ISTANBUL
Food & Wine:
 The Turkish cuisine, which is one of the richest in the world, appeals to the eye as well as the palate. Turkish food that is found today in Istanbul is truly a living synthesis of Eastern and Western cultures. In addition to the many restaurants that serve traditional and international menus to satisfy the varied tastes of their guests, many nightclubs, cafes and bars offer fine menus along with a wide range of entertainment choices.
Restaurants:
There are hundreds of restaurants for every budget in Istanbul. For really fine dining, head for the top hotels (although there are some honourable exceptions) but authentic, high quality Turkish cooking can be found all over the city, notably in the Balik Pazari fish market area close to the British Consulate-General where stunning mezze is in abundance.
 Similar to the Spanish tapas, "meze" is the general category of dishes that are brought in small quantities to start the meal off. These are eaten until the main course is served, along with wine or more likely with "raki" - the aniseed-flavoured national drink, sometimes referred to as "lion's milk". The minimum essential meze for raki are slices of honeydew melons and creamy feta cheese with freshly baked bread. Beyond these, a typical meze menu includes dried and marinated mackerel, fresh salad greens in thick yogurt sauce with garlic, plates of cold vegetable dishes cooked or fried in olive oil, fried crispy savory pastry, deep fried mussels and calamaris served in sauce, tomato and cucumber salad and fish eggs in sauce.
 The main course that follows a meze spread will be fish or grilled meat. When the main course is kebab, then the meze spread is different. In this case, several plates of green salad and tomatoes in spicy olive oil, mixed with yogurt or cheese,"humus" - chick peas mashed in tahini, bulgur and red lentil balls,"raw kofte", marinated stuffed eggplant, peppers with spices, nuts and pickles, are likely to be served.
International & Turkish:
Cafe du Levant
Haskoy Cadessi 27, Sutluce
Tel: 235 63 28/256 71 53
If you fancy a break from Turkish food, head for Cafe du Levant and enter a world of all things French. This is Parisian cafe-style eating at its most themed – from the huge (empty) bottles of Bordeaux littering the place to the stylish loos filled with Gallic paraphernalia. The restaurant is a little out of the way but worth the taxi drive just for something different from the norm. A French chef cooks up all his country’s classic dishes at very reasonable prices.
Tugra
Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski
Widely acknowledged to be pretty much the finest dining experience you’ll get in Istanbul, Tugra is a must-do experience. Views over the Bosphorus are just breathtaking and the Ottoman cuisine about a million miles from anything you might have tasted on your local high street after a heavy night on the town in the UK. You really do get the six-star treatment here.
Laledan Restaurant
Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinksi,
Ciragan Caddesi, 84, Besiktas
Tel 212 258 3377/internal 7565
New World cuisine is dished up at this charming restaurant with a terrace overlooking the Bosphorus. Choose from a huge selection of Turkish meze and other starters from the extensive buffet or from the a la carte menu.
Changa 
Siraselviler 87/1 Taksim
Tel: 212 249 1348
This new restaurant is built within one of the few original Art Nouveau buildings in Istanbul. Changa, meaning "mix" in Swahili, serves Pacific Rim and fusion fare. Waiters take orders with blue furry pens and pour water in two-foot "test tubes."
Cicek Pasaji/Balik Pazar
Nevisade Sok, Istiklal Caddesi
Galatarasay-Beyoglu
For a real taste of Istanbul and a relaxed atmosphere, grab an outside table at the Cicek Pasaji, or "flower passage." There are numerous restaurants from which to choose, all serving a vast array of traditional meze, fish and kebabs
Haci Abdullah
Beyoglu / 17, Sakizagaci Caddesi
Tel: 90 (212) 293 85 61
Email: haciabdullah@haciabdullah.com.tr
Website: http://www.haciabdullah.com.tr/English/index.htm
In business since 1888, this traditional restaurant produces fine Ottoman cuisine. There is a wide variety of dishes and they offer a good choice of sweets. The interior is stylish and the service is good.
Mezzaluna
Abdi Ipekci Caddesi 38/1
Tel: 0212-231-3142
Located in the heart of Nisantasi area, just below VAKKO store, this smart Italian restaurant has an excellent selection of antipasti, pasta dishes and pizzas are complemented by a wine list featuring Turkish, European and New World wines. The service is friendly and efficient too.
