Istanbul Meyhane Guide: How to Experience a Turkish Tavern

The word meyhane translates literally as 'house of wine' but in practice it means something closer to 'tavern' — a place built around convivial eating and drinking rather than quick service. Meyhane culture has Ottoman roots and flourished particularly among the Greek, Armenian and Rum communities of Istanbul, whose culinary influence is still felt in the meze tradition today.

Modern meyhane range from grand, formally laid establishments in Beyoğlu that have been in continuous operation for decades, to tiny neighbourhood spots in Kadıköy where a dozen tables are crammed into a space barely larger than a living room. The format is always similar: you come with company, you stay for hours, and you leave full.

A meyhane evening begins with rakı — Turkey's anise-flavoured spirit, diluted with cold water and ice until it turns milky white. This is called 'aslan sütü' (lion's milk). You do not rush rakı. You sip it slowly across the entire meal.

Before any main course, the waiter brings the meze trolley. This is a wheeled cart stacked with small cold dishes: pureed white bean salad (piyaz), smoked aubergine (köz patlıcan), chilled melon with white cheese, fried mussels, stuffed vine leaves, tarama, haydari yoghurt dip, and a dozen others depending on the season. You point at what you want and plates arrive. There is no hurry.

After the cold meze come the hot starters: fried calamari, stuffed peppers, shrimp in butter sauce. Then, if you still have room, grilled fish — typically sea bass (levrek), sea bream (çipura) or bluefish (lüfer) in season. Most serious meyhane diners never make it to the fish. The meze is enough.

Beyoğlu is the heartland of Istanbul's meyhane culture. The streets around Nevizade Sokak, off Balık Pazarı (the fish market behind Istiklal), are lined with meyhane that fill every night. These are lively, noisy, convivial places — tables spill out onto the street in summer, musicians circulate between tables, and the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else in the city.

Asmalımescit, a few streets downhill toward Karaköy, has a more mixed selection: older, more formal meyhane alongside wine bars and modern restaurants. It is slightly quieter than Nevizade and better for conversation.

Kadıköy on the Asian side has its own meyhane scene, centred on the streets near the market. These tend to attract a younger, more local crowd and are often slightly cheaper than their Beyoğlu equivalents. The atmosphere is equally warm.

If you are visiting a meyhane for the first time, a practical approach is to order three or four cold meze to share, one or two hot starters, and then assess whether you need a main course at all. Most people discover they do not.

From the cold meze, the essentials are: haydari (thick yoghurt with garlic and herbs), patlıcan salatası (roasted aubergine salad), tarama (fish roe cream), and whatever the seasonal speciality is — in autumn, this might be tender cured fish or a walnut-heavy circassian chicken. From the hot starters, çiğ köfte, fried calamari and shrimp güveç (baked in a clay pot) are reliable across most meyhane.

Reservations are strongly advised at well-known meyhane in Beyoğlu, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings. Call ahead. At smaller neighbourhood places, walk-ins are generally fine but arriving before 20:30 is safer.

A full meyhane evening — rakı, multiple meze rounds, possibly a main — costs 800–1,500 TL per person including drinks at a mid-range establishment. Fine-dining meyhane in Beyoğlu can run to 2,500 TL and beyond. Budget meyhane in Kadıköy can be done for 500–700 TL. These are not cheap evenings, but they are worth every lira.