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The ever-so-sleek Finn has pulled an impressive feat in staying open through all these years, when so many of its neighbours went under as the Karaköy hype slowly subsided. But then again, we couldn’t expect Finn’s great cocktails and tasty finger food to go unappreciated. Try their fresh, fruit-inspired offerings like the Bramble made with fresh blackberries or the verdant Grass infused with greengage plums.

One of the top chef-owned restaurants in the city, TOI Istanbul recently relocated to a much more spacious venue in Kuruçeşme. Although the menu changes every 45 days, you can enjoy a few of the signature dishes by Chef İsmet Saz like the beef Wellington any time you visit. To make the most of your TOI experience, we recommend making reservations for one of its Chef’s Table events. It’s very possible that you’ll have trouble making reservations at Toi for quite sometime, as everything we ate, saw and heard on our first visit indicates that the restaurant is well on its way to becoming a classic. The space is small: groups of 40-50 people could (and already do) rent out the entire venue. Toi builds on its cozy vibe by offering the chance to dine at the chef’s table, where İsmet Saz hosts flawless meals for six to eight people. In fact, we guarantee that just one dinner at Toi will have you hooked on the dry aged meats, which are far superior to those found elsewhere in Istanbul. The chef’s specialty, the veal Wellington, is flavorful enough to make you the happiest person on earth. 

The newest member of the Tektekçi family is The Barley, an elegant pub with plenty of zeal to go around. Its biggest asset is the impressively long menu: with 106 beers and a plethora of whiskeys (we hear they’re also working on importing hard-to-find Japanese whiskys), The Barley is one of the few venues in Istanbul with such extensive variety. The bar has also taken advantage of its abundance of whiskeys to offer 14 whiskey-based cocktails in addition to its classic cocktails. We especially love that The Barley has teamed up with experts to find out (and serve) the nibbles that best complement each drink. So if a drink pairs best with warm water, water it is, and if it calls for dried meat, that’s what they serve. In addition to drinks, there’s also a satisfying food and snack menu that includes the flavorful crispy bacon in the image as well as other enticing dishes like fried pickles and the unconventional mac & cheese roll. 

Together with the recently opened space FiLBooks, the brand new Verde Karaköy has managed to create an atmosphere that’s both laid-back and refined with its stone walls and outdoor tables on Akçe Sokak. In a neighborhood where there are still surprisingly few places that serve alcohol, Verde fits the bill as an all-day eatery. For breakfast, we recommend ordering the plate for two and a menemen dish. We also hear that the lemonade is quite popular. For dinner, our favorite is the beğendili köfte, or meatballs with a flavorful tomato sauce on a bed of eggplant puree, served with fresh bread baked in Verde’s own kitchen. Those in the mood for a smaller bite can also try the mücver and tomato with mozzarella. The cheese platter and salmon fettuccine are other shareable options. A good option for those who are tired of the monotony in Karaköy

We Turks might be notorious for ruining a good croissant by stuffing it with tomatoes and cheese, but we’re still able to appreciate that it’s a hard delicacy to put together, from perfecting the dough to getting the texture  just right. As the name suggests, Kruvasan gives these pastries the respect they deserve. You’ll find four kinds of croissants here: plain, chocolate, almond and cheddar. The chocolate version isn’t as soft and crumbly as we’d like, but the amount of chocolate is quite satisfactory. Our favorite, however, is the cheddar variety, which is perfectly textured and comes with the cheese melted on top. Kruvasan also sells daily quiches, homemade jams, sandwiches and breads. 

Cem Tunca, the man behind successful businesses like Istanbul Gourmet and Duble Meze Bar, has recently created a gastro pub for a decidedly young audience. Located right next to the West Campus Dorms of Koç University, Baba’s is fully equipped to become a new hub for university students to socialize. Although they’ve already received requests from students to air soccer games, Tunca believes that this goes against the concept of a cozy eatery where patrons can strike up conversation with one another. Baba’s is currently the only notable eatery in the neighborhood, though we believe it would be just as popular if there were competition. The U-shaped bar is a great place to hang out and sample beers from an extensive menu. The professional model train route designed specifically for the bar adds a touch of warmth, while the Pacman drawing on the wall, the CRT TVs hanging from the ceiling and many other details transport you back to the ’80s and ’90s. The menu offers a rich selection of salads, pizzas, pasta, snacks and main courses. The prices are quite reasonable, especially keeping in mind the hefty serving sizes. The beef carpaccio salad with arugula and Mexican salad with crispy shrimp are good options for those who are looking for something light. Baked in a stone oven and large enough to satisfy two people, the restaurant’s specialty pizza is the Baba’s, which comes with tomato sauce, mozzarella, eggplant, mushrooms, corn and salami. The pizza turco with spicy sausage and

