Vegan Delights to Savor in Istanbul

Posted On September 25, 2022

Whether you’re doing it for dietary needs, or for the animals and the planet, I’ve got you covered. If you’re a vegan or a vegetarian in Istanbul, you won’t need to worry about what or where to eat while visiting the city or living in it.

There are plenty of delicious unintentionally vegan and very popular Turkish dishes that I encourage everyone to try. Here are my favorite picks:

● Çiğköfte: This light, cheap, and sometimes spicy street food is one of the most popular dishes amongst Turkish people. Once made using raw meat, the health department many years ago decided to stop çiğköfte shops from using raw meat and instead they developed a mix of spices and bulgur which tastes amazing. It has olive oil, bulgur, and the famous Urfa pepper that gives it an earthy spiciness, and it is considered an appetizer in some restaurants, while in other it is made into a wrap with some fresh veggies, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Plus, it can be made extra spicy if you enjoy some heat on your tongue (çok acılı).

There are çiğköfte shops in every neighborhood, and they’re mostly great, with very few exceptions. So instead of directing you towards a place, I’ll direct you away from one. Ali Usta çiğköfteci in Fatih is the most popular çiğköfte shop, but among the worst tasting. There’s always a line and the çiğköfte lacks in flavor, texture, and looks. The charisma of Ali Usta is what makes him famous, not the taste of his food, so just go by any Oses, Çiğköftem, or any small çiğ köfte shop you find, try different shops to enjoy a verity of flavors and pick what goes in your wrap while it’s being made.

● Mercimek çorbası: This is lentil soup. I don’t think it needs any explanation, it’s just delicious lentil soup, with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a piece of fresh Turkish bread, it just hits the spot every time, especially in cold months or Summer nights.

Lentil soup can be found in almost every restaurant in Türkiye as it’s one of the most beloved dishes, but it’s not always perfect, so I would suggest finding a proper çorbacı (soup maker) shop to try it in, such as Karaköy Çorba Evi
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1viqduPBMWnmmQ4U9

or Fülfül Çorba
https://maps.app.goo.gl/g8cYsQY18Qc4gobL7

● While we’re talking about vegan soups, Ezogelin Çorbası is another very tasty Turkish soup that you must try. It is a beloved soup that comes from the Southern city of Gaziantep, and named after an old bride’s tale.

This can also be found easily in many soup shops, however, some restaurants will pick either this or lentil soup to serve.

● Simit: Round, pretty, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, covered with sesame seeds, simit is one of Türkiye’s most popular breads. It’s like a harder, thin “bagel” (please don’t expect a US style bagel, this isn’t one) that tastes amazing on its own, with a cup of tea, or with anything you fancy, like olive oil and herbs, tomato sauce, Acuka, olives, jam, or fresh veggies.

A ferry boat trip between the European and Anatolian sides of Istanbul wouldn’t be complete for me without buying two simits and a cup of tea to snack on during the journey. Fresh simit is one of the best things to have with your breakfast while in Türkiye.
Find the closest bakery (fırın) and get yourself some simit, or pick some up from any of the many simit stands you will definitely see on the street corners.

● Yaprak sarması, and veggie dolmas are my personal favorite things on this list. They are absolutely magnificent. Yaprak sarma are grape leaves filled with rice, herbs and spices, rolled, then cooked in lemon juice and olive oil. While dolma are different types of veggies like peppers, eggplants, and cabbage, stuffed and cooked in tomato juice and olive oil.

