Istanbul Food Market Visit: A Gastronomic Journey from Europe to Asia

Embark on a gastronomic journey through Istanbul’s food markets, sampling the diverse flavors of Turkey. Indulge in local delicacies, from buffalo cream breakfast to fish wraps and mouth-watering desserts. Experience the city like a true local.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Misir Carsisi (Spice Market) - Begin your day with a delightful local breakfast near the Spice Market. Relish the breakfast shopping experience with your gourmet guide at a local dairy store. Savor delectable pastrami, Kaymak (buffalo cream) with organic honey, various cheeses, sesame bread (simit), and Menemen, a dish made of tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and eggs. Enjoy the delicious pistachio and hazelnut pastes, a variety of cheeses, and Acuka paste, all accompanied by Turkish çay (tea) served in a tulip-shaped glass.
  • Mumhane Caddesi - After breakfast, take a stroll on the Galata Bridge, where you can view the historical peninsula of former Constantinople, now Istanbul, and see both the European and Asian sides simultaneously. It’s a fantastic photography opportunity. Next, taste kokoreç (lamb cooked on charcoal) with spices in a sandwich bread, followed by a tasty fish wrap in lavash bread with spices and AB’s pomegranate sauce in the former Jewish neighborhood.
  • Bosphorus - Enjoy a ferry ride with stunning views of Istanbul. Traveling from Europe to Asia has never been easier! Learn about the landmarks you see from the ferry with insights from your historian guide. Prepare to visit a unique local food market to sample some delicious local cuisine away from the tourist spots.
  • Kadikoy Carsisi - Stroll through the Kadikoy food market and feel like the only tourist around. Listen to the stories behind the food from your gourmet guide. Start with a slice of sun-dried beef pastrami and grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices. Savor a mouthwatering Lahmacun (local pizza with minced lamb & beef, onions, tomatoes, and paprika) cooked in a stone oven with wood fire. Sample unique mussels stuffed with rice and spices, unlike any mussels you’ve tried before. Enjoy tasting İskender kebap, made from finely sliced kebap on top of pita bread with tomatoes, butter, and yogurt sauce, at the place where Doner kebap was invented. Walk a bit further to taste the delicious Kunefe dessert made from angel hair noodles, cheese, pistachio, and honey, accompanied by unique Maraş dondurma (Turkish ice cream made from goat’s milk). Sip a glass of çay (black tea) or Turkish coffee before the ferry ride back to Europe.
  • Bosphorus Strait - Take another ferry ride back to the European side after filling your belly and feeling happy. The tour will end at the ferry pier in Eminonu, near where we started the tour. You also have the option to get off at Karakoy pier before Eminonu. Your guide can assist you with directions to your hotel.
What's Included
  • Menemen: Made from tomatoes, green peppers, eggs, and spices.
  • Künefe: A dessert made of angel hair noodles, cheese, honey, and pistachio.
  • Maraş Dondurma: Famous Turkish ice cream made from goat’s milk and roots of mountain orchids.
  • Iskender: Lamb cooked on charcoal on top of pita bread cubes with tomatoes, butter, and yogurt sauce.
  • Turk kahvesi & Çay: Turkish coffee or tea options.
  • Börek: Filo pastry wrapped with minced meat, cheese, potatoes, spices, and butter.
  • Turkish coffee: Coffee brewed on sand or charcoal.
  • Midye: Mussels stuffed with rice and spices cooked in the shell, served with lemon.
  • Ferry tickets: Ferry tickets to and from Uskudar neighborhood on the Asian side.
  • Balık dürüm: Grilled mackerel fish wrapped in lavash bread with salad, pomegranate sauce, and spices.
  • Çay: Turkish black brewed tea served in tulip-shaped glasses.
  • Breakfast
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • No vegetarian and vegan food at 4 of the food stops.
Additional Information

Visit the best of the local food markets in Asian side and European side of Istanbul. Taste the food which comes from different regions of Turkey. Sample the unique flavors which your local food expert choose for you. Feel like a local at the local markets and cafes. Start with a delicious breakfast what locals eat at home made of Kaymak ( buffalo cream), with honey and sesame bread, variety of the cheese, pistachio and hazelnuts pastes with honey, Menemen ( Turkish dish made from tomatoes, green peppers, eggs, and spices ), and olives.
Taste the popular fish wrap with spices and pomegranate sauce. Taste the delicious mussels stuffed with rice and spices.
Taste mouth watering Kunefe dessert made from angels hair noodles, pistachio, cheese and honey with accompany of Maraş dondurma ( Turkish ice cream made of goats milk ). Sip a çay ( tea ) from the tulips shape glass and enjoy the ferry ride back to European side with the great view of Istanbul.

