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Food tours in Istanbul: what to eat and which tour to book
Istanbul's food mixes Ottoman palace cooking with dishes brought by migrants from every corner of Anatolia. A single day can take in simit and tea on a ferry, a fish sandwich by the Golden Horn, a lokanta lunch of stews from steam trays, a kebab house run by a family from Gaziantep and a meyhane dinner of mezes and rakı. The city is split by the Bosphorus: the old European quarters around Eminönü and the bazaars hold the historic food trades, while Kadıköy on the Asian side has the busiest, most local food market streets.
Use this page to know what to eat, where, and when markets open. Turkish lira prices rise quickly with inflation, so treat the lira figures as rough and use the euro equivalents as a guide. The tours listed are real GetYourGuide and Viator listings with approximate prices as seen when we checked; confirm on the booking page.
What to eat in Istanbul
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sesame bread ring simit | Ring of bread dipped in grape molasses and coated in sesame, eaten with tea or cheese for breakfast. | Red street carts everywhere, bakeries, and ferry piers. | roughly 20–35 TL (≈€0.40–0.70) |
| Fish sandwich balık ekmek | Grilled mackerel fillet in bread with onion and lettuce; pair it with a cup of pickle juice (turşu suyu). | Eminönü waterfront by the Galata Bridge, and fish stalls in Kadıköy market. | roughly 200–350 TL (≈€4–7) |
| Stuffed mussels midye dolma | Mussels stuffed with spiced rice, eaten by the piece with a squeeze of lemon, mostly at night. | Street vendors in Kadıköy, Beşiktaş and around Taksim. | roughly 15–30 TL (≈€0.30–0.60) per mussel |
| Grilled lamb intestines kokoreç | Lamb intestines wrapped around offal, grilled on a spit, chopped with spices and served in bread. | Kokoreç shops in Kadıköy, Beşiktaş and late-night spots in Beyoğlu. | roughly 200–400 TL (≈€4–8) for a half or quarter loaf |
| Turkish flatbread with minced meat lahmacun | Very thin dough spread with minced lamb, tomato and pepper, baked in a wood oven, rolled with parsley and lemon. | Kebab and pide houses; Fatih and Kadıköy have many south-eastern-style places. | roughly 120–250 TL (≈€2.50–5) each |
| Wet burger ıslak burger | Small soft burger soaked in garlicky tomato sauce and steamed; a late-night snack. | Taksim Square area and Kadıköy. | roughly 60–120 TL (≈€1.20–2.40) |
| Home-style stews lokanta yemekleri (e.g. kuru fasulye, karnıyarık) | Ready-cooked dishes from steam trays: white bean stew, aubergine stuffed with meat, rice pilaf, vegetable dishes in olive oil. | Esnaf lokantası (tradesmen's restaurants) in Eminönü, Karaköy, Fatih and Kadıköy; lunch only in many. | roughly 150–350 TL (≈€3–7) per dish |
| Baklava and künefe baklava / künefe | Layered filo with pistachio or walnut in syrup; künefe is shredded pastry with melted cheese, baked and soaked in syrup. | Long-running baklava shops in Karaköy and Kadıköy, künefe at south-eastern restaurants. | roughly 250–600 TL (≈€5–12) for a portion |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Kadıköy Market (Asian side)
Pedestrian streets around Güneşlibahçe Sokak packed with fishmongers, pickle shops, delis, coffee roasters, meze shops and kokoreç and midye stands.
Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) and Eminönü
Seventeenth-century covered bazaar of spices, dried fruit, nuts and lokum; the streets around it (Tahtakale) are a working wholesale food district with coffee roasters and fish-sandwich boats on the waterfront.
Karaköy
Waterfront district across the Galata Bridge with famous baklava shops, börek bakeries, lokantas and fish restaurants.
Fatih (Kadınlar Pazarı)
The 'Women's Market' area is known for south-eastern Turkish food: dried meats, honeycomb, cheeses and büryan (pit-roasted lamb).
