Harem Istanbul Cafe & Restaurant

A variety of Turkish meze dishes as well as other appetizers are available at Harem.  If you enjoy having and appetizer or starter before your dinner, you’ll definitely appreciate Turkish ‘meze’ and the Turkish way of dining. There are few cuisines in the world that can rival Turkish cuisine when it comes to ‘meze.’ The selection …

Spice 101! Do you know the secret spice that makes Turkish meatballs (kofte) so great? Cumin (Kimyon)! Other spices commonly used at Harem Istanbul (and in traditional Turkish cooking) include red pepper flakes (pul biber), dry oregano (kekik), dry mint (nane), and sumak which comes from a dried wild berry and has a slightly sour …

Don’t go to the overpriced fish houses (charged by the weight with often a big surprise at the end of the meal!). We have a wide variety of delicious seafood available — sea bass, sea bream, shrimp, calamari, and more! What you see is what you get, including the amazing photo of our fish platter …

The secret to unlocking the mysteries of magical Istanbul begin at the table, as well as in the back streets, bakeries and kitchens of the city that never stops eating. It is Istanbul where you haggle over spices sold by the kilo, walk the path of the oldest bazaar in the world where merchants still …

Kebaps reign supreme in Turkish cuisine with almost every part of Anatolia (east of Istanbul) having its own kebap specialty. Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous “Sis kebab”, now known in many countries of the world. “Doner kebab” is another …

Let’s be clear, we know how to prepare and serve succulent cuts of meat in Ottoman and Turkish style. But our mamas told us to eat our vegetables, so we also know how to satisfy the vegetarians among us — fresh salads with local herbs, well cooked vegetables, lentils and much more.