-i-Ekrem Sofyali 9 (Asmalimescit Caddesi Sofyali Sokak 9, Beyoglu), Sokak 2, Beyoglu) for their take on a fish sandwich – a gooey a cosy, noisy bistro with a menu of solid local favourites. The wrap spilling with grilled fish and caramelised onions. meat-filled borek and the puff of gougere-like cheese borek are worthy orders alongside grilled meats. The local wine list is reasonable, but try one of the dozen or so rakis (Turkey’s Opposite (clockwise from top left): rooftop drinking at Lebiderya; the Four Seasons hotel is set in an old palace on the Bosphorous; national drink that’s an aniseed-flavoured spirit) on offer.
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