Fried Mussels with Tarator

Visit any of Istanbul’s fish markets and follow the thick scent of oil to find stalls frying skewers of mussels and pushing them into soft rolls with a thick drizzle of garlicky tarator sauce.

Simit

Simit are Turkey’s answer to the bagel. A sesame encrusted bread ring peddled everywhere by street vendors who sell it from carts or baskets perched high on their heads, a simit is the perfect hunger killer eaten either alone or dunked into a glass of ayran, Turkey’s national drink of salted yoghurt.

Balik Ekmek

It is impossible to cross the Galata Bridge without noticing the teems of boats selling barbecued mackerel sandwiches. While the fish are more likely to be pulled from Norwegian freezer boxes than caught locally in the Bosporus, they still make for the quintessential Istanbul lunch while strolling along the waterfront.

Dondurma

A thick, chewy ice cream made with sahlep (ground orchid root) and mastic gum (a kind of pine resin), a good Turkish dondurma can be eaten with a knife and fork. Worked it by hand with a long paddle, dondurma sellers show off the quality of their ice cream by suspending it from a stick to show that it has been made with lots of sahlep and gum which give it a stronger flavour and keep it from melting in the intense Turkish summer heat.

Modern Istanbul / Hardcore Turkish

Soup shops, milk bars and sweet shops 

Coffee house's and Tea gardens

Food Markets

Istanbul street food

More Istanbul street food..