Delicious vegan burger on the picture
Either you are a lover of healthy soul-feeding foods, veg-food enthusiast or someone who just wants a change in their lives from eating kebabs, here is a little list of restaurants for you to go out, enjoy the day and discover new vegetarian tastes and animal-free diet in the city of Istanbul.
1. Bi Nevi Deli
Creative plant-based kitchen in Etiler. A restaurant with a casual feeling, makes every dog lover feel like home. The menu is rich with its variety, with an approach to raw, healthy, whole foods. Vegan burgers and köfte, hummus tartine with roasted garlic and tomatoes, house-made cashew cheese, and beet spaghetti alfredo made with spiralized beets can be found.
We ordered a Quinoa Burger and Chipotle Cheezy Seitan Burger. Both of them were good and filling, but our favorite was Seitan Burger, because of the brown rice patty and its texture. The food was really filling, so I even couldn’t get to the desserts. Definitely recommend the ayran! I couldn’t believe there’s no actual milk inside, but obviously (like everything) is plant-based and they make it from cashews. Amazing.
The burgers are 37-39 tl, which comes with potato salad and kale. If to compare the food quality and prices, it’s definitely worth it and I’m definitely going again.
The waitress was very nice and introduced us (aside from the menu) to their 3 dogs - Caramel, Venus and Sarı.
Location: Dilhayat Sokak 10/1, Etiler
2. Falafel House
Casual, cheap and delicious. Good option for enjoying Middle-Eastern dishes like hummus and falafel, just a few steps away from Taksim Square. No meat is served at this restaurant.
Opened by Palestinian father and son duo in 2006, after they noticed a gap in the market for simple and fresh traditional Middle-Eastern food, they got popular within the locals and foreigners.
Location: Şehit Muhtar Bey Cad. No.19/A Taksim
3. Zencefil
Vegetarian restaurant with colorful atmosphere, daily food options, and seasonal ingredients.
As I sat there I saw quite colorful hippie personalities, which was refreshing. Vegan dishes are served cold, vegetarian options mostly warm. I got a vegetarian lasagne and potato pie. The taste was good, but at the same time, there wasn't anything surprising or 'wow moment' to it. For the taste, both were good, but I preferred the lasagne. As a drink, we got 'Zencerfil limonata'. To me, it tasted like classical lemonade. Couldn't feel the ginger inside and nor did my boyfriend.
As a dessert, we got a vegan tart. Oh boy, that one was amaaazing! Served with vegan bazil-ice cream, that was over the top of experience. As a conclusion, I was expecting more surprising flavors, as this is one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in Istanbul. But overall it was good. The waiter was very helpful. If you go, definitely ask for vegan tart (with vegan ice cream). Good experience, I might go again.
Location: Şehit Muhtar Mahallesi, Kurabiye Sokak, No 8/A, Beyoğlu
4. Community Kitchen
Community Kitchen is a warm and welcoming place to try innovative vegan Turkish cuisine. With a home-like, cozy atmosphere, it's a little vegetarian restaurant in a central location where cats are welcomed inside. It's a place where menu changes daily, providing always something new and exciting.
Location: Kumbaracı Yokuşu 57/ A, Beyoğlu
5. Komsu Cafe
Pay as much as you want or have! It's a collective coffee place, where you can eat in-house-made vegetarian and vegan food, drink fair trade coffee with a list of recommended prices but you can give as much as you want or have. You can even bring your own food and cook in the kitchen.
Komşu Cafe is a contribution to alternative economy. Everyone and every idea non-authoritarian, non-discriminant, non-sexist, non-homophobic and non-transphobic is welcome and will be respected.
An open-minded community space welcomes everyone.
Location: Rasimpaşa Mahallesi, Uzunhafız Sokak, No 83/A, Kadıköy
6. Mahatma Cafe
Recommended to me by my Turkish vegan colleague! It's a cozy small cafe with a calm and laid back feel to it. The atmosphere is colorful and neighborhood artistic. Vegan börek, beetroot hummus, bulgur and other types of Turkish cuisine can be found.
Location: 50/A Macit Erbudak Sokak, Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey
7. Naan
It's a non-vegetarian restoran, but vegan pide and vegan sandwiches are options in the menu.
Location: Caferağa Mahallesi, Moda Caddesi, No 113, Kadıköy
8. Tahin
Lebanese kitchen which is not specialized on vegetarian food, but amazingly delicious vegan options can be found in the menu, such as Falafel Dürüm (Falafel wrap) and Vegan menu, which is so big that I never finished by myself. You can also order it to share. If you love Middle-Eastern tastes, this one is for you.
