Restaurants

Istanbul's abundance of beauty is bound to make a lasting impression on any visitor. This city is steeped in history, and the sight of the Bosphorus, its unique lifeline, will stay with you for a lifetime. The restaurants in our MICHELIN selection often share in that beauty, too. Our inspectors have selected three establishments where the captivating splendour of Istanbul comes into its own.

Despite the fact that cooking has been seen primarily as a female duty for centuries, it is an unfortunate irony that cuisine, and especially refined cuisine continues to be considered a male exclusive profession. Female chefs still have to exert harder work compared to their male counterparts in order to achieve a similar level of success and regard. However, as is the case in the rest of the world, plenty of female chefs in Istanbul have proven themselves and achieved the recognition they deserve. And they all reflect their own personalities and signature styles in their cuisines.

A visit to Türkiye’s largest city is a multisensory experience. Of course, everything revolves around flavour in the restaurants included in the MICHELIN Guide's selection, but all these remarkable establishments have a great deal more to offer. This article was inspired by Mastercard’s vision, which consists in connecting to people through all the senses in ways that are relevant, authentic, compelling and nonintrusive to reach their hearts and minds. Our inspectors have selected seven restaurants where the senses of taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing are stimulated in the most remarkable way. Try these places out for yourself and discover new sides to Istanbul.

Beyti is a dish known to almost everyone in Türkiye. Even though there may be different versions, everyone still thinks of a delicious meat dish upon hearing the word “beyti.” While often we aren’t aware when a certain dish is made for the first time or who created it, but that’s not the case for beyti: the creator and namesake, Beyti Güler, is one of the most prominent masters alive.

Imagine a city where fish has played an important role in its gastronomy since ancient times with fish patterns on its coins and different fish dishes: there, this is Istanbul.

How does a restaurant serving hundreds of people a day get to win the MICHELIN Service Award? The answer is simple yet effective: years and years of experience…

Michelin is pleased to present the very first selection of restaurants of the MICHELIN Guide Istanbul 2023. With 53 restaurants making the selection, the Istanbul culinary map greatly impressed the MICHELIN Guide inspectors.