Location
İtimat Fabrika Satış Yeri
Avrupa Yakası
Our meeting point is “ Itimat Fabrika Satış Yeri/Magazasi ” it is a dairy store. Please wait in front of the shop till our guide comes to you and ask for your name. On Google map : İtimat Fabrika Satış Yeri https://maps.google.com?g_st=ic
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(95 Ratings)
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Lisa_h
Aug 31, 2024
Excellent overview of Turkish cuisine and history - Salih was such a great tour guide! The food was all amazing and he really explained the history of the city, Türkiye, and everything we were eating. Highly recommend. It’s a lot of food, so do a better job pacing yourself than I did!
Review provided by Viator
John_g
Aug 22, 2024
A day of history, culture, travel and unique and exceptional cuisine! - Our tour guide Õnder was exceptionally well informed; about Turkish history, the sights and restaurants of Istanbul and on the uniqueness of the local cuisine. The day began with a lavish breakfast in European Istanbul near the Spice Market and continued after a short ferry ride with a lunch tour on the Asian side of the city featuring 6 different stops at various unforgettable restaurants. We had delicious döner-kapab at the restaurant of the man and his family who invented it (!) and finished the tasty tour with a superb künefe for dessert back on the European shores of the New Town. Önder was also able to give us many other pointers of outstanding historic restaurants in the same neighbourhoods on our travels.
Review provided by Viator
Melanie_e
Aug 21, 2024
Fantastic food tour of manny splendid offerings - I loved the enthusiasm with which our knowledgeable guide Onder (sorry for the spelling) explained all of our very many food experiences (so many!), and also put them in the historical and cultural context of the country. He worked hard to make sure we had a good time and that all of the group felt comfortable.
Review provided by Viator
Sara5678910
Aug 17, 2024
Wonderful food tour of Istanbul - We had a wonderful time on this food tour of Istanbul! Salih was an absolutely fantastic guide who provided excellent insight into Turkish food and culture. Salih also provided helpful information and guidance on things to do, see and eat during our stay in Istanbul. We enjoyed trying a variety of Turkish cuisine and certainly left satisfied! Thanks again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tina_p
Aug 15, 2024
Book it! - Great way to try different foods that I would normally never order. Learned it about Turkish food and history.
Review provided by Viator
Peter_o
Aug 13, 2024
Excellent Tour Guide, Excellent Tour Guide Company - Guide was excellent!!!! He is very knowledgeable. A great story teller, and guided us through the city with enthusiasm and even flair, talking about Istanbul food, history and more. He has great communication skills and we (semi native English speakers) had no trouble at all understanding every word of his. I liked his anecdotes very much, and made this the most memorable guided tour of several that we took in Istanbul and Cappadocia over the course of a week. I would recommend him for everyone, and would take other tours that he does around Istanbul. He is also very patient and kind (there is a fair amount of walking involved). Additionally, agency was very flexible. I had to miss my initial appointment, and they immediately understood and offered me another couple of dates to choose from. The guide was very clear about where to meet and communicated promptly ahead of time regarding the logistics of meetup place. Overall excellent experience and memorable trip thanks to this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Maya_e
Aug 12, 2024
Must do. - Tried every single food that’s recommended when coming to turkey. Delicious. Extremely knowledgeable tour guide (Onder) not only in food but in country’s history. Very fun and interesting.
Review provided by Viator
P7387pyemilym
Aug 11, 2024
Must do Istanbul experience - Wow. This was the best thing we did in Istanbul and it's the best day/walking tour I've ever done in my travels. Amazing food, great to be taken on the ferry, got taught history of Turkey and Istanbul and also food and culture. Our guide Önder was smart, patient and very kind. We achieved so much in 6 hours but it felt so calm and relaxed. I was nervous to do a 6hr tour but left the tour feeling energised. Thank you so much!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ramona_v
Aug 4, 2024
Awesome Turkish Food with Explanations and Historical/Background Information - One of the best tours! Tried different kinds of Turkish food with explanations from our awesome guide! We had a total of 8 stops! I highly recommend this food tour!
Review provided by Viator
Angelique_h
Aug 3, 2024
Delicious way to discover Istanbul - Very well organized tour that takes you around Istanbul and try a variety of local food in mostly historic restaurants and food stalls. Our guide was very knowledgeable about food but also history in general. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 10 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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