Where to go for a true Meyhane at night ...

On the historic side of the Golden Horn, in Balat, is Balat Sahil Restoran. It has been open for 23 years and its owner’s family emigrated from the Black Sea town of İnebolu, renowned for its various produce and local dishes. As residents of Balat, which has been home to many immigrants from many corners of Anatolia in the later years of the 20th century, first Cemal Akdemir and now his son Mustafa cook up regional İnebolu meze here in the plain yet tasteful meyhane, looking much more like a traditional meyhane of the early 20th century. "Before 1972," Cüneyt Akdemir tells us, "Balat housed people from three religions, but the Jewish community was the majority. And Balat always had a meyhane culture." The Akdemir family succeeds in keeping the meyhane tradition alive with about 30 different kinds of mezze; among them are pickled mushrooms, thinly sliced and fried liver from the city of Sinop, and stuffed onions in olive oil. Mürselpaşa Caddesi No.245, Balat; T: (0212) 525 61 85

Çukur meyhane, located at the basement of an apartment building on a side street off of İstiklal Caddesi, is probably the closest it gets to the original meyhanes. Little light comes in, but the mezzes served in the hands of Halil Bayram are simple yet flavorful. The grilled hamsi skewers, the likes of which are hard to come by anywhere else, are worth mentioning. Turnacıbaşı Caddesi, Kartal Sokak No.1/A, Galatasaray; T: (0212) 244 55 75

Karaköy Lokantası, in the hotspot that Karaköy has now become, is a tradesmen’s restaurant by day, which turns into a meyhane in its own right by night. This ever-popular spot, where literary celebrities from Orhan Pamuk to Salman Rushdie may be seen rubbing shoulders with Istanbulites old and young, serves classic mezzes from lightly fried eggplant slices to mücver (courgette patties) served with its own yogurt sauce. The selection of offal, from lamb’s brain to Albanian liver, can be enjoyed best when its savory aftertaste is washed down by the aniseed of rakı. Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa Mahallesi, Kemankeş Caddesi No.37, Karaköy; T: (0212) 292 44 55

Lastly, Safa Meyhanesi, located in Yedikule right by the historic city walls still retains the characteristic gedikli meyhane vibe from the last days of the Ottoman Empire, with its specific interior architecture and seating arrangement. Open since 1948, Safa has seen the transformation of meyhanes from wine drinking to rakı drinking locales. As per meyhane tradition, Safa does not serve large fish, and instead presents a selection of small mezes such as paçanga böreği (puff pastry stuffed with pastırma, a type of cured meat, and cheese) and the meyhane staple, Albanian liver. İlyasbey Caddesi No.121, Yedikule, Zeytinburnu; T: (0212) 585 55 94

The koltuk meyhane that Ara Güler (the most famous Turkish-Armenian photographer of the 20th century) photographed in the late 1960s may have disappeared from the public sphere, but this renewed nostalgia for meyhanes, for the authentic flavors of mezzes which for so long were lovingly prepared by this city’s minorities, and for the quality of conversation that flows in the company of rakı, is once again a reminder of Istanbul’s rich cultural heritage and the memories of its people, past and present.

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