Kadıköy Restaurants 2027: Where to Eat, from Fish to Meyhane

Start at Çiya Sofrası on Güneşlibahçe Sokak for a lunch from the steam trays (about 400 to 700 TL, roughly $8 to $15, per person), eat fish and kebab in the market lanes around it, and keep Moda for ice cream, tea and a slow evening. That is the whole shape of eating in Kadıköy, and every place below sits within a 25-minute walk of the ferry pier. If you would rather follow someone who knows which counters are worth the queue, our Istanbul street food tour is $90 per person and our private half-day food tour is $81.25 per person.

This guide covers 17 places, grouped by meal, with the street, what to order and a price level where a 2026 source gave one. Hours and averages come from listings reviewed between April and June 2026 (Mes Prestiges, Yummy Istanbul, istanbul.com), converted at roughly 48 TL to the dollar. Nobody can print 2027 menus yet, so treat every price as a snapshot and expect lira prices to move after the January reprints. Where I found no price, I say so instead of guessing.

Kadıköy restaurants at a glance: quick facts

How to get to Kadıköy for lunch

Take the ferry. Şehir Hatları boats leave Eminönü, Karaköy and Beşiktaş about every 15 to 20 minutes, cross in roughly 20 minutes and cost about 30 TL with an Istanbulkart, according to an istanbul.com guide checked in April 2026. Boats thin out after about 9 pm, so check the last sailing before a late dinner. The alternative is Marmaray from Sirkeci or Yenikapı to Ayrılık Çeşmesi, which is a short walk from the centre, or the M4 metro if you are coming from Sabiha Gökçen.

You land beside the bull statue (Boğa), the local meeting point. The market starts a few minutes inland, and Güneşlibahçe Sokak is the lane most of the best-known restaurants hang from. The covered and open food market runs daily from about 9 am to 8 pm and is busiest late in the morning and on Saturdays. If you are building a full day on this side, our things to do in Kadıköy page and the Asian side one-day route show how to fit the meals around the sights.

Market lunch: where to eat in Kadıköy Çarşı

The market is where you eat if you only have one meal to spend here. Most of these places are small, quick and priced for locals.

1. Çiya Sofrası (Güneşlibahçe Sokak No. 43). The chef Musa Dağdeviren built his reputation on regional Anatolian recipes that few restaurants still cook, and the dishes change daily. You walk the steam trays, pick what looks good and pay by the plate. Mes Prestiges lists hours of 11:00 to 22:00 and an average of about 700 TL ($15) per person; istanbul.com puts a full lunch at 400 to 700 TL. Go before 13:00 on a Saturday or expect to wait. The kebab sister restaurant, Çiya Kebap, is next door, and Yummy Istanbul rates its lahmacun highly.

2. Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası (Yağlıkçı İsmail Sokak No. 1). Cooking in the market since 1919, and the signature is the Yanya köfte: meatballs wrapped in thin aubergine slices and baked with tomatoes. Mes Prestiges, reviewed in June 2026, lists 10:00 to 22:00, an average of about 400 TL ($8) and a spread of 200 to 700 TL. The terrace at the back is quieter than the street side.

3. Ekspres İnegöl Köftecisi. Serving köfte in the market since 1986, according to Yummy Istanbul. Order İnegöl köfte, lamb or chicken şiş, or the kaşarlı köfte with fried potatoes and piyaz (a white bean salad), then finish with sütlü tel kadayıf. I could not find a current price, so ask for the menu before ordering.

4. Borsam Taşfırın (Tarihi Çarşı). A wood-fired lahmacun with hand-minced lamb, parsley, tomato and an Urfa spice blend. Eat it standing in the lane or at a street table, with lemon and a handful of parsley rolled inside.

5. Pidesun and Karadeniz Pide ve Döner. Both serve Black Sea-style pide. Pidesun opened in 2004 and is known for the open pide with kaşar and pastırma. Karadeniz Pide ve Döner (Recaizade Sokak No. 7) is a listed spot for kıymalı pide, the minced-meat version. Pide is the cheapest sit-down meal here, and one plate is a full lunch for most people.

Fish in Kadıköy: market stalls, sandwiches and Moda

Fish is the other reason people cross the water. The old fish market (Tarihi Balıkçılar Çarşısı) has stalls selling grilled or fried fish by the portion, such as hamsi (anchovies) in season. The istanbul.com guide quotes about 180 to 280 TL per plate (roughly $4 to $6), and warns that some places quote tourists a vague "market price", so confirm the figure before you sit. A Portuguese travel blog put a fish sandwich at about 100 to 200 TL in 2026, but did not name a stall, so treat that as a range, not a promise.

6. Kadı Nimet Balıkçılık (Serasker Caddesi, Tarihi Balıkçılar Çarşısı No. 10/A). Mes Prestiges lists it as mid-range with hours of 11:00 to 00:00, last reviewed in April 2026. Yummy Istanbul describes a bakery and coffee side that is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 19:00, and recommends it for Turkish coffee and cherry cake rather than a fish dinner. Two sources, two sets of hours: call ahead if you are going in the evening.

