Eating on the streets is very much a part of life in Istanbul. You cannot go far without coming across a cafe, street stall or pedlar selling snacks to appease the hunger of busy passers-by. Savoury snacks like kebabs, lahmacun, pide and borek  are eaten at any time of day, as are sweets and puddings. On every street corner you will find a bufe (sandwich kiosk). If you want to sit down, try a traditional kahve, or one of the increasing number of European-style cafes in the more affluent and cosmopolitan parts of Istanbul. There are also dozens of American-style restaurants in the city, selling hamburgers, pizzas and other types of fast food.

STREET FOOD

A common sight on the streets of Istanbul is the seller of simits - chewy bread rings coated with sesame. The traditional sitnttseller (simitçi) carries his fare on his head on a wooden tray; better-off ones push a glass-fronted cart from which they also sell poğaça (flaky pastry filled with cheese or mince), su böreği (filled layered pastry), açma (a fluffy simit shaped like a doughnut) and çatal (sweeter, eye-shaped simits without sesame seeds). They are all best eaten fresh.
During the summer street vendors sell grilled or boiled corn on the cob (mısır), generously sprinkled with salt. In winter they sell roast chestnuts.
Kağıt helvası, a sweet, is another summer snack. Kağıt means "paper", and the thin, crumbly layers of pastry filled with sugar melt in your mouth.

SANDWICH AND PASTRY SHOPS

Delicious sandwiches are on sale from small kiosks or büfes, usually near bus stops. They include inexpensive thin, toasted sandwiches (tost) and hot dogs (sosisli sandviç) with pickles and ketchup.
The snack bars of Ortaköy  specialize in pastries from southern Turkey like gözleme and dürüm. Both consist of thin layers of bread, grilled on a hot sheet of iron and stuffed with meat, cheese and vegetables. Dürüm bread is cooked first, then stuffed and rolled, while gözleme is cooked with the ingredients inside, then folded over in a triangle.

FISH

Fish sandwich sellers offer delicious grilled or fried fresh fish inside a large piece of bread. Their small boats line the jetties in Eminönü to meet the passing ferry passengers. Midye tave (fried mussels), dressed with ground hazelnuts, garlic and oil, are also served inside bread or on a stick.
Fish and mussel sandwiches are sold at the Galatasaray Fish Market in Beyoğlu . Here you can also buy midye dolma, mussels stuffed with pine nuts, rice and currants. However, be vigilant when purchasing food that may have had a ong street life, particularly in the summer months.

KAHVEHANES

The typical Turkish cafe, kahvehane (or kahve), is a male-dominated local coffee shop. The original Ottoman name, hiraathane, means "a place to read", but such cafes are more a place where men play backgammon and cards, puff on a nargile (bubble pipe) and cup of coffee and tea. No alcoholic drinks or food are served.
In tourist areas like Beyazıt and Sultanahmet, however, female foreigners will be welcome iakahves and, although they may be stared at, they will not be disturbed. Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi is a kahve popular with artists and students. The Basilica Cistern Cafe offers a cooling retreat in an unusual setting although you have to pay to get into the cistern .

Cafe Kafka is named after Franz Kafka and is frequented by academics and intellectuals. They serve delicious coffee, cake and snacks in convivial atmosphere. In Eyüp  the Pierre Loti Cafe is another traditional kahve. Decorated with memorabilia and antique wall tiles, it serves good apple tea and claims to have been the haunt of Pierre Loti . Ismail Ağa Cafe, by the waterside in Kanlıca , is famous for delicious   yoghurt
Next to the Bebek ferry jetty is Bebek Kahvesi. This cafe is a favourite with students and middle-class families who read their Sunday newspapers on the terrace while enjoying the breeze of the Bosphorus.

PATISSERIES AND PUDDING SHOPS

The best patisseries are in Beyoglu, particularly in two hotels: the Divan  and Pera Palas . Divan is known for its chocolates. Patisserie de Pera retains its charm with period decor, classical music and tasty biscuits. It has a good selection of English teas. Inci Patisserie is famous for its excellent profiteroles and baklava. Despite its run-down appearance, it is always busy.
Next door to the Atatiirk Cultural Centre , Gezi Istanbul Cafe sells handmade confectionery such as truffles and rich torte.
Pudding shops (muhallebicisi) sell traditional sweet milk puddings . Sutis Muhallebicisi is a long-established chain.

ICE CREAM SHOPS

Itinerant ice cream vendors are a common sight in residential districts in the summer. Turkish ice cream (dondurma) is thick and very sweet. It comes in milk chocolate and fruit varieties and is served in cones. One of the best places to eat ice cream is Mado, which has several outlets. Also try Mini Dondurma in Bebek.

EUROPEAN-STYLE CAFÉS

European-style cafés serving light meals such as salads, croque monsieur, omelettes and crepes are now common in Istanbul. Sweets usually include cheesecake, chocolate brownies, tiramisu and ice cream in summer.
The best are around Taksim and İstiklal Caddesi in Beyoğlu. The elegant, late 19th-century Lebon serves savoury dishes such as vol-au-vent and also sumptuous Viennese cakes. Gramofon is a cosy and relaxed café, which overlooks the square in Tünel.
Sultanahmet has a few chic, designer cafés. The Lale Restaurant, a hippie spot in the 1970s, now serves inexpensive casseroles and grilled chicken, as well as Turkish milk puddings.
Zanzibar, in the smart shopping district of Nişantaşı, is popular with a stylish young clientele. It serves dishes such as vegetable grill, Waldorf salad and toast provençale. Also in Nişantaşı is the Next Café, which offers European-style cakes and pies as well as savoury dishes such as börek.
The area around Ortaköy , with its market, many craft shops and a good nightlife scene, is a haven of street food and light snacks.
Further up along the shores of the Bosphorus, in Rumeli Hisarı , there is an exclusive English café called Tea Room. Decorated in a colonial style, it serves scones and, of course, a variety of English teas.
Among a new generation of internet cafés springing up in the city, one of the best is Antique.
Cafés are now beginning to open on the Asian side, too. One of the most interesting is Kadife Chalet near Moda. Housed in a 19th-century wooden building, it offers home-made cakes and dishes made with home-grown ingredients, as well as a range of herbal teas.

BARS

Despite the Islamic edict against alcohol, there are plenty of bars in Istanbul. The majority of the city's fashionable cafés turn into bars in the evening, signalled by a change of music from soft tunes to loud pop. It is possible just to sit with a drink, but for those who wish to have food, many serve pasta, steaks, grills and salads at the bar. Even bars that are not cafés during the day will serve snacks:
Pano Şaraphanesi is one of several historic wine houses found in the back streets of Beyoğlu which serve wine by the glass or bottle in convivial surroundings. A few hotel bars, such as City Lights at the Ceylan Inter-Continental Hotel , offer more elaborate dishes. Other bars, like Zihni's, have restaurant sections. Many bars feature live bands playing rock or jazz music.