Best Restaurants in Kadikoy

If you want to experience Istanbul’s food scene beyond the usual tourist routes, Kadikoy is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods to explore.

Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, Kadıköy combines a busy traditional market, fishmongers, bakeries, meze shops, cafés, street-food counters and long-established Turkish restaurants. Within a relatively small area, you can move from a historic esnaf lokantası to a modern restaurant, then continue towards Moda for a meal overlooking the Sea of Marmara.

Restaurant	Full Address	Phone	Instagram	Opening Hours	Best For
Çiya Sofrası	Caferağa Mah., Güneşlibahçe Sok. No:43, Kadıköy, Istanbul	+90 216 330 31 90	@ciyasofrasi	11:30–22:00; later Fri/Sat	Regional Turkish food
Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası	Osmanağa Mah., Yağlıkçı İsmail Sok. No:1, Kadıköy, Istanbul	+90 216 336 33 33	@yanyalifehmi	09:00–21:00	Traditional Turkish lokanta
Koço Restaurant	Caferağa Mah., Moda Cd. No:171, Kadıköy, Istanbul	+90 216 336 07 95	@kocorestaurant	12:00–00:00	Seafood & meyhane

Recent 2026 Kadıköy restaurant guides continue to highlight the neighbourhood’s concentration of traditional lokantas, regional Turkish food, seafood, pide, köfte and street food.

For this guide, three restaurants provide three very different ways to experience Kadıköy’s food culture:

Çiya Sofrası for regional Anatolian cuisine and dishes that are rarely found on standard tourist menus.

Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası for historic Turkish and Ottoman-style home cooking in the heart of Kadıköy Market.

Koço Restaurant for seafood, meze and the traditional meyhane experience in Moda, with views towards the Marmara Sea and Princes’ Islands.

If you want to explore regional Turkish cuisine, start with Çiya. If you prefer the atmosphere of a traditional lokanta, Yanyalı Fehmi is an important Kadıköy institution. And for a longer evening of fish, meze and the sea, Koço in Moda offers a very different experience.

1. Çiya Sofrası – Regional Turkish Cuisine in the Heart of Kadikoy

For travellers who want to understand how broad Turkish cuisine really is, Çiya Sofrası is one of the most interesting places to begin.

The restaurant is located in Caferağa, inside Kadıköy’s busy market area, and its official website describes the Çiya story as one that grew from a modest kebab shop into a much broader culinary project. The site says the kitchen explores food traditions extending from Mesopotamia and the Ottoman world to the Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Arab Peninsula.

That is what separates Çiya from a standard Turkish restaurant.

The menu is not simply kebabs, rice and grilled meat. Depending on the day and season, you can find regional stews, vegetable dishes, soups, kebabs, pilafs, salads, syrups and unusual desserts.

Recent Kadıköy food guides continue to identify Çiya as one of the district’s headline food destinations and specifically highlight its regional and lesser-known Anatolian cooking.

Why Is Çiya Sofrası Different?

The restaurant is strongly associated with regional Turkish food, rather than a narrow restaurant concept.

A current menu listing includes dishes such as:

• Kuzu etli ayva dolması – lamb with quince.
• Mumbar – stuffed sheep intestine prepared with bulgur, onion, spices and lamb.
• Kuru sebze dolması – dried vegetables stuffed with rice or minced meat.
• Şıkma köfte – a bulgur-based dish.
• Imam bayildi – aubergine cooked with onion, garlic and tomato.
• Cennet çamuru and other regional desserts.

The exact dishes available can change, which is actually part of the experience.

Rather than expecting a fixed international menu, visitors should look at what is available that day.

What Should You Order at Çiya?

This is a restaurant where asking “What is special today?” can be more useful than deciding your entire meal before arriving.

Current menu and local sources highlight dishes such as lamb with quince, mutancana, kuru dolma, regional soups and vegetable dishes among the kinds of food associated with the restaurant.

For first-time visitors, ordering several dishes to share is a good approach.

One person can choose a meat-based regional dish, another a vegetable preparation, and the table can share a soup, salad or traditional dessert.

This lets you experience the breadth of the menu instead of committing to one dish.

Çiya Sofrası – Practical Information

Address: Caferağa Mahallesi, Güneşlibahçe Sokak No: 43, 34710 Kadıköy, Istanbul, Türkiye
Phone: +90 216 330 31 90
Opening hours: Approximately 11:30–22:00 daily; Friday and Saturday currently listed until around 22:30
Cuisine: Regional Turkish / Anatolian / Southeastern Turkish
Vegetarian options: Yes
Vegan options: Available
Reservations: Current listings indicate booking options
Instagram: @ciyasofrasi

2. Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası – A Kadikoy Institution Since 1919

If Çiya represents the depth and variety of regional Turkish cuisine, Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası represents the traditional Istanbul lokanta.

