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IstanbulFood & gourmet tours

Our most recommended Istanbul Food & gourmet tours

Istanbul: Taste of Two Continents Food Tour

1. Istanbul: Taste of Two Continents Food Tour

From home-made dishes and street food to traditional kebabs and Turkish ice cream, immerse yourself in Istanbul’s food scene and acquaint yourself with Turkish culture and habits during this walking tour. Make stops at 10 different eateries with a variety of samples at each. Begin your morning with a delicious Turkish breakfast of locally sourced produce on Istanbul’s European side before crossing the mighty Bosphorus by ferry to explore the more modern and chic area of Kadıköy, on the Asian side, where you will discover the best restaurants in Istanbul. Sip on freshly brewed Turkish coffee while enjoying locally-made baklava. Taste delicious dolma, tantuni and kokoreç, as well as other local favorites. Enjoy the home-cooked flavours of Kadıköy’s most loved restaurant, Çiya Sofrası. Finally, finish your day with the cool, refreshing flavours of the best Turkish dondurma (ice-cream) in Moda.

Istanbul: Guided Food Tour of Street Food and Markets

2. Istanbul: Guided Food Tour of Street Food and Markets

Try out the best culinary offerings in Istanbul with the help of a guide to show you some local favorite spots. You'll sample food from cafes, markets, street food vendors, and high-quality restaurants and get a taste of some traditional Turkish dishes of the highest quality. Browse a local dairy market before sitting at a cafe with a delicious dish of simit (sesame bread) with honey and kaymak (a creamy dairy product), along with other cheese varieties. Try out a bowl of menemen (a tomato-based dish) and a mug of çay, a traditional Turkish tea. Then, admire panoramic views of Istanbul as you take the ferry to the Kadikoy region on the Asian side of the city, a popular location with locals for food shopping. Taste a delicious İskender kebap which is made of lamb on top of pitta bread with fired butter, tomatoes, and yogurt sauce, followed by delicious mussels stuffed with rice, spices, and butter sauce specialized to Turkey, Next, you'll wander through the bustling fish market to try a balik ekmek (fish sandwich). Top it off with a portion of Kunefe, a traditional dessert made of cheese, and pistachios with the accompaniment of the famous Turkish ice cream. Finally, take one last stop at a local cafe to sip on a traditional Turkish coffee cooked in a cezve (copper pot).

Istanbul: Guided Food and Culture Tour

3. Istanbul: Guided Food and Culture Tour

Explore the cuisines of Istanbul on a food tour of both sides of the Bosphorus. Take in the city as your cross the Bosphorus with the included ferry. Stop a 9 mouth-watering locations and sip on 4 drinks. Savor an entrée, main course, and a dessert. Starting at Karakoy Pier, ride a public ferry across the Bosporus Strait to Kadikoy Port. Enjoy views of 2 continents on the journey.  Stroll around the Kadikoy neighborhood visiting local markets and diving down a maze of streets lined with local shops selling all kinds of produce. Go to the fish market to try some delicious mussels stuffed with rice and spices. Stop at break at a café, full of locals playing backgammon. Follow your guide to a restaurant that specializes in home cooked food from the Kurdish area of south east Turkey (vegetarian and gluten free options available). Head back to the European side on the ferry, admiring views of Istanbul at night. Indulge in something sweet at a local eatery where you can sample a Turkish dessert.