Beşiktaş Çarşı
Market streets with breakfast cafés (kahvaltı), fishmongers and kokoreç; popular with students and locals.
Moda (Kadıköy)
Residential district near Kadıköy market with ice-cream shops, cafés and meyhanes; good for an evening after the market.
Food tours in Istanbul compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul Street Food Tour: Bosphorus ferry, Kadıköy and Moda | about 3 hours | about $89 (≈€75–80) per adult | max 10 | First-timers who want the Asian side and a ferry ride; evening departures. | Check dates |
| Istanbul: Kadikoy Food Tour with 12+ Delicacies Tastings | about 3 hours | roughly $100–115 (≈€85–100) per adult | — | Daytime visitors; people who want breakfast and lunch dishes rather than night snacks. | Check dates |
| Culinary Backstreets of the Bazaar Quarter | about 5–6 hours | about $135–145 (≈€115–125) per adult | small group (exact size not seen) | Serious food travellers with a full morning or afternoon to spare; history lovers. | Check dates |
| Istanbul: Turkish Cooking Class with a Professional Chef | about 3 hours | roughly $95–110 (≈€80–95) per adult | — | Couples, vegetarians (menus adaptable), and anyone who wants to cook mezes at home. | Check dates |
Istanbul Street Food Tour: Bosphorus ferry, Kadıköy and Moda
On Viator · run by Yummy Istanbul
- Length
- about 3 hours
- Price
- about $89 (≈€75–80) per adult
- Group size
- max 10
- Included
- All food and drink on the route, bottled water, English-speaking guide, ferry from Europe to Asia and back.
- Suits
- First-timers who want the Asian side and a ferry ride; evening departures.
- Starts
- European side ferry area (check listing); evening start
Istanbul: Kadikoy Food Tour with 12+ Delicacies Tastings
On GetYourGuide
- Length
- about 3 hours
- Price
- roughly $100–115 (≈€85–100) per adultapprox.
- Included
- Guided walk of Kadıköy's market streets with tastings such as lahmacun, menemen, cheeses and baklava, with Turkish coffee, tea and wine.
- Suits
- Daytime visitors; people who want breakfast and lunch dishes rather than night snacks.
- Starts
- Kadıköy (check listing)
Culinary Backstreets of the Bazaar Quarter
On Viator · run by Culinary Backstreets
- Length
- about 5–6 hours
- Price
- about $135–145 (≈€115–125) per adult
- Group size
- small group (exact size not seen)
- Included
- Around a dozen tastings in the old bazaar district, such as regional soups and Ottoman-era desserts; all food on the walk.
- Suits
- Serious food travellers with a full morning or afternoon to spare; history lovers.
- Starts
- Old City / bazaar area (check listing)
Istanbul: Turkish Cooking Class with a Professional Chef
On GetYourGuide
- Length
- about 3 hours
- Price
- roughly $95–110 (≈€80–95) per adultapprox.
- Included
- Hands-on multi-course Turkish menu (soup, mezes, a main such as mantı, a dessert) and the meal; menus can be adapted.
- Suits
- Couples, vegetarians (menus adaptable), and anyone who wants to cook mezes at home.
- Starts
- Near Galata Tower
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Street food is everywhere and cheap: simit, roasted chestnuts and corn, balık ekmek, midye dolma at night, kokoreç and ıslak burger for late hours. Kadıköy and Eminönü have the densest concentrations. Choose busy vendors, especially for mussels and offal.
Sit-down meals
For lunch, an esnaf lokantası serves home-style stews from steam trays at low prices, and many close by late afternoon. Kebab houses specialise by region (Adana, Urfa, Gaziantep). Dinner at a meyhane is a long meal of cold and hot mezes, fish and rakı; book at weekends in Beyoğlu, Kumkapı or Kadıköy.