Tv chef and restaurateur Arda Türkmen’s latest venture is Mükellef Karaköy, a meyhane on the terrace floor of The Haze Karaköy. Given its celebrity backing, it’s no surprise that we began to hear its praises sung (particularly of its fried squash blossoms) soon after its opening at the end of August. As soon as you enter, your eyes will invariably be drawn first to the display case full of mezes and then to the glistening waters of the Bosphorus on your left. When it comes to the mezes, Türkmen admits you’ll find things you’ve generally had before, but with small variations to render them new and exciting. Here, the Swiss chards in olive oil are stuffed with grains instead of beef, while the green apple in olive oil draws inspiration from a similar Armenian meze made with quince. “Since quince is a seasonal fruit, we wanted to use green apples, which are available year-round. In the end, people seemed to really like it,” says Türkmen. Made using a recipe from his mother, the fava bean puree is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, as are the fried liver and hummus. “We spend hours on some dishes that could be done in an hour or two, like beef cheeks and ribs, which take us six and eight hours, respectively,” Türkmen says. “By going the extra mile in preparation, we end up with plates where people take one bite and immediately taste the difference.” What’s remarkable about Mükellef Karaköy is that it manages to create a meyhane ambience without relying on the spectacula

The latest pub to open up in Yeniköy stole our hearts with its name. Don’t let the name “pub” fool you, though: this is no young-twenties haunt with rock and metal blasting from its speakers. For one, Teddy Beer’s young owner is a house music fan, so you’ll have no trouble hearing the person with whom you’re sharing drinks. In addition to the cocktail menu, you’ll find a food menu with unexpectedly good flavor for a pub. The Teddy kapama is the star of the menu, including a 200-g meat patty topped with melted cheddar and wrapped in a tortilla. The steak with Café de Paris sauce is another dish that will invariably tempt you to quit any diet you might be on. On Fridays and Saturdays, Teddy Beer hosts street parties with house music – a welcome change in a quiet neighborhood like Yeniköy. The second floor of the pub, decorated with swings, benches and plenty of greenery, is a great place to hang out on Saturday night. Lest we forget, you’ll also find midye dolma (rice-stuffed mussels on the half shell) at Teddy Beer, but only from 17.00-19.00. If you ask us, this is proof in itself that this pub’s owners know exactly what they’re doing. 

When exciting places open on the Anatolian side, we tend to jump in with both feet, which leads to some of them becoming popular just because they’re crowded. Yet if the kitchen and service aren’t up to par, these trendy spots can become deserted overnight. Marlon (named after Marlon Brando) is one such restaurant that suddenly burst onto the scene, but it hasn’t lost any of its popularity just yet. For one thing, the servers and kitchen staff both care about their customers’ preferences and comfort. If the margherita isn’t the right texture, they’ll immediately remake it and apologize for the wait. And when it does arrive, you get a sense of how much details matter here. The same holds true for the black queen, a medley of seafood with black pasta that’s become popular thanks to social media. Though Marlon claims to be a world fare joint, its general direction is towards Italian cuisine, and they’re truly good at it. And like any decent Italian restaurant, we’d have to recommend that you don’t leave without trying the tiramisu.

Don’t let the name throw you off: this brand new eatery in Ortaköy has no connection to the Soho House in Beyoğlu, though we have every reason to believe it will soon become just as popular. The New York and London-inspired restaurant is located in the space that formerly housed Bloom. Its spacious interior allows for plenty of breathing room, while its outdoor area will have you momentarily wondering if you’re in Bodrum or Çeşme instead of Ortaköy. Once you see the pages upon pages of items on its menu, you might wonder if they’re able to do justice to each dish, but you’ll be singing a different tune as soon as you take your first bite. We recommend starting off with the mini burgers, which come with Soho’s specialty ketchup made from sundried tomatoes. The burger patties are on par with what you’ll find in the city’s best burger shops. When you glance at the main courses, the beef cheek is sure to grab your attention, as you won’t find this particular cut in many restaurants around town. Here, it gets slow cooked to perfection in one of Soho’s two wood-fired ovens. Although the restaurant has a penchant for Italian cuisine, you’ll also find several dishes from the Hatay region, including künefe (fried shredded pastry in syrup with a molten cheese center). This dessert is so flavorful that it wouldn’t have any trouble landing on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

The secret to JÜS is simple: all-organic products, all-natural methods – such as cold pressing without a hint of pasteurization – and no animal products whatsoever. Owner Aylin Erman is a certified clinical nutrition expert who’s been in the health foods industry for nearly a decade. After working at Organic Avenue in NYC, Erman went on to start her own healthy eating blog, glowkitchen.com, before opening JÜS. In addition to juices and hazelnut milk, the shop also offers all-vegan foods. We recommend making a meal of it and ordering the Buddha ball, a salad of sweet potatoes, spinach, avocado and hummus, followed by the chia pudding with coconut milk, chia seeds and cinnamon. 

Located only a stone’s throw away from the Galata Tower, The Gourmand has seemingly achieved the impossible and created a space that’s isolated from all the commotion. Once you begin to make your way down the restaurant’s elongated corridor, you’ll be greeted by sandwiches, desserts, cookies and pasta on your left, followed by a busy kitchen filled with MSA students and graduates. On your right you’ll find a mini gourmet market of jams, sauces and a plethora of other ingredients. The bright room at the end of this corridor is where you’ll be guided to sample The Gourmand’s already-famous salads and desserts. While we’re on the topic, we’d like to point out that you can also design your own salad here with the help of a small, user-friendly menu. If you’re in the mood for a heartier meal, you can try the risotto with fresh herbs or the beef ham and Emmental sandwich. Don’t forget to leave room for The Gourmand’s exceptional pastries, our favorites being the chocolate éclair and strawberry tart.