Istanbul: 4-Day City Excursion with Lodging

4. Istanbul: 4-Day City Excursion with Lodging

Discover the historic highlights of Istanbul on a 4-day guided city excursion with airport pickup and lodging included. Learn from an expert guide as you visit enchanting sites, both on and off the beaten path. Day 1, Arrival in Istanbul Arrive at the Istanbul Airport and receive a friendly welcome from your driver. Your driver will take you to your hotel to relax, rest and prepare for your excursion. Day 2: Treasures of Istanbul (Breakfast and Lunch) Begin your city tour with a visit to Hagia Sophia, the largest manmade construction at the time apart from the Egyptian Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. Next visit Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the Sultan, and the last seat of the government for the Ottoman Empire. Continue on to the Hippodrome, built by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus in 203 AD. Next, visit the 17th-century Blue Mosque. End the day by wandering through the 4,000 shops of the Grand Bazaar, then head to your hotel in Istanbul to rest. Day 3: Princes Island Tour (Breakfast and Lunch) Embark on an adventure to Princes' Islands, and find colorful fruit trees, beautiful gardens with exotic flowers, and lush forests. Admire the massive Ottoman mansions, as well as Victorian summer villas as you relax on a horse-drawn carriage tour. Day 4: Bosphorus Cruise and Spice Bazaar Tour (Breakfast) Begin the final day of your tour with a visit to the Spice Bazaar; a trading spot for herbs and spices from around Egypt and Asia. Spend the afternoon cruising on the Strait of Istanbul and learn about the culture and history of the area. Admire views of marble palaces and small fishing villages along the shores.

Istanbul: Evening Private Food Tour in Kadikoy

5. Istanbul: Evening Private Food Tour in Kadikoy

Explore Istanbul on an extraordinary food tour to see a different side, beyond its beautiful buildings, palaces, and mosques. Join the locals to try lots of good eating and drinking on an evening discovery. Eat your way through Kadıköy, and indulge in a taste of Istanbul’s evening life. Kadıkoy is a very residential neighborhood where all the locals meet friends, do their shopping, and eat a variety of good food. Discover typical Turkish flavors in the early evening after you go across the Bosphorus to the Asian side. Taste several samplings, chat with shopkeepers, watch locals and make friends. Join this tour for an evening of great food and drink, history and culture, and lots of fun. Lots of samplings are included on the go. Plenty of food will be sampled along the way: baklava, kebabs, desserts, Turkish delight, simit, Turkish tea, mezes, olives, delicatessen stops, pastrami, clotted cream, cheese, and more!

Istanbul Food on Foot Tour

6. Istanbul Food on Foot Tour

On this guided walking food tour you will travel around Eminonu, its intricate alleyways and hidden corners and go off the beaten paths while eating and enjoying most of delicious food tastings. With this culinary walk, you will visit bakeries, pastry shops and Turkish pizza restaurants as well as eating a bowl of traditional soup; sharing Turkish-style breakfast with a black tea; tasting a freshly baked bagel; stopping by a local restaurant for sampling an authentic Turkish pizza; or finding some artisan’s shops to visit and mingle with locals picking up their daily products from the markets in a labyrinth of streets. It will be all about real people, real food, and real places. A visit to the Spice Market followed by Asian part of Istanbul. This indoor market features shops offering a variety of spices, flavored teas, Turkish delight, and nuts, as well as ceramics, household goods, small souvenirs, and more. As soon as you enter, you’ll marvel at the colors and aromas of Turkish food offerings.

From Istanbul: Ephesus & Şirince Day Trip w/ Wine Tasting

7. From Istanbul: Ephesus & Şirince Day Trip w/ Wine Tasting

Spend the day exploring the most memorable places in Ephesus and Şirince on this guided full-day tour from Istanbul, lunch included. Visit the House of Virgin Mary, see the Temple of Artemis, and taste local wine at a vineyard. Enjoy convenient round-trip transportation from Istanbul. Start your trip by getting picked up from your hotel in Istanbul and transferred to the Istanbul Airport for your flight from Istanbul to Izmir. Upon arrival at Izmir Airport, meet your driver to head to Ephesus to start the tour. First, stop at the House of Virgin Mary, the place where Mary may have spent her last days. This place was officially declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1986, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage. The visit to the House of Virgin Mary takes about 45 minutes. After, take a 5-minute drive to Ephesus to continue the tour. Ephesus is an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the Hellenistic, Roman Imperial, and early Christian periods. The city is an important site for Christianity as one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Walk along the city’s marble streets accompanied by a tour guide. See the Ephesus Odeon, Ephesus Prytaneion, State Agora, Memmius Monument, Temple of Domitian, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Temple of Hadrian, and Ephesus Latrines. Next, optionally visit The Private House (so-called “Terrace Houses” brothel). Afterward, carry on to the Celsus Library, Marble Road, Commercial Agora, the great theater, and Arcadian Street (Harbor Road). Later, head to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Get a chance to take memorable photos of the Church of St. John and İsa Bey Mosque. Before the end of the tour, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward, head to Şirince, an old village of Rûm (Byzantine Greeks) situated on the hills of Selçuk, 7 km from Ephesus. The village is popular for beautiful traditional houses and fruit-flavored wine production. Complete your experience with free time for a wine tasting. At the end of your trip, get transferred back to the airport for your flight to Istanbul. Upon arrival in Istanbul, a driver will pick you up at the airport and transfer you back to your hotel in the evening.

