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Once a well-kept secret, the cat is out of the bag and it can be hard to get a table some nights. Deservedly popular for its delicious meze and fish, there’s no menu. Instead waiters bring a procession of tasty traditional hot and cold starters to the table. Then you can pick from the catch of the day, displayed in a glass-fronted fridge. In summer tables are put out in the cobbled street and there’s usually a group of musicians to serenade you.
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Kumkapi, formerly an Armenian district with a large fishing harbour, is a popular place for tourists and locals to eat out and be entertained by wandering street musicians. The Capari is just one of many convivial restaurants in the area which serve up meze and seafood. The food is by no means exceptional, but Kumkapi is a great place for a traditional night out.
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Ortakoy is a great place to spend an evening and the Cinar is the best of a row of restaurants in the cobbled main square that serve good fish. Don’t expect a menu as a selection of meze will be brought to your table. With a gentle breeze blowing off the Bosporus and the Mecidiye Mosque lit up like a Baroque birthday cake, the setting is lovely.
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There are few better places to dine out by the Bosporus than Korfez, one of the city’s most esteemed seafood restaurants. The location, in a waterside residence in Kanlica on the Asian shore, is enchanting. Arriving by private boat from the European shore adds to the magic. And the fish won’t disappoint either—grilled, fried or even baked in salt, which is the house speciality.
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