Erenler Nargile ve Çay Bahçesi

Classic hookah/​nargile café from the Middle East. Not very touristy. Good prices. The hookah is very good, clean and the flavor are correct and mint free. Then waiters roam around with tea trays and you just pick from them what you want to drink.

Excelente lugar para fumar en Estambul. La entrada parece a una mezquita y pasa totalmente desapercibida… pero caminamos 4 pasos por el pasillo y nos encontramos con un mundo entero dentro.
Es un lugar donde van mayormente locales y a los extranjeros les cobran mas (20 liras) pero es un re buen precio.
Humo, mozos pasando cada minuto con te y café, charlas y rico tabaco hacen de este lugar un must en la ciudad.
Aunque pidas un nargile solo te traen varias boquillas, no es necesario pedir uno por persona y cada rato pasan los mozos cambiando el carbón, así que podes quedarte todo el tiempo que quieras.
Esta decorado muy hermoso con alfombras en las paredes y lámparas típicas lo que le da un toque local e íntimo a la vez.
Cuando hay partidos futbol importantes se llena de gente.

This place is so good and one of my favorite places in all of Istanbul for sure. We were taken here by some American ex pats (now friends) living in Istanbul we met at a Hamam. This place is definitely a local place and is in an Arabic women’s school from the 1600s which makes it even cooler. It’s like being in an old man’s world (I know — ironic. women are accepted too, don’t worry) basically. Most of the people who go here seem to be younger, possibly students from nearby Istanbul University, but some older folk as well.
I absolutely love the coal and tea guys going around saying stuff like «elma cayi! ada cayi!» and running around with burning hot pots of coals that could probably disfigure you if an accident occurred. The great thing is that a year after my first visit, some of the workers remembered who I was. I mean come on — that’s amazing.
For someone without a local guide, this place may be hard to find as it basically looks like the entrance to a Mosque. After a walk down a long hallway, you end up in what I like to call the Opium Den, or you know… Erenler. You may be able to spot the coal ovens from the street though.
Also, a word of wisdom to the westerners. The toilets in here are squat toilets without toilet paper and cost a small fee. If you are not used to that, then at least carry some kleenex with you (which can be purchased on the street for cheap by those poor old boys).
Really though, this place is great. If you want a local place without all the bullshit of Nargile places in Tophane, then go here. It’s cheap as hell too and you can get a good cup of sage tea (ada cay).