Dining & Eating out In Istanbul

Eating out all began with the merchants and businessmen in Istanbul. Many restaurants opened up in the business areas but they would only serve lunch. At the same time period, there were other places that did serve dinnertime meals although they were only frequented by men. Things have certainly changed over the last 75 years - dining is no longer a luxurious habit, it is a basic need. There are now all kinds of restaurants in the city - local and foreign. Dinner time changes according to the season, but usually starts around the time of sunset.

Turks prefer to have dinner with their friends or partners. Before going to a restaurant, they meet in a cafe to have something to drink and around sunset time, they enter a restaurant and order their drinks and starters first. The Turkish cuisine is similar to any European cuisine in the sense that there is a certain order to the courses being served -it does not all arrive at the same time. Having dinner is at least a 2 hour process with its starters, main dishes, desserts and coffee. After dinner, it is very common to go to a nightclub.

 

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