Ciya Sofrasi

Long before “New Anatolian” became the fashionable way to eat, there was chef Musa Dagdeviren, who traveled Turkey’s backroads in search of traditional recipes to replicate in his restaurant in Kadikoy. Every food lover visiting Istanbul makes a pilgrimage to taste Ciya Sofrasi’s regional dishes: meat stew with tart green plums or lamb intestines stuffed with spiced bulgur and minced lamb. Opposite Ciya Sofrasi are two side-by-side ciyas serving kebabs: in spring, look for loquat and Gaziantep truffle kebabs, pide, and lahmacun.