7. Cibalıkapı Balıkçısı Moda. A warm, old-tavern interior with cold and hot meze and a short list of seasonal fish. This is the sit-down option when you want fish with a table, a bottle and no rush. Prices are not in the sources I checked, so ask for the day's fish weight and price at the counter.

Fish prices move with the catch. Palamut and hamsi are cheapest in autumn, and a market-day price you read in a news piece may be gone by the weekend.

Breakfast and bakeries in Kadıköy

8. Moda Van Kahvaltı (Moda Caddesi No. 163). Order the set Van-style breakfast, or build your own from the cheeses, honey and clotted cream on the list. Plan a long sit rather than a quick stop.

9. Beyaz Fırın Ekmek (Yasa Caddesi No. 23). Simit, börek, bread and cakes with tea or coffee, which makes it the budget option for a standing breakfast.

10. Namlı Gurme (Bağdat Caddesi, Caddebostan). A delicatessen with a breakfast room serving cured meats and artisanal cheeses. It is a short taxi ride from the centre, so it suits you if you are already walking Bağdat Caddesi.

If breakfast is the main goal of your trip east, our note on the best Turkish breakfast in Istanbul compares the main neighbourhoods and what the plates cost.

Late snacks and street food

11. Reks Kokoreç. Very small, five tables inside and a few benches outside, according to Yummy Istanbul, and busy on weekends after the nearby bars close. Order kokoreç (grilled lamb intestine in a sandwich), stuffed mussels or a sucuk sandwich. It is not a place for someone who dislikes offal, and the ordering is fast.

12. Basta Street Food Bar (Sakız Sokak No. 1). Lamb shawarma wraps, lahmacun and grilled halloumi, with sütlaç (rice pudding) for dessert according to Time Out. It is a casual, quick stop for a vegetarian-friendly dürüm.

For a longer list of what to eat on foot across the city, our Istanbul street food guide with prices has 15 snacks and the typical cost.

Moda: ice cream, tea and a meyhane evening

Moda sits a 20-minute walk from the pier, or a ride on the nostalgic tram, which istanbul.com puts at about 15 TL with an Istanbulkart. It is quieter than the market and better after 5 pm.

13. Dondurmacı Ali Usta (Moda Caddesi). The best-known ice cream shop in Moda, founded in 1969 according to one traveller listing, with dozens of traditional flavours such as fındık, ceviz and kavun. Time Out recommends salep in winter. One Turkish news site put a scoop in Istanbul's busy spots at 80 to 150 TL, but that is a general range, not Ali Usta's own price. Expect a queue on summer evenings.

14. Baylan. A patisserie from 1923, known for the kup griye, a caramel sundae. About 220 to 300 TL with coffee (istanbul.com, April 2026).

15. Moda Çay Bahçesi. The municipality-run tea garden on the waterfront, with tea in small tulip glasses for about 20 to 30 TL. It is first come, first served, and the best table in the district for a sunset.

16. Samatyalı Moda Meyhanesi. Time Out describes it as a drinking-focused tavern with warm starters and meze and no main courses. Meyhane evenings start late, so book for Friday and Saturday. I found no 2026 price for it, so ask the waiter for the price per meze plate and rakı before you order.

17. Küff (Yeldeğirmeni). A relaxed café-bar in the neighbourhood behind the pier, with Turkish breakfast, burgers, quesadillas and Cuban sandwiches. It suits a younger crowd that wants coffee and a long afternoon rather than a traditional lokanta.

For a proper rakı evening, see our guide to the best meyhane in Istanbul and what it costs.

How much does a meal in Kadıköy cost?

These are approximate. The lira moved a lot in 2026, and a restaurant can reprint a menu without telling anyone. If a place charges much more than the table above, ask to see the menu.

A one-day eating route

1. Arrive by 10:30. Ferry from Eminönü or Karaköy, stand by the bull statue and walk into the market.
2. 11:30, lunch. Çiya Sofrası or Yanyalı Fehmi, then a lahmacun at Borsam if you want a second small plate.
3. 14:30, coffee and cake. Baylan or Kadı Nimet.
4. 16:00, walk to Moda. Along the coast road or on the tram. Ice cream at Ali Usta and tea at the Moda tea garden.
5. 19:30, dinner. Fish at Cibalıkapı Balıkçısı or meze at a Moda meyhane.
6. Return by ferry before the last sailing, or take Marmaray from Ayrılık Çeşmesi.

If you are crossing from the old city, our Istanbul food tour in Kadıköy does a version of this on foot with a guide, and our private Istanbul food tour can be set around your dietary needs. Travellers who eat no meat can start from the vegetarian food tour. We organise the ferry and the whole day, and group size is kept small.

Across the water, the same style of eating is easy to find in Karaköy, covered in our Karaköy restaurants guide, and around the old city in where to eat in Sultanahmet. For more tours on both continents, see all Istanbul tours.

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