Location: Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mah, Mumhane Cad, No 41/A, Beyoğlu
Vegan menu on the picture
Lastly, If you don't know already, I would suggest you to also check out a page happycow.net. It is a great page to find Vegan and Vegetarian options near where you are. Just insert your location to the search engine. Brilliant!
Love animals,
Happy eating,
enjoy!
Mariliis
Where ever I go, interacting with locals has normally been my preference all along. It's the best way to get the most authentic experiences, I believe. But sometimes it's nice to meet someone you can relate with in another level. Someone who shares similar experiences as you do, another foreigner among the others.
To laugh and gossip about the "typical foreigner cases", cultural differences and struggles. Tell stories which only another non-local could relate to.
Making friends as an adult can be a challenging task itself. We need to put more effort into it, be more creative with this topic. For example, I learned from a friend that she made friends while walking her dog. If you are a dog owner as well, you know what I'm talking about. However, if you are looking to meet people in another way than parading with your dog on the streets (which is great way nevertheless), here're my guide to meet fellow foreigners in Istanbul.
Firstly you might want to check out these platforms:
• InterNations - the largest social network for expats, where you find interest-based groups organizing events. You can find groups for volunteering, business networking, food & wine lovers, runners group and many more.
• MeetUp - A network of local self-organized groups, based on shared interests. You can find groups like English as a second language meetup, foodie club etc.
• Facebook groups - like Foreign Women of Istanbul
• Tinder - Even though I don't personally use it, if you're single and ready to mingle, give it a shot! ;)
Awesome webpages to get information about upcoming events, guides and news directed to expats in Istanbul:
• Yabangee
Now, you've perused all these websites, but how do you actually meet people?
Here are the ways I met foreigners in the past 2 months.
How I met foreigners in Istanbul 101
Scenario 1
Migration Office
I was sitting in the migration office, as every foreign once does. Chairs are lined up to the walls and people from all kinds of ethnical backgrounds are holding pink paper folders and queue numbers. I'm there, trying to get my residence permit papers done as everyone else - a crumpled paper with a number on it in my hand, checking my phone and waiting impatiently my turn to enter from the white door to give my documents.
There was a girl sitting next to me. She turned to me asking if I knew when will the officers go on a lunch break. She is an Egyptian lady and during the waiting I learned quite a bit about her and her story. We were laughing and at the end of our conversation, she gave me her work card and told me whenever I come to Cairo, she could be my tour guide.
Okay guys, this one was a joke! Migration office is not a place to make friends. But it worked for me anyways ;)
Scenario 2
Cozy Cafe with Great Music (In a central area, where foreigners are most likely to be found)
One morning I was sitting in one of my favorite cafes near the Galata tower, working on my laptop. I love the ambiance in that particular place with their small wooden tables and world map made of thread on the wall.
As I sat there, I couldn't help myself from moving myself along with the great music which was playing. When ordering my coffee, I heard the girl sitting on the next table talking English with the waiter. So I understood she is a foreigner too and I asked her in English to keep an eye on my laptop while I go to the restroom. Later, when she was about to leave she said to me: It's great music over here, right!? As I totally agreed, we shared contacts and decided to come back together to the same cafe.
Scenario 3
As I started to type words in the Facebook search engine like "foreigner" and "Istanbul", I came across with this amazing group called "Foreign Women of Istanbul". Once you apply, the admin sends you a message with few questions to confirm that you truly are a woman and a foreigner.
Via this group I found out that there are plenty of other foreign girls living here, just like me, who are happy to meet new people ( just like me).
So one girl from the group took initiative and organized a boat trip for us. We took some food with us to meet and chat over the brunch table all together, as we sail on the boat along the Bosphorus river.
Two days later I was getting ready at 8 o'clock in the morning to meet the girls, banana-oat cookies in my bag which I baked on the previous night. I met girls from various backgrounds and exciting stories to tell. I felt I can relate to them easily because we shared a lot in common, we had these surprisingly funny stories to tell about living here as a foreigner. Simply a great experience!
Scenario 4
Connecting with a friend of a friend. Living as a foreigner in a city away from your hometown can make us sometimes feel lonely. Here's where our old friends can help us out - they might now someone else living in the city as well. They can connect us with their already existing friends.
This is how I met one high-energy and warm-hearted Indian girl last week. She came to the city as an exchange student few months ago. My friend and her friend are colleagues, so they connected us as they knew we both are looking to meet new people in the city.
As we met, we walked around the city and had fun sending pictures together to our friends and feeling glad they brought us together.
Scenario 5
Sign up for a Turkish class. This is another brilliant way to meet other foreigners. I recently signed myself up for a Turkish course and met many lovely language learners, trying to put all of that learned grammar into proper use, as myself. It's funny to try talking the local language with other language learners. We make mistakes and it's okay. We have much in common I feel.