Kanaat Lokantas
Selmanipak Caddesi, Uskudar, Istanbul
Tel: 02163333791
Cross the road from the ferry terminals to the mosque, turn left and Kanaat is 50m on the left. From soups and salads to delicious desserts, this restaurant serves beautifully prepared, tasty Ottoman Turkish cuisine. It is also worth a visit to enjoy the beautiful ceramics that cover the walls.
Rami
Utangac Sokak 6, Cankurtaran
Tel: 0212 517 6593
Classy restaurant that offers traditional cuisine and panoramic views from an old Ottoman house.
The Seasons Restaurant
Four Seasons Hotel, Tevfikhane Sokak 1,
Tel: 0212 638 8200
Set in an elegant glass pavilion in Sultanahmet,it is among the finest (and priciest) options in Istanbul for international cuisine.
Leb-i Derya
Kumbaraci Yokusu 115/7, off Istiklal Caddesi, Asmalimescit
Tel: 0212 293 4989
Website: http://www.lebiderya.com/
International cuisine with breathtaking views.
Amedros
Hoca Rustem Sokak 7, off Divan Yolu
Tel: 0212 517 6593
European style bistro that also does interesting Ottoman dishes.
Fener Fish Restaurant
wonderful selection of carefully prepared meze, the hospitality traditional to Kumkapi and the “fasil”singing group whose music recreates the 18th and 19th centuries in the Ottoman Empire.
Kiz Kulesi Restaurant
Located just across Maidens Tower, this restaurant offers delicious fish accompained with a nice view of the tower. Before or after dinner, you can go to the Seraglio Bar, and gaze out at the Bosphorus and Maidens Tower while sipping your drink.
Galata House
Galata Kulesi Sok. 61
Tel: 0212/245-1861
Hidden along the steep slopes of Galata's historic streets, this little gem of a restaurant, the brainchild of an architect/city planner and his wife, occupies a row house that served as the British jail at the beginning of the 1900s. The coziness of the dining rooms - three small salons and an outdoor upper balcony - belie the building's earlier purpose, except for the few preserved squares of plaster etched by prisoners during periods of extreme boredom.
Pano Wine Bar
Hamalbasi Sok 26, Galatasaray, Beyoglu
Tel: 0212-292-6664
One of a series of new wine bars opening in the Beyoglu area. Pano serves local wine and snacks. Open nightly until 2 am.
Pierre Loti Cafe 
This famous cafe is situated at the top of a hill above the Eyup Sultan Cemetery. The cafe, which is a 20-minutes hike up from Eyup Mosque, offers a commanding view over the Golden Horn and the Istanbul skyline. It takes its name from a famous French novelist and naval officer Pierre Loti. Gravestones dating from the Ottoman period can be seen along the road leading up to the top.
Korfez Restaurant
Part of the romance is the setting, an intimate waterside summer patio tucked into a small cove on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, with unexpectedly tranquil views of the floodlit fortress of Rumeli and the Bosphorus Bridge. Some of Korfez's more teasing dishes are the signature salt baked fish, a more complex grouper in a spicy Asian sauce, bonito "sushi," mackerel burgers with raisins and pistachios, and levrek buglama (sea bass in a broth with shitake mushrooms, ginger, tomato, and thyme). There are several notable steak and chicken dishes on the menu.
Orient Express Cafe
Sirkeci Train Station, Sirkeci, Eminonu
Tel: 0212/522-2280
Located next to track no. 1, the Orient Express restaurant (a real find) is proof that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for white tablecloths, good food, and history. The limited but satisfying menu relies heavily on lamb, with a tender lamb shoulder as the pride of the chef.
Asitane
Kariye Camii Sok. 18
Tel: 0212/534-8414
Website: www.asitanerestaurant.com
Adjacent to the church of St saviour in Chora, this traditional Ottoman restaurant takes it's menus directly from the records of meals eaten by the Sultan at Topkapi Palace. Thoroughly reccomended.
Dubb Indian Restaurant
Incili Çavus Sokak 10
Alemdar - Sultanahmet
Tel: 212 513 73 08
The first Indian restaurant in Istanbul
Lacivert
Tel: 216 413 42 24
Along the Bosphorus , Fish and delicous sea food.
Mustafa Pasa Konagi
Palanga Cad. no: 3 Ortakoy
Tel: 227 49 00
Dragon Restaurant
Harbiye / Elmadag
Istanbul Hilton
Tel: 212 2314650
Good Chinese food
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