Istanbul's table: where Europe and Asia meet on a plate
Straddling two continents, Istanbul serves a cuisine shaped by empires, from street simit to grand Ottoman feasts.
Few cities can claim a culinary heritage as rich as Istanbul, the great metropolis straddling Europe and Asia whose food has been shaped by the Byzantine and Ottoman empires and by the countless cultures that have met at this crossroads of continents for millennia.
The city eats well at every level. On the streets, vendors sell simit, the sesame-crusted bread rings, and roast chestnuts, while ferry passengers snack on fish sandwiches grilled fresh by the Galata Bridge. In the meyhanes, traditional taverns, long evenings unfold over small plates of meze and glasses of anise-flavoured raki.
The flavours draw on a vast pantry: grilled meats and kebabs in endless regional variations, stuffed vegetables, yogurt-based dishes, flaky börek pastries, and an array of sweets, from honey-soaked baklava to the milk puddings of old Ottoman cuisine. The spice bazaar and food markets overflow with dried fruits, nuts, cheeses and spices.
And then there is tea and coffee, central to Turkish hospitality — tulip-shaped glasses of strong black tea offered everywhere, and thick, unfiltered Turkish coffee, a tradition recognised by UNESCO, served with a glass of water and a piece of Turkish delight.
To eat in Istanbul is to taste the layered history of a city that has been the capital of empires, a cuisine of extraordinary depth and variety. From a simple street snack eaten by the Bosphorus to a lavish spread of meze, the city's table is one of travel's great pleasures.