Here are few language schools to check out, if you are interested to join one:
• KediCat
• Dilmer
• ITI
• Tömer
Being a foreigner living in another country can be really challenging - especially when we talk about social life.
To all the souls eager to meet others, I hope this helped in some ways.
Cheers!
Mariliis
I love that I can sit outside in a cafe on an sunny day at the end of February and wear a light cardigan while sun heats up the corner where I'm sitting and brings freckles to my nose.
Dynamic is the one word I'd describe the city I live in now - Istanbul. It's the end of February. Technically not even a spring time, but the feel of spring is all over the city. It's a bit chilly yet, but seeing the sun after the long and grey winter invites me to immediately step outside and go to my favorite area near the sea. It's not actually a sea, it's a waterway which connects the Black sea with the Sea of Marmara. It draws a line between two continents, separating the city into two - Asian and European side.
Two continents, one city. It's the place I call home.
This is not the calm getaway destination with long beaches there's nothing to do at. This city is in a busy bee nest, always in a hurry. And there are loads of reasons I love this city as it is.
Here are 5 a bit different reasons I love Istanbul for
- It's place you share a bench with your fellow citizen, the place with loads of cars and yellow taxis.
It's a place you're never alone, and honestly you don't feel alone too. People are nice, sometimes too nice. Sometimes an older lady in a clothing store, or a young man waiting in a metro station starts a conversation with me. Sometimes they are curios, sometimes they just want to talk. It's something interesting and different (and weird).
One day I was making mashed potatoes at home. As I found out that there's no milk in the fridge, I went downstairs to a little market and came back along with a pack of milk few minutes later. The time I got back the potatoes still steam from the heat.
This is something I haven't been used to before, but I'm enjoying it to the fullest right now. Weather you need a copy-center, hairdresser or grab a fast bite, everything you need is near by. There's lots of people here and they all need different kinds of products and services daily, therefore everything is available close by.
- What many people don't know about Istanbul. It's something I love about this place is, that although mostly the weather is sunny and warm and it rains rarely, there's still one thing many people don't know about Istanbul. It snows in winters in Istanbul. And when it does, it's magical.
- Food - Meat is not the only option.
Turkish food culture is rich, that's for sure. As probably everyone knows the famous kebab, Turkey is not only all about meat. Me as an non-meat eater am far more interested in dishes not consisted of meat. There's a wide variety of traditional foods made of fresh ingredients not consisting any meat, which makes me super happy!
I love these little local food places with cheap prices and delicious dishes. One of my casual go-to places is a little food place 5 minutes from my home where I order one of my favorites - lental soup.
It's something worth mentioning. People love cats.
If I say love them, I mean that maybe even more than people. Istanbulers are animal-friendly people, who leave cat food and water into little containers all over the streets, even inside their shops for our furry friends to enjoy. Also all over the town it's visible little houses for street dogs and cats to sleep in. Sometimes these "houses" are made of cardboard boxes, covered with plastic to protect them from rain, sometimes they are made of wood and more permanent materials. This always makes me wander that there truly are people around, who actually build these shelters in their homes with the aim to give a street cat or dog a place safe from wind and rain to comfortably sleep in. That's just simply amazing.
So, if a cat walks into a shop or an open cafe, they are mostly not thrown out, but warmly welcomed inside, to lay down in a sunny spot of their choosing.
A funny incident happened with me when I approached to one of the market tables,
pointed to a beautiful watch and asked Merhaba, ne kadar? which means in Turkish Hello, how much? The sales lady s eyes popped wide open and she gave me a very surprised expression. You speak Turkish? she asked excitedly.
I just smiled at her. Even though I didn t know much Turkish at a time, I knew the numbers and how to ask the price. Sometimes it s all the knowledge you need to convince a person that you know their language.
Feriköy market is held in every Sunday. You ll get the taste of real authentic Turkish culture via coming across with huge variety of items from local people households.
You can buy them directly from their owners and best part about the experience is that all the prices are negotiable.
It’s a place worth seeing even if you are not planning to buy anything I enjoy the combination of sounds and emotions of a market. It s the place where all
the important talks about the latest news are being discussed and buyers are bargaining to get a great discount on a vinyl record they found to be a remarkable item to add to their collection.
It s the place to go for collecting creative ideas and inspiration or to have a nice walk on a Sunday morning. You can have an inspiring conversation with the local seller, ask about the stories behind the items and even get recommendations for the best food places or near-by happening events.
As I left the marketplace with a joyous feeling I was already wearing a beautiful handmade necklace made by a local woman along with few other vintage treasures I found from locals jewelry boxes.
I would say the colorful world of vintage market is definitely worth discovering.
Details about the market:
Bomonti Caddesi, Lala ahin Sokak, Bomonti
Sunday 09:00 19:00
