Nicola Prentis goes on a tour of Turkey’s regional foods without leaving Istanbul.

In a country as vast as Turkey, with as long a history and, nowadays, seven borders, it is no wonder that the different regions have developed such distinct yet overlapping cuisines.  Cuisines are shaped by what each area produces, which is a result of the geographical influence on agriculture and what is easily available. For example, harsh mountainous conditions in the Black Sea make raising livestock difficult so local dishes feature predominantly fish.  Spices and dried fruits abound in South Eastern Anatolia cooking as it borders Arab countries and the Ottoman Sultans controlled the Spice Routes, while further North flavours are less complex.  Even apparent anomalies can be explained this way.  Adana, on the Mediterranean coast where fish might be expected, is famous for kebab.  The Adana kebab takes its influence from Urfa, in a less spicy incarnation, as it is further from the Syrian border and not on the Spice Road. 
 
Finding all this out on a culinary tour of Turkey could take years, cover thousands of miles and still miss some hidden local food but luckily some of the mountains have come to Mohammed. If you think about the massive influxes of Turkish people from all the  corners of Anatolia, it’s not surprising that Istanbul has the best stocked larder with every cuisine represented and expert cooks to prepare it.  In restaurants in the dishes' hometowns, the regional specialties are often noticeable by their absence as, typically, women cook at home and families don’t tend to dine out.  So, unless invited into people’s homes, the traveller can end up with major döner and pide fatigue wondering how Turkish cuisine earned its reputation as one of the world’s most renowned.  To try regional cuisines in Turkey, the visitor might be best served doing a gastronomic tour right here.  Here’s our guide to what to look for and where to get it.
Black Sea                                                                                                 Keywords: Fish, corn flour, cabbage 
Cuisine from Düzce to Artvin centres on fish rather than meat, especially hamsi (anchovy).  In its simplest form it’s dipped in corn flour and fried but it can be made into a cornbread (hamsili ekmek) or baked with rice and currants (hamsili pilav).  Black cabbage (kara lahana) shows up in soups or stuffed as dolma and sarma.  Local cheeses and butter are melted into a kind of fondue called muhlama, pide (Turkish pizza) originated in this area and pickled vegetables (turşu) are a speciality.  There’s even dessert with a sweet börek called laz böreği which makes Karadeniz one of the richest of the regional cuisines.
Vonalı Celal                                                                                                Kennedy Caddesi Sahilyolu 40/1, Ahırkapı – Cankurturan                                0212 516 1893                                                                                     Everything you could hope to find from the region is made in house or imported. Open after 5.30pm after the tour groups have left.  There is a fixed menu including 8 different mezes for 55ytl. Reservation recommended.
Pafuli                                                                                                      Kuruçeşme Caddesi 105, Kuruçeşme                                                                0212 263 6638                                                                                            Family restaurant serving mostly Black Sea Cuisine with a good seasonal fish selection.                                                                                                                                     
Şimşek Karadeniz Pide Salonu                                                             Taksim Cad. No:8, Beyoğlu                                                                                            0212 249 4642                                                                                                      The round pides are from Rize, the long thin tubes filled with meat are from Bafra and they’re all brushed with Trabzon butter as they come out of the oven.
Aegean                                                                                                                                     Keywords: Olive oil, fish, grasses
The Aegean kitchen has been influenced by the Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, seemingly anyone who invaded, ruled or passed through and the area has an abundance of riches especially from the sea.  Fish, mussels, calamari, octopus, prawns cooked in an endless variety of ways including, most notably, salt baked fish where the whole fish is placed under a cake of salt which hardens during cooking and is broken open to reveal tender, and not salty, fish. The healthy theme continues with the vast number of edible weeds that spring up in Autumn and are best eaten simply after boiling and drizzling with olive oil and lemon juice. Also common are black-eyed beans (börülce) and meat eaters are not left out as Çöp Şiş kebab (chunks of skewered lamb) is widely served.
Melengeç
1.    Cadde 73, Arnavutköy (opposite the ferry station)
0212 287 4961
Try stuffed zucchini flowers, eggplant with fish, special greens. Recommended: beetroot root, mulberry dessert in summer

Doğa Balık
Cihangir Doğa Balık Akarsu, Yokusu No: 46 Kat:7 Cihangir
0212 243 3656
Pricy but highly recommended restaurant concentrating on fish, olive oil dishes and 35 different herbs, greens and grasses.

Cibalikapı Balıkçısı
Kadir Has Caddesi (Kadir Has University)5, Cibali
0212 533 2846
A nostalgic restaurant with wooden floor, chairs and tables and old Turkish songs. Various grasses, seafood, mussel pilaki, special octopus sauce, mussels with parmesan and meatier greens from Çanakkale called kaya koruğu. Recommended: vine leaf wrapped sea bass.
South Eastern Anatolia                                                                               Keywords: Spices, fruits with meat, baklava.
This is the area that shares borders with Syria and Iran so the food is spicier and more robust than other areas.  The two areas of Gaziantep and Sanlı Urfa alone produce some of Turkish cuisine’s most well known dishes, pistachio baklava, kebab and lahmacun. 
Çiya Sofrası                                                                                              Caferağa Mah. Güneşlibahçe Sokak, Kadıköy                                                      0216 330 3190                                                                                        Deservedly featuring in every guide book, Çiya’s mix of Eastern and South Eastern Anatolian and Antakyan foods is like a treasure trove of mysterious dishes forgotten even in the villages they come from. Menu changes daily as, Musa, the head chef’s repertoire is so huge he can make 100 different kinds of rice.
Van Kahvaltı Evi                                                                                                  Kılıç Ali Paşa Mah. Defterdar Yokuşu No: 52.A, Cihangir                                0212 293 6437                                                                                                          Breakfast is so important in Van in East Turkey that it has a street called ‘Breakfast Street’ and this Cihangir cafe specialises in Van treats like the very salty Otlu peynir (cheese with herbs) and eggs cooked wıth tahini. Located just past the green mosque on Sıraselviler.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu 1949
Yönetim ve Üretim Merkezi, Mumhane Cad. No: 171, Karaköy
0212 243 1376
The original and the best, 5 generations of Güllüs have been baking baklava since the 1880s. Urfa butter means it doesn’t have the cloying sogginess of other baklavas.

Central Anatolia                                                                                       Keywords: Mantı, gözleme, keşkek
Perhaps the most familiar of the regional cuisines, Central Anatolia gave birth to The Republic and some of its best-known dishes.  Mantı is the Turkish version of tortellini but was probably influenced by the Mongolians and then passed back to the Chinese as dim sum.  Keşkek is a traditional wedding breakfast stew of meat and barley or wheat and most people know the Turkish equivalent of pancakes, gözleme, filled with spinach, cheese or meat.

Otantik Anadolu Yemekleri
İstiklal Cad. No: 170, Beyoğlu
0212 293 8451                                                                                         Don’t let the slightly touristy décor and woman in the window put you off, this chain of restaurants serves great Anatolian fare.  Recommended: Hıngal (potato filled mantı) and hot, fresh gözleme.

Antakya                                                                                                         Keywords: Pomegranate syrup (nar ekşisi), hummus, künefe (cheese and pastry dessert)
Antakya is a small area with a huge contribution to make.  Situated on the Syrian border and also known as Hatay, its food is an incredible balance of spicy and sweet tastes not found elsewhere in Turkey.  In Istanbul this is probably the least well represented but with a directly inverse reward. It is served with a spicy kind of lavaş, a flat unleavened bread, that is also not common anywhere else.
Antiochia
Asmalımescit Mah, Mınare sok. No: 21/A, Beyoğlu
0212 292 1100
Excellent restaurant and showcase for Antakyan produce. A plate of very different mezes is only 15ytl (20% discount at lunchtime). Recommended: muammara, thyme salad (kekik salatası).
A La Rase
Yeşikler Sokak 6/2, Çiftehavuzlar
0216 368 0466
Light and healthy food from Iskenderun and Antakya.  Special dishes include bulgur and yoghurt soup, köfte with spinach bulgur, fish with tahini, künefe.

Trakya
Keywords: Pastries, liver
The Trakyan region is north of Istanbul and goes up to the Greek and Bulgarian borders.  It has a rich cuisine influenced by the Balkans and Greeks that migrated there after wars displaced them. Based on simple flavours and ingredients, the specialties are fried liver (ciğer), pelte (pudding of fruit juice thickened with starch), green beans and fried pastries.

Güveççi Abdullah
Aytar Cad 14/A, 1 Levent
0212 269 0809
In the family for three generations since 1944, is a congenial place to explore some elements of Trakyan cuisine with several types of stews (güveç), meats and köftes as well as pastries.