Istanbul's Michelin-Starred & Fine Dining Restaurants

Istanbul's fine-dining identity is built on a single question its best chefs keep answering differently: what does Anatolian food become when treated with the technique and ambition of a tasting menu, rather than left as home cooking or street food?

TURK Fatih Tutak

Opened in 2019 by chef Fatih Tutak, TURK became the first restaurant in Turkey to hold two Michelin stars, a distinction it has kept ever since. Tutak's menu draws on Anatolian ingredients and techniques filtered through years spent cooking internationally, resulting in a tasting menu that reads as distinctly Turkish without ever feeling like a simplified, tourist-facing version of the cuisine.

Neolokal

Set inside the restored Ottoman Bank building at SALT Galata in Karaköy, chef Maksut Aşkar's Neolokal holds a Michelin star alongside the distinction of being the first restaurant in Turkey to earn a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. Its «New Anatolian Kitchen» philosophy draws on the Ark of Taste catalogue of endangered regional ingredients, pairing genuine biodiversity work with a serious Turkish wine programme.

Mikla

Perched on the rooftop of the Marmara Pera hotel above İstiklal Avenue, chef Mehmet Gürs's Mikla has spent years as one of the most requested tables in the city, its New Anatolian menu served against a sweeping view over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus beyond — a dining room where the view and the plate are given genuinely equal billing.

Nobu Istanbul

Inside The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul, already detailed in our hotels guide, Nobu Istanbul applies chef Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese-Peruvian format to the city, offering an internationally familiar counterpoint to the distinctly Anatolian ambitions of the restaurants above.

Booking a Table

TURK Fatih Tutak and Neolokal both require reservations several weeks ahead for weekend dinners, with Mikla's rooftop tables at sunset the single hardest slot to secure in the city. Several of the hotels in our luxury hotels guide can assist with priority bookings through their concierge.