Karaköy Lokantası

One of Istanbul's iconic restaurants and a popular lunch spot, Karaköy Lokantası is perhaps best known for its heavenly hünkar beğendi, a remnant of Ottoman palace cuisine made with slow-cooked beef on a creamy bed of mashed eggplant. At dinnertime, Karaköy Lokantası becomes one of the meyhanes in town with its outstanding meze. The fava bean purée is an excellent starter while the grilled octopus is our favourite main dish on the menu.

Karaköy Lokantası has been packed every weekend since it opened in 2000. Their secret is simply to serve traditional Turkish fare with a more modern twist, using excellent ingredients. With two separate menus for lunch and dinner, the restaurant features a home cooked classics lunch menu and a more tavern-like dinner menu featuring various meze and grilled fish.

This place started with the concept of a traditional esnaf lokantasi and added laid-back service and funky design and paying greater attention to the food. The result is a power lunch spot buzzing with bankers out for a bite. Hünkar beğendi, a leftover from the Ottoman imperial kitchen, is the star of the menu.

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Ensconced in the heart of Istanbul’s energetic Karaköy district, Karaköy Lokantası is a vibrant epicurean destination that effortlessly combines traditional Turkish cuisine with an ambiance that’s both charming and stylish. With its selection of 80 mezze, traditional dishes, and sharing platters, the restaurant offers a delightful dilemma to diners. At Karaköy Lokantası, the menu is a compelling homage to traditional Turkish fare, but what truly stands out is the spectacular variety of mezze – over 80 different types, to be precise.

Known for its fresh Turkish cuisine, Karaköy Lokantası is a versatile dining spot that transitions from a lokanta, serving ready-made food during the day, to a meyhane, a tavern-like atmosphere in the evenings. The restaurant is highly recommended for both lunch and dinner due to its cool atmosphere and fantastic food, including delicacies like delicious liver, aubergine with bechamel, and fresh cold starters from the counter. Its terrace is another highlight, providing a perfect setting to enjoy the extremely fresh cooked food.

Best known as one of the best lunch destinations in the Karakoy area and even the whole of Istanbul, this esteemed restaurant has stood the test of time, continuously offering a superb classic menu and the utmost attention to detail. Conveniently located near the Galata Bridge, Karakoy Lokantasi is one of the iconic Istanbul restaurants, with faithful patrons that visit each day at lunch to taste the heavenly dishes. These include recipes from the Ottoman Imperial Kitchen like the slow-cooked beef on a bed of mashed eggplant.

While it might not seem that way from the beautiful and modern decor, a lokantasi is a canteen style restaurant to serve tradesmen and workers in the city, a side of Istanbul's food culture that most tourists don't get to see. Karaköy Lokantası might be a little higher priced than most of the similar local joints in the city, but it makes up for it with quality ingredients. It's perfect for anyone who wants a taste of Istanbul's local working class food often much more authentic than most restaurants in tourist heavy areas.

Karaköy lokantası, famous for its fresh Turkish cuisine, is a versatile dining venue that transitions from a lokanta, serving prepared food during the day, to a meyhane, serving food in a tavern-like atmosphere in the evenings. The restaurant is highly praised for its excellent food, offering a refreshing atmosphere and delicious dishes such as liver and eggplant with bechamel, as well as a variety of fresh starters from the counter. The terrace is an ideal place to enjoy delicious meals.

This stylish fish restaurant is located in the trendy neighborhood of Karakoy and offers a modern twist on traditional Turkish seafood dishes. The restaurant has a chic and elegant atmosphere with a menu that changes regularly depending on the seasonal availability of fresh fish. Some of the must-try dishes include the grilled sea bass and fried calamari.

Located in the shores of Karakoy neighborhood, the famous Karakoy Lokantasi (which means “diner” in Turkish) is almost always at near-full capacity, especially in the evenings. They owe this popularity to their historic location, beautiful scenery, fantastic dishes based on fresh seafood and excellent customer service. The staff is very kind, too.

This dish gets it’s name because apparently a Sultan really liked it. The Karakoy Lokantasi is a more upscale lokantasi, so it does have a changing menu/they may run out of items, but you don’t have to order at the counter. This dish is a smokey, cheesy eggplant puree topped with slow cooked lamb (or chicken) cubes.

Kendi söylemleriyle: '2000 yılından beri hizmet veren bir aile işletmesidir ve çok tipik bir müdavim lokantasıdır. Öğle yemeği menüsü “esnaf lokantası” geleneğine bağlı kalınarak geleneksel tariflerle ve tencere yemekleriyle zenginleştirilmiştir.'. Adres: Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa, Kemankeş Cd.

Open seven days a week, this restaurant is family-run and is known for locals to come often. In other words, the food and drinks are so good that you will also frequently visit Karaköy Lokantası. However, it is important to point out that this restaurant has specific lunch and dinner times.

Karaköy Lokantası is a must-visit for anyone who loves fresh Turkish cuisine. This restaurant transforms from a casual lokanta during the day, serving ready-made meals, to a lively meyhane in the evening, creating a unique dining experience. Here are some highlights of what you can expect:

This is a restaurant that manages to have two different characters: tradesmen's restaurant (casual diner serving the sort of food Turkish mothers cook from hot counters) by day and meyhane (restaurant serving meze and kebab or fish accompanied by large quantities of the local aniseed…

The only time Ed and I splurged for a meal in Istanbul was in Karakoy Lokantasi. Well, not the kind of splurge that leaves a hole in the pocket. It's a fancy dinner that equaled to twenty meals in a fish sandwich boat, but twice lesser than our date night bill in Dubai.

Karakoy Lokantasi: Authantic seafood restaurant with a tasteful turquoise decoration. The restaurant is located in the district of Karakoy facing Emionu. Their is a comfy atmosphere, not many choices but fair price and good quality.

Karakoy Lokantasi in an renowned Istanbul restaurant serving traditional Turkish cousine dishes. It is a great both for lunches or dinners. The atmosphere is very cosy with colorful Turkish tiled interior.

Offers a modern twist on Turkish classics, and has become popular amongst the city's thespians. Reserve a table, and enjoy either the roast chicken or marinated artichoke hearts.