On the last day of our Turkey trip back in April, my wife Jun and I stayed in Istanbul to explore the city one last time. What we didn’t realize at the time of planning our itinerary was that the day in Istanbul was during the Eid al-Fitr holiday weekend marking the end of Ramadan. That meant a lot of restaurants closed during the weekend (and I’ll explain in a future post another thing to keep in mind if you are traveling to Turkey during this time which Jun and I so painfully experienced). We were staying in the touristy Sultanahmