Istanbul's steep hills have one fabulous advantage - the city boasts an unrivalled range of rooftop bars and restaurants with spectacular views. Skipping the obvious (as wonderful as they are, most permanent residents have been to Mikla, 360 and 5.Kat) we’ve hunted down five of Istanbul’s most private rooms with a view.

Mano Bistro
Hidivyal Palas
İstiklal Caddesi No:465, 2nd floor
Tünel, Beyoğlu
Tel. 0212 292 4967; www.manobistro.com

Like so many Istanbul highlights, the heady delights of Mano’s precipitous terrace is much a word-of-mouth affair. And one only open to those brave enough to overcome the truly Istanbul-esque entry method: head up the rough staircase off Istiklal Caddesi, push open the frosted glass doors and stride purposefully in to this gem of a bar.
Just two floors up, it’s over 20 storeys above sea level. The initial view is sublime, and perfectly framed from the Bosphorus Bridge to Kadıköy.
Head around to the whitewashed cool of the larger second room and the panorama pans out past Bebek and beyond. In here, 12 wooden desks and six bistro tables are lined up like an elegant viewing platform. Strategically placed gilt-edged mirrors bounce the action back in a variety of angles.
The 3-D effect is completed by the swooping seagulls, which squawk past and tinker about on the roof. Come May the windows are pushed back for the full touch-the-sky experience.
Service comes with a smile appropriate to the special setting, although the salads, pastas and platters play second fiddle to the blessed location. The 8TL cappuccinos are offensively priced, but the similarly priced beers and wines less so.

Leb-i derya
Richmond Hotel
İstiklal Caddesi No:227, 6th floor
Tünel, Beyoğlu
Tel. 0212 243 4375; www.lebiderya.com

Swing right as you step out of the lift onto the Richmond Hotel’s sixth floor, following the corridor as it opens out into spacious Leb-i derya. The modern décor – pale wooden floors and cool, grey furniture  - only serves to emphasise the centuries of history outside the restaurant’s picture windows. Topkapı Palace rises above Gülhane Park, while daytime ferries glide out from the tip of the Golden Horn, running back and forth to Istanbul’s Asian Shore.
At the centre of the room, Leb-i derya’s white circular bar is an invitation to linger; on Sunday mornings (our favourite time to visit), it’s heaped with pastries, jams and fresh fruit salad. The brunch buffet may be a steep 35TL, but the fresh scrambled eggs and bottomless cups of coffee make it worth it. Grab your favourite weekend paper and dig in for the day.

Teras Bar
Anemon Galata Hotel
Bereketzade Mahallesi Büyükhendek Caddesi
Kuledibi, Beyoğlu
Tel. 0212 212 293 2343; www.anemonhotels.com

So close to the Galata Tower you could virtually touch it. The Anemon’s Teras Bar twists its ambiance up a notch with a transparent ceiling – all the better to get up close and personal with one of the city’s most compelling landmarks.
Located on the top floor of the renovated townhouse that is now the charming Anemon Galata Hotel, the Teras Bar is a favourite of Kuledibi residents in the know. Pop in as the sun goes down, silhouetting the Süleymaniye Mosque, settling on the skyline and making the Golden Horn glow. The bar and restaurant – Oriental chic in magenta and gold – are slowly infused with shades of copper and fuchsia, while Eminönü begins to glitter, twinkling as twilight descends.
Ideal for a little romance, the Teras Bar also boasts a small east-facing terrace overlooking the Bosphorus, open in the evening as spring approaches.

Khedive Palace (also known as the Çubuklu Summer Palace)
Hidiv Yolu No:32
Çubuklu
Tel. 0216 413 9644

As the hereditary rulers of Egypt, the Khedives built themselves a suitably OTT masterpiece back in 1907 high above the Bosphorus at Çubuklu.
To cut a long story short, this royally rich dynasty ruled Egypt as a fiefdom under lax Ottoman rule, and indulged in as much scheming, double-dealing and between the sheets squealing as any first family. This grand Istanbul palace was actually the brainchild of the Khedive’s secret mistress, Cavidan Hanım, who was originally the Hungarian May Countess Torok von Szendro. Her memoirs are fittingly titled 'Harem'.
Left without a nation to lord it over after World War One, the Khedives and their palace faded into disrepute. Although Atatürk forced the Istanbul Municipality to purchase the palace in 1937 it only reopened, this time as a luxury guesthouse, in 1984.
Fancy staying in an indifferently-run hotel hidden away from the action on a hill above Çubuklu? Neither did the guests. The palace, and its magnificent views towards the skyscrapers of Etiler, reopened to all as a classy restaurant and teahouse a decade later.
Popular with Istanbul’s happily well-heeled, the palace offers a mean selection of coffee and cakes in its blissfully tranquil gardens, and pricier haute cuisine upstairs. 
Can’t afford to eat like a king? You can afford to sit like one in the palace’s downstairs bathroom. It boasts the original porcelain ‘throne’ where many a royal has sat and pontificated.

Istanbul Modern Café Restaurant
Meclisi Mebusan Caddesi
Karaköy
Tel. 0212 292 2612, www.istanbulmodern.org

Often overshadowed by the striking contemporary art next door, the Istanbul Modern’s Café Restaurant affords a sea-level view into daily life along the Bosphorus. Monster ships registered in far-flung ports drift gracefully southwards, while tiny fishing vessels bounce in their wake; cruises head up the straights to the Black Sea, tourists dangling cameras, tossing breadcrumbs to flocks of hovering seagulls.
Indoors, the café’s interior is anything but traditional, all shiny red veneers and 1960s pop art-inspired décor. The menu tends toward a fusion mix, tasty although relatively pricy. Best to order a cup of tea or an aperitif and revel in daydreams, watching the world float on by.