Istanbul’s Kadıköy District, My Food Mecca
Wednesday, 8th July 2009 | 8 Comments
When I travel to Istanbul I spend most of my time on the European side of the Bosphorus, but I always set aside some time to visit Kadıköy. For me, this Anatolian port is my food Mecca. It has everything I love in a food destination: a bustling market brimming with fresh fish, fruits, and vegetables, stellar pastry shops, simple restaurants and few tourists.
Kadıköy is easy to get to from the European side. Frequent ferries arrive from Karaköy, Eminönü, and Beşiktaş (3 TL round trip). Just hop off and head straight for (then directly past) Starbucks. Just beyond, the Kadıköy market and its pastry shops, food stalls, restaurants, and cafes await. Here are some of my favorite destinations:
-
Şekerci Cafer Erol: a sweet shop known for its sugar candies.
-
Beyaz Fırın: a bakery and sweetshop with traditional desserts and more modern ones, as well.
-
Baylan: a Greek owned pastry shop famous for its Kup Griye, ice cream topped with caramel, toasted almonds, pistachios, and creme chantilly.
-
Hacı Bekir: the city’s most famous shop for lokum (Turkish delight); this outlet has a selection of sweet and savory pastries.
-
Çiya Sofrası: three simple restaurants in the same block of Caferaga Mah. Güneslibahce Sokak serving kebabs, lahmacun, and meticulously researched obscure dishes from throughout Turkey.
-
Halil Lahmacun: excellent Turkish pizzas served piping hot from the wood burning stove.
-
Caferaga Mah. Güneslibahce Sokak: This street is the most packed with fruit and vegetable stalls and cheese vendors, not to mention 3 Çiyas and Halil are located here!
July 8th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
That is my hometurf. Here is Baylan’s site, btw: http://www.baylanpastanesi.com/eng/anasayfa.html
And here is another ode to Kadiköy:
http://cafefernando.com/baylan-cup-griye-and-snaps-from-kadikoy-food-market/
July 9th, 2009 at 10:13 am
next time in Istanbul we musto go there!
thank you
August 1st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
We have some flights booked through Sabiha Gokcen airport which will give us a few hours wait for connecting flights. Is it feasible to go to Kadikoy by bus or taxi for a few hours?
This is a trip we will be making regularly next year so advice welcomed!
August 4th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I guess you could try but i think if you only have a few hours between flights, you may risk missing your flight. Istanbul has some of the worst traffic in the world.
August 9th, 2009 at 2:06 am
[...] more grazing your way through the food bazaar. For tips on where to focus your attention, read this post. Burn off the calories strolling the streets of Moda before returning to Istanbul’s European [...]
June 18th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
[...] set out for Antebi from Kadıköy at noon, believing I was in for a leisurely one hour stroll. Of course, I absolutely never judge [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
[...] and you can purchase tokens for boarding the ferry at the dock (1.75TL). When you land in Kadiköy, delve into a food-lovers dream where vendors and ingredients from east, west, north, and south [...]
January 31st, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Thanks for the Kadıköy eating tips. Finding the best eateries is essential (for us) for happy memories of a place.
Julia