These can be found in most verity restaurants, however you need to pay some attention when ordering them to make sure you’re getting the much more widely available vegan variety that is called zeytinyağlı, which means it’s cooked in olive oil, and not the etli kind which has meat in it. They’re usually in two different lists at the restaurant and are clearly described, and most restaurants only serve the vegan versions nowadays, but its somethıng to watch out for nonetheless.
Two great places to get these are from the meze menus in Fıccın Restoran
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N2Xm1Bu5SmcCuaFN8

and Çiya Sofrası
https://maps.app.goo.gl/x6jyfksZrH19TiHk7

● Meze menus are full of vegan zeytinyağlı items, like Kısır which is a bulgur salad that has parsley, tomato paste, olive oil, lemon juice, etc. Acuka which is a spread made of crushed walnuts, pepper paste, and olive oil, and is usually eaten spread on bread for breakfast. Fava, an oniony fava bean puree. Mercimek köftesi is made of red lentils and bulgur. Hummus which needs no description. Ezme is a tomato, onion, garlic, parsley salad on the spicy side that is another favorite of mine. Şakşuka is a verity of sauteed veggies including eggplants and tomatoes.
Other meze dishes are made of okra, green beans, artichokes, spinach, celery, kidney beans, etc. There are too many to list so you’ll have to see and pick what tickles your fancy.

You will likely have to choose the vegan options from a sea of meze. If you cant tell what’s in it, just ask! While many restaurants have a meze menu, especially meat and seafood places, you could pick one of the meze specialist (meze evi) restaurants like Mayko Meze Evi
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zU4v5rywJEQU4KZC6

or Mezze Sepeti Meze
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7DiSwBZqCYMw5b8R8
Be sure the meze you pick doesn’t have yogurt; lots of places in Türkiye add yogurt to lots of dishes. Yoğurtlu means the dish has yogurt (and is no longer vegan).

● Pilav and kuru fasulye: White rice might not be as popular as bulgur in Türkiye, but it is served in many ways. Pilavcı is the title of restaurants that make and serve white rice, and I’ll go through some of the varieties you can get that are completely vegan.
Sade pilav: plain white rice.
Nohutlu pilav: white rice with chickpeas.
Soğanlı pilav: white rice with raw onions and sumac.
Mısırlı pilav: white rice topped with corn.
Kuru fasulye usulü pilav: white rice (often with chickpeas) topped with beans cooked in tomato sauce and olive oil.

Kuru fasulye: just the beans cooked with tomato sauce and olive oil.
Things to avoid: Tavuklu pilav, and kavurmalı pilav, as they are white rice topped with meats.
Etli kuru fasulye because it’s cooked with meat instead of olive oil.
Important notice: While rice is cooked separately, some restaurants would display the rice with chickens on top, so you either avoid places where you see that on display or you ask to get the rice straight from the pot and not from the display to avoid any unwanted meat contamination.

My go-to pilav places are: Tarihi Kalkanoğlu Pilavcısı
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jSQjhufaacBJXW2D7

and Pilav Arabası
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qJmokReEqfQDitre6

● Vegan street snacks mısır and kestane, mısır is corn, and it’s either boiled or roasted, and kestane is chestnuts. You can find these being sold on big streets and they’re delightful vegan snacks on the go.
● Falafel isn’t Turkish but it’s available in a lot of places, especially Lebanese restaurants, but they’re often overpriced, therefore I suggest small falafel based spots like:

Falafella
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GuXp6W1ajfEYTGJF7

Falafel House
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nubq2vKcJAeUSzsY6

Gazze Felafili
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Rcz6aaZiCe5sxb4r5

● Aşure, aka Noah’s pudding, is a historical vegan pudding that is topped with dried fruits and nuts, and is eaten especially on an Islamic holiday. It is told that Noah made this on his ark using the ingredients available. Find the closest Saray Muhallebisi and try it when you’re craving something sweet.

Vegan Exclusive spots: Everything I listed above is accidentally vegan, meaning they’re served everywhere not exclusively in vegan restaurants, however there are many of the latter that have their own vegan menus where you can dine away from everything non-vegan.

Wegain
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jiDDfkM9uMNmFPD37

Vegan Food Cartel
https://maps.app.goo.gl/thxD55iFbyW8ryYs8

Hanimeli Vegan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/359WjQPNpMYUNKeE6

Veganarsist
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zQ23Fk989B6Z1pim8

Falfool Vegan House
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rSSx4Y3zZbrNUpiQ8

Honorable mention: a lovely bar with a decent vegan menu:
Berlin Platz Pub
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MDUnuMDfNWcxPP7cA