Where to Eat in Sultanahmet
My love for Sultanahmet is quite hard to put into words. There is far more to that neighborhood than just history. In fact, I can go as far to say that it is one of the least properly explored parts of the city, especially by the city’s actually inhabitants that, in a very short time, start to assume that they did pretty everything that can be done in that place and are done with it. While the many museums and palaces that fill the area may not be an attraction to all of us as much as it is to some, it is actually the food Sultanahmet offers that puts me back in that place over and over again. Here is a quick list of places of the top of my mind that offers some of the greatest eats in Istanbul!
1) Baldır Sirkeci
Think of pulled pork, but better. Baldır Sirkeci is one of the very few locations in Turkey where you can get a pulled meat sandwich; but not only do they sell it, these people are actually specialized in it. The stuffing is extremely juicy and tender (which kind of happens when you cook something for 12 hours straight) but it is also definitely on the heavy side. Ask for it with mushrooms and onions, which not only enhances the flavour but quite literally transforms the dish into a whole new dimension. Also, if you enjoy drinking Turkish ayran, you can try one of its best interpretations here with the addition of cucumber, garlic, and mint, a perfect companion for your Baldır sandwich. (http://www.baldirsirkeci.com)
2) Şehzade Çağ Kebabı
Çağ Kebabı is a staple of Erzurum’s cuisine, an unassuming city in the Eastern side of Turkey. It is simply a stack of marinated lamb meat that is roasted horizontally rather than vertically like any regular döner you can see anywhere in the city. As a matter of fact, all sorts of döner used to be cooked horizontally but sometime in the 19th century a certain man was smart enough to actually turn the spit up so that the juices of the meat on the spit could drizzle all over the meat below as it made its way to drip to the basin at the end. Although some juice of Çağ Kebabı is in fact lost in the flames, it is said that the fumes those drippings make as they hit the fire is actually what makes Çağ Kebabı so special. In any case, I would suggest you to go there and taste it yourself and then decide which way of cooking the meat is the more acceptable one. (https://www.zomato.com/istanbul/şehzade-sirkeci-istanbul/info)
3) Hocapaşa Pidecisi
You should all be familiar by now with the infamous pide, it is so common that it is pretty hard not to see or hear about it. However, it is quite difficult to find a place that does some proper pide in Istanbul. There are countless spots that I can name outside of Istanbul, especially in the middle of Anatolia, yet this Turkish staple seems to be recreated mediocrely, at best, in the majority of the city. There is a saviour of pide lovers in Sultanahmet though: Hocapaşa Pidecisi since 1964. Although I would recommend every single pide of them, Sinner Pide is the way to go if you are feeling like you want some extra flavour in your pide. Basics like cheese and minced meat are also very well done and there is a surprising amount of pide with chicken, which is normally quite rare. No matter what you eat, do not forget to wash it down with some Niğde Gazozu, which is a fizzy drink from, you guessed it, Niğde! (https://www.zomato.com/istanbul/hocapaşa-pidecisi-1-sirkeci-istanbul/info)
4) Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi
It would be a shame not to eat the type of meatballs that are named after the very neighbourhood you are in once you go all the way there to enjoy the mosques or the museums or whatever you fancied that day. That is where Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi comes in. There are quite heated debates on whether the “original” Sultanahmet Köftecisi is done by this place or that other place that is literally next door; but the debate is quite pointless as both restaurants have great meatballs and chances are none of them has any seats left for you to actually sit while enjoying your “köfte”. I would suggest you to go on a weekday and wait in the queue (if there is one) and then get up to the second floor to enjoy a view of the Blue Mosque as you gobble up a plate of meatballs, or more… (https://www.zomato.com/istanbul/tarihi-sultanahmet-köftecisi-sultanahmet-istanbul/info)
5) Forno Balat
This one is cheating a little but Forno is an excellent establishment in Balat, so not really Sultanahmet, that makes one of the best pide and lahmacun that I have ever eaten in Istanbul. As a bonus, it offers an excellent buffet breakfast on sundays and a normal less fulfilling but still great breakfast on any other day. It is an extremely small joint, so I must confess that there have been many weekends when I simply could not find a spot to sit on even though I waited for quite some time. On some other days though, especially at odd hours of weekdays, the place seems almost deserted. That is when you should try your chance at tasting an unexpectedly good food from an insanely small place. They even have an English website so feel free to browse it. And please, just please do not come back before trying their very special Apricot Souffle! (http://www.fornobalat.com/en)
Although one can name many more restaurants to enjoy around this region these are the ones that come to mind first when one wants to write about what to eat in Sultanahmet. Let me know if you enjoy any one of these places and if you would be interested in similar guides for other parts of the city!
by Mustafa Serdar KARAKAYA