The restaurant’s official history says it was founded in 1919 by Fehmi Sönmezler in Kadıköy. The restaurant later opened branches elsewhere in Istanbul, but the current business says its only remaining location is the Kadıköy restaurant.

That gives Yanyalı Fehmi more than a century of history behind it.

The concept is straightforward: traditional dishes prepared in a style associated with Turkish home cooking and older restaurant traditions.

What Is a Lokanta?

A lokanta is different from a contemporary Turkish restaurant.

Instead of ordering everything from a long à la carte menu, many traditional lokantas prepare a variety of dishes in advance and display them for customers to choose from.

This style is particularly good when you want to see what is available before deciding.

Yanyalı Fehmi’s current menu is extensive, covering soups, meat dishes, meatballs, fish, grilled meats, rice, pastries, vegetables and desserts.

Why Is Yanyalı Fehmi Famous?

The restaurant’s long history is one reason, but its emphasis on traditional dishes is equally important.

The current official website highlights Yanya Köfte, one of its signature dishes. The preparation combines meatballs with thin slices of aubergine and tomato and is served with roasted aubergine purée.

Its archive and local press coverage also list dishes such as:

• Hünkar Beğendi
• Saray Kebabı
• Selanik Dolması
• Orman Kebabı
• Kağıt Kebabı
• Soğanlı Kebabı
• Acem Tavuğu
• Elbasan Tava

That range illustrates the restaurant’s connection to traditional Turkish and Ottoman-influenced cooking.

What Should You Order?

Start with the Yanya Köfte if it is your first visit.

Then look at the daily display and consider adding a traditional vegetable or olive-oil dish.

The restaurant’s current menu also offers numerous soups, including yayla soup, tarhana, lentil soup, chicken broth and vegetable soup.

The fish section includes options such as bluefish, red mullet, mackerel, turbot, swordfish, anchovy, sea bass, trout and bonito, depending on availability.

This makes Yanyalı Fehmi more versatile than a restaurant that focuses on a single speciality.

Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası – Practical Information

Address: Osmanağa Mahallesi, Yağlıkçı İsmail Sokak No: 1, 34714 Kadıköy, Istanbul, Türkiye
Phone: +90 216 336 33 33
Opening hours: Current Google-based listings show approximately 09:00–21:00 daily
Cuisine: Traditional Turkish / Ottoman-influenced
Style: Lokanta
Reservations: Available
Outdoor seating: Yes
Instagram: @yanyalifehmi

3. Koço Restaurant – Historic Seafood Dining in Moda

For a completely different Kadıköy experience, head towards Moda and the waterfront.

Koço Restaurant has been operating at the same location since 1928, according to its official website. The restaurant was originally founded as Moda Park Restaurant by Konstantinos Koço Korostos and has continued as a traditional meyhane for nearly a century.

Today, Koço combines fresh seafood, Turkish meze and traditional rakı-and-fish dining with views across the Sea of Marmara towards the Princes’ Islands and Fenerbahçe Point.

Why Is Koço One of Kadıköy’s Most Interesting Restaurants?

History is only part of it.

The restaurant occupies a special position directly opposite Moda Pier, giving it a waterfront setting that is noticeably different from the busy streets around Kadıköy Market.

The official restaurant story also highlights its connection to Istanbul’s literary culture, noting that several well-known Turkish writers and poets were regular visitors.

Another unusual feature is the Aya Ekaterini Holy Spring, located beneath the restaurant. The venue says this historic spring is open to visitors of all faiths.

So the restaurant offers several layers of experience: food, waterfront scenery, architectural history and Istanbul’s multicultural heritage.

What Should You Order at Koço?

Koço is best approached in the traditional meyhane style.

Start with cold meze such as:

• Haydari
• Acılı ezme
• Fava

Then move to hot starters such as karides güveç or Arnavut ciğeri, before ordering the day’s fresh fish. The restaurant’s own description specifically recommends this sequence.

The current menu also features seasonal fish and a selection of hot and cold meze.

The exact fish available will naturally depend on the catch and season.

Why Is the Sea View Important?

The location is directly connected to the experience.

The official website describes Koço as sitting opposite Moda Pier with views towards the Marmara Sea and Princes’ Islands.

Current local dining guides also describe tables close to the sea and recommend reservations during weekends and around sunset.

For travellers who want to finish a day in Kadıköy with a long dinner and a view, this makes the restaurant particularly appealing.

Koço Restaurant – Practical Information

Address: Caferağa Mahallesi, Moda Caddesi No: 171, 34710 Kadıköy, Istanbul, Türkiye
Phone: +90 216 336 07 95
Opening hours: 12:00–00:00 daily
Cuisine: Seafood, Turkish / Mediterranean
Style: Traditional meyhane
Reservations: Recommended
Outdoor seating: Yes
Instagram: @kocorestaurant

Çiya vs Yanyalı Fehmi vs Koço

The three restaurants cover three very different sides of Kadıköy’s food culture.