Münferit

I am long overdue in writing this but memories of a fantastic meal at Münferit are still vivid. This is a hipster meyhane in all the best ways: Leonard Cohen and emo interpretations of hip hop were the soundtrack (Biz Markie’s «Just a Friend» done up in emo is a must). Food, service, style, and design made this my favorite meal in Istanbul.
I started with the Münferit house cocktail with Turkey’s omnipresent raki as its central ingredient: a terrific, moody, and boozy drink. The fresh bread with anchovy paté was a welcome surprise that challenged and overcame my anchovy hesitant palate. I tried several small dishes and each was sublime: the white cheese with porcini en papillote, the grilled whole small mackerel with oil and tomato (fantastic taste), and the marinated sea bass carpaccio (the carpaccio was a special favorite).
I finished the meal with a sampler of unique house ice creams. One was outstanding: sage with plum sauce. One was just fine: salep (?) with cinnamon sauce. And one was interesting but not a favorite: tahini with banana sauce. All in all, an outstanding, adventurous, and stylish meal and well worth the visit just a few blocks south of the ever bustling street scene of Istiklal.

Great food, worth the price. The dishes are small but delishious, a starter is recommended if you’re hungry. Nice service and a small number of seats outside with adfitional gas heating.

This is such a gem tucked away in Beyoglu! Take the street down next to Galatasaray Lisesi and it is on the left after couple hundred feet.
Trendy place, very friendly and professional staff! Service is excellent!
There are many mezzes to choose from. Great food overall! Ask for a table outside if possible. They have a decent selection of wine. Better pair the fish dishes with Turkish Raki.

in a city with so many options, you would think that visiting the same place twice would just not happen. but after stumbling upon it our first night in town, we grabbed some drinks and chatted up the bartenders. then quickly realized we needed to return for a proper meal, which did not disappoint. Mezes were consistently good and filling, and the restaurant is one of the more styling places I have set foot in.
easy to find — just look for the sleeping cat out front :)

this was our first meal in istanbul. two separate people had recommended this restaurant to me, so i was eager to try it. we got here early by istanbul standards (around 7 pm), so we got a seat outside w/​no problems. as we left the restaurant, it was definitely getting full.
i had just arrived from dublin, so i felt i was lacking veggies, so i didn’t try any of the meat/​seafood dishes. my husband i shared a bunch of veg starters and salads, and they were all great. i particularly loved the cauliflower w/​a sauce made w/​crushed almonds, and my fave was the toasted bread w/​anchovy spread. the dishes were all kinda vinegary, but they were refreshing at the same time.

Lieu très branché mais où la cuisine n’est pas forcement meilleure que dans d’autres endroits de la ville. Le cadre est moderne et agréable. Nous avons attendu deux jours avant d’avoir une place de libre (en hiver, demander de manger à l’intérieur à l’abri du froid et des fumeurs). Le resto a une très bonne réputation et est conseillé dans plusieurs bonnes guides. Pour commencer, nous avons pris des feuilles de vignes farcies de poisson (insipides, pas très fins) et du couscous (en effet c’était du bulgur) à l’ancre de seiche et calamars qui était bien meilleur.
Puis, nous avons opté pour de l’agneau et riz pilaf qui était bon mais pas exceptionnel et un bar avec salade qui était bon (mais sans plus).
Je pense que cet endroit né mérite pas la sa réputation. Je m’attendais quelque chose de plus fin mais ce n’était pas le cas.

Had a delicious meal at Munferit. When we arrived we were really concerned that it was packed and we didn’t have a reservation. They quickly seated us in the upstairs bar at a cozy table for two overlooking the street out in front of the restaurant. It was a great perch to enjoy people watching throughout the evening. We ended up getting a couple of cold mezes and a couple of hot mezes to split between the two of us. We really enjoyed the cheese served in a parchment paper with fig. It was delicious. We also split the special seafood pasta of the day. The pasta was housemade and delicious. The noodles varied in thickness ever so slightly which lent itself well to the variety of seafood in the dish — from chunks of fish to mussels to octopus legs and more. This was one of our favorite meals in Istanbul.