Taste of Turkey in Istanbul’s Europe & Asia by Ferry

8. Taste of Turkey in Istanbul’s Europe & Asia by Ferry

Thoroughly enjoy learning about the history of Turkey and tasting the local food in the Asian side of Istanbul. Explore Turkish food culture and taste local delicacies in Istanbul's both European and Asian sides. After a traditional Turkish breakfast hop on a ferry to get to Kadıköy on the Asian side to visit some of the city’s best specialized eateries and food markets and taste traditional dishes. Relax on board and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the old city and the islands while watching fellow passengers rushing for their job. This short ferry journey gives you an insider look at everyday life of local people. Our Tour is fun, informative and of course, delicious, this is so much more than a food tour – it’s a taste of the both continents all in one day!

Istanbul: Half-Day Turkish Coffee Tasting and Tour

9. Istanbul: Half-Day Turkish Coffee Tasting and Tour

Discover the secrets to the national drink of Turkey, on a half-day coffee tasting tour and lesson in Istanbul. Your coffee adventure begins at a museum with exhibits dedicated to the history of Turkish coffee. Learn why it became Turkey’s national drink after the Ottomans brought the 1st beans from Egypt in 1519. Hear about the 1st coffee shops that opened in the Eminönü district just a few years later, and the prohibiton decrees set by some of the Ottoman sultans. Next, learn how to make the perfect Turkish coffee in an historic coffee shop. Follow the “Coffee Route” of the city center, going down tiny streets to interesting old bazaars and storage buildings. Pop into some of the most historic coffee shops en route to get your caffeine fix.

Istanbul: Private Guided Food Tour with 10 Tastings

10. Istanbul: Private Guided Food Tour with 10 Tastings

Eat your way through Istanbul's culinary scene on a private food tour. Go on a delicious journey as you try 10 of the best food items beloved by the locals: from savory to sweet and local drinks; this tour will leave every foodie satisfied! Enjoy tastings typical of the local cuisine and hand-picked by a local guide passionate about food like Turkish delight and dürüm. But that's not it! This tour is more than just food; it's a cultural experience! In between food stops, you'll also find city highlights making this experience a well-rounded tour that will satisfy every foodie. Withlocals The 10 Tastings Private Food Tour™ is one of Withlocals' signature tours available in major cities worldwide. We work with passionate local guides who earn a fair fee. We support local economies by only offering local produce and prevent over-tourism with only small non-intrusive groups. Our tours are carbon-neutral and away from the standard tourist routes.

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What people are saying about Istanbul

Overall rating

4.8 / 5

based on 112 reviews

The experience was fantastic. Onder, my guide was very knowledgeable about all the different foods we tasted. The history and origin of them. He also had a tremendous knowledge of the area of Istanbul, the history of the mosques and churches of the area as well as other significant land marks. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone coming to Istanbul, even if you only have one night. It’s worth it.

This is a fantastic tour. FIVE STARS!!!! Not only is all the food interesting and delicious, but the tour takes you through a very local and non-touristy area of Istanbul. There is even a couple ferry rides. Sahil was very knowledgable and there is a great variety of food and education on Istanbul and the culture.

So glad we started our trip with this food tour. We were able to eat a wide range of traditional Turkish food and drink. Our guide was fantastic and we left with more confidence in choosing what we’ll eat throughout our stay.

This tour was amazing. Salih is very laid back and extremely knowledgeable. We got to see parts of Istanbul that only the locals know about and sample so much new (to us) and delicious food. Highly recommend.

Our guide Bahar was amazing, a total superstar. The tour was educational, fun, and delicious. Be prepared to eat A LOT! A great way to see many parts of Istanbul, for sure.