Cooking classes
Classes teach mezes, mantı dumplings, stuffed vegetables, börek or baklava, usually in 3–4 hours. Menus adapt well to vegetarians because many Turkish dishes are olive-oil vegetable dishes (zeytinyağlı). Some include a market or spice-bazaar visit.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | about 1,000–1,600 TL (≈€20–32): simit breakfast, lokanta lunch, street food dinner |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | about 2,500–4,000 TL (≈€50–80): kebab or lokanta lunch plus a meyhane dinner with drinks |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | about 6,000 TL+ (≈€120+): fine dining or a long meyhane meal with rakı |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Fairly easy. Zeytinyağlı dishes (vegetables cooked in olive oil), lentil soup (mercimek çorbası), çiğ köfte (now made without meat), gözleme with cheese or spinach and many mezes are meat-free. Watch for meat stock in soups and rice; ask 'etsiz mi?' (is it without meat?). Vegan options are thinner because of yoghurt and butter.
Halal: Nearly all meat sold in Istanbul is halal, and pork is rare and clearly marked where sold. Alcohol is widely available in Beyoğlu and Kadıköy; restaurants near mosques and in Fatih often do not serve it.
Gluten-free: Hard on the street because bread is part of almost everything (simit, pide, lahmacun, balık ekmek, döner). Grilled meats and fish, rice pilaf (check for orzo, şehriyeli pilav), salads and many mezes are safer. Awareness of coeliac disease is limited; carry a Turkish-language card.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Fish restaurants that price by weight in Kumkapı or around Sultanahmet, where the bill comes out far above what you expected, sometimes with mezes you did not order brought to the table. Ask the price per kilo and total before ordering, send back unordered mezes, and check the bill.
- 'Friendly stranger' approaches in Taksim and Sultanahmet that end in a bar with a huge bill and pressure to pay. Do not go to a bar suggested by someone who just approached you; choose places yourself.
- Overpriced and poor-quality lokum and spices sold in pretty packs at the Spice Bazaar, sometimes with saffron that is actually safflower. Buy from established shops that let you taste, ask the price per kilo, and avoid 'saffron' sold very cheaply.
- Shoe-shine 'dropped brush' trick and street vendors charging tourists more for simit or corn. Walk on if a brush is dropped in front of you; ask prices before buying street snacks.
Top tours & activities in Istanbul
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
How much should I tip in Istanbul?
In restaurants about 5–10% is normal, left in cash on the table, since card terminals often cannot add a tip. Check whether a service charge (servis ücreti) is already on the bill. Round up for taxis and leave small change at cafés. Food-tour guides appreciate roughly 5–10% of the tour price if you enjoyed the tour.
Is Istanbul street food safe?
Generally yes. Choose stands with many local customers, especially for midye dolma and kokoreç, which should be freshly prepared and kept cool or hot. Avoid mussels from stands with few customers in hot weather. Tap water is treated but most locals drink bottled water, and visitors should do the same.
Which food tour is best for first-timers?
A Kadıköy tour that includes the ferry across the Bosphorus is the most popular first choice: it shows the busiest market streets and includes a scenic crossing. If you have more time and like history, a long Old City bazaar-quarter walk goes deeper into regional food. For an evening, choose a tour that ends with mezes or a meyhane.
When are the markets and bazaars open?
The Spice Bazaar is open daily, roughly 9:00–19:00, including Sundays, though some stalls close and mornings are quieter. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. Kadıköy's market streets are busy daily from morning until evening, with Saturdays the liveliest. Many lokantas serve only until mid-afternoon.
Does Ramadan affect eating out?
During Ramadan most restaurants and cafés stay open in Istanbul and visitors can eat normally, though some traditional lokantas close during the day or serve fewer dishes. At sunset (iftar), restaurants fill quickly with fixed iftar menus and bakeries sell special Ramadan pide. Book or arrive early for dinner in that period.
How far ahead should I book a food tour?
In spring, early summer and autumn, book the popular small-group tours a few days to a week ahead, especially for weekends and evening slots. In winter you can often book a day or two before. Most listings on GetYourGuide and Viator allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.