The Matbah Restaurant located in Sultanahmet is a beautiful restaurant that is set in a equally beautiful garden. This fabulous restaurant serves excellent Turkish cuisine and barbecues as well as fresh sea food.The stunning decor, the ambience and authentic Ottoman cuisine is a major draw for the guests to come here time and again.

The food menu includes a array of dishes like at the start you can go for  a range of Turkish meze (appetizers). Make sure you try their pan-roasted diced lamb and vegetables and also the signature Ali Nazik Kebab (pan-fried beef atop a rich buttery eggplant/aubergine purée)

Karniyarik Eggplant stufed with Minced Lamb - degustation - Ottoman Cuisine (Source: avlxyz)

Here is a guest review:

Several cuisines majorly deriving from Middle Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe are the main contributors to the Ottoman Cuisine. The location, lovely, the staff, friendly, and the food, really extraordinary. Recipes reconstructed from Ottoman records, prepared with great taste and style, make for a really special dining experience, even in a city filled with tasty food. You can find all in this restaurant in Sultanahmet. I strongly recommend it.

 (Source: GOOGLE Reviews)

Address: Cankurtaran Mh., Caferiye Sokak 2, 34400 Istanbul

Tele: +90 212 514 6151 ‎

Open Hours: 07:00 - 00:30

Rates: $40.00 per entree.

Ciya Sofrasi is one of the best bets while in Turkey, as the owner and Chef Musa Dagdeviren who hails from the southeastern Turkey is sort of a culinary anthropologist, collecting recipes from around Turkey and other Ottoman empires.

The eatery serves some of the most memorable and uniquely seasoned dishes such as galye, stew of lamb, quince, apricot and chestnuts. Desserts are equally remarkable. The menu changes everyday and is seasonal. It always features a variety of vegetarian dishes too.

Eggplant Meze at Ciya Sofrasi, Istanbul (Source: smayda)

Here is a guest review:

This restaurant is a must if you love food and visit Istanbul. The chef is collecting traditional Turkish recipes and uses them for the menu. And this is just next to the market in Kadikoy, on the Asian side (ferry takes you there in 30 minutes from Eminonu). The place is relatively small but cosy, it's rather about making food than about serving them (starters are self-service) - but I wish all restaurants were like this. This is not a traditional sit-in restaurant but we loved walking to the grill quarter picking the next course. There was nothing I could really criticize (although I'm really good at it), and it includes the desserts as well. And yes, my wife can make very good humus, I tried it in many restaurants and so far, they were the only who could beat her best.

(Source: TripAdvisor)

Address: Guenslibahce Sokak No. 43, Kadikoy - Istanbul

Tele: +90 216 330 3190

Open Hours: 11:00 - 22:00

Rates: $10.00 onward.

Pasazade Ottoman Cuisine is a restaurant that offers a great variety of food; their major plus points being the Ottoman dishes and desserts. The ambience is great with a nice view from the terrace which is only available between June - October.  The menu has a variety of dishes from appetizers, meats, chicken and desserts in Ottoman as well as Turkish styles.

Pilic Char-grilled Spatchcock - Ottoman Cuisine AUD31 (Source: avlxyz)

Here is a guest review:

We enjoyed the New Year's Eve celebration at Pasazade. The staff was fantastic and each of the (many) courses of food were excellent. St. Nick made an appearance to hand out gifts too! The food was excellent, staff friendly. We would have spent more time in this restaurant but after a couple of meals we fancied something different from the aotooman cuisine.

(Source: TripAdvisor)

Address: Ibn-i-Kemal Caddesi 5/A, Sirkeci - Istanbul

Tele: +90 212 513 3750

Open Hours: Every day 12:00 - 23:00

Rates: $5.00 - $15.00