Hayvore

Food here is gorgeous. Freshly prepared and hearty, this home style Black Sea food is some of my favorite Turkish cuisine. The vegetable dishes are perfect. Just off Istiklal it’s a great place to stop when you get hungry from walking and shopping. Avoid the fish place next door where the creepy guys who work there constantly hit on the tourist girls. I will definitely be coming again and taking friends and family when they visit me here in Istanbul

Lukewarm, pretty flavourless food.
If you must go, the cabbage soup is hearty and could be appreciated after days of eating Kabab.

In my experience, mixed plates in Istanbul are to be avoided; this is no exception. All of the food is sitting out, lukewarm and hardly special in flavour. It is expensive for what you get and I would recommend sticking to places that specialise in an area of cooking, or at least cook fresh food for you.

Really wonderful place. Small, very local feel. The waiter Ramazan was super friendly and don’t great English. We didn’t know what to order and so we got a little of everything which wasn’t a problem at all. Sea Bass and veggie soup to start was incredible. Wanted another 2 – 3 bowls. For the main course the mousaka, one of the green bean dishes (there were 3), the fish, the beef, and the chickpeas all really stood out but honestly, I just recommend getting a little of everything. I’m sure I’m forgetting something.
For dessert we had baklava, this walnut cake thing and rice pudding. The rice pudding and the cake were out of this world. Baklava of course was good but not better then what you get anywhere else in Istanbul.
The authentic feel really hit home when this old Turkish man shuffled in. He went behind the counter and came out with a bowl of something clearly off menu and sat down in the corner by himself to eat. Our waiter told us that he was the owner. After finishing his meal he shuffled right back out again.
Definitely going back again before we leave.

If you want a break from the traditional kebabs and meat, this place is tucked away off of Istiklal St. and seems to serve a lot of local people. They make everything in big batches and have it up at the front behind glass, so you can just point to whatever you want without having to try to bridge the language barrier. You can also see what everything looks like prior to ordering, which is always helpful.
The dishes that were highlights to me were the following:
— Chicken and Kale soup: Had really good flavor and they were not skimpy on the vegetables.
— Beans: Really delicious and well cooked. Not mushy, and they were very flavorful.
— Dolma: Plumper and thicker than most; the rice inside was also flavored and it was one of the best dolmas I’ve had.
We also ordered the grilled fish, which I found to be just okay. The taste was a bit too fishy for me, and you had to pick around all the little bones. It was good, but not something I’d come back and reorder again.
They also gave us some bread and complimentary salad which was nice.
Pretty inexpensive and a nice taste of food from the Black Sea. The food was also on the lighter side, which was good since all I’ve been doing is eating since I got to Turkey, so it was nice to have something a bit healthier for a change. For 5 people, we paid around 100 Turkish lira for our meal. I’d recommend coming here if you want a change of pace from what you normally get at all the other Turkish restaurants and want to try new dishes at a good price.

Tucked in an alley off the busy Istiklal St, it’s a nice clean spot for some good seafood.
It’s pick your own buffet style. You order at the counter.
Their fish soup was very good. And the stuffed cabbage leaves — dolmas were delicious.
The place gets pretty packed so go early or later to avoid the crowds.

A small, informal restaurant with great food. I would guess if I had a Turkish grandmother, this would be like eating at her house. There is a hot food selection as you walk in, the staff speaks some English (no English menus) and is very helpful: point and order. The food is wonderfully done, hot and very tasty. There’s also a Pita (pide) window at the rear, kind of like Turkish pizza, a lot of varieties.
Priced reasonably and honestly. A big plus after several major ripoffs at other restaurants.

This place was good but overrated. Tripadvisor, wsj, etc all praise this place but I didn’t think it was so great. It’s very casual: you walk up and pick out several foods then sit down and a waiter brings you to them.
I had a whole fish which was decent but not nearly as tasty as the freshly grilled fish you can get right on the water. The grape leaves were probably my favorite thing. They were extremely flavorful. Everything else was good but I didn’t love it. The prices are pretty reasonable here as well.
I’d probably come back and give it another try.

Select your desired dish from the front and they serve it to you. The waiters speak a bit of English and are happy to let you know what the dishes are. The dishes were ok. Our favourite was the anchovies pancake.

One of my favorite meals in Istanbul is this SUPER local lunch spot located in a side street off Ishkatal. I was actually recommended this spot from my guy’s aunt who was just visiting Istanbul on an artist retreat and one of her Turkish friend swears by it.
Hayvore is a very typical type restaurant in Istanbul — deli style. You get seated, you then go up to a deli case and pick what you want — they serve it out and you eat. It’s all fairly cheap and you get so much food. And I’m not talking about cold pasta — I-​live-​in-​NYC deli style food. In this case, the food was magnificent filled with fresh vegetables, tender beef stew, Turkish pastries, etc.
What I loved? The waiter rolling his eyes when I looked at him with a deer in headlights when I had no clue what to do. He was heated he had to tell me what was up in English. Good sign.
I ended up with a plate of chickpeas, smoky eggplant, perfectly seasoned kofte (Turkish meatballs), mac & cheese, curried chicken and pickles and every bite was perfection. So simple, but so elegant. Definitely a different level of food — a bit more gourmand and modern than the touristy traditional Turkish spots I’ve been eating. And I thought about returning the next day as I was so impressed. I wish I had.
The meal came out for 2 heaping plates of food to about $ 20 US. Definitely worth a stop. The place is small, so I’d suggest coming a little after the lunch crowd if you know no Turkish as not to hold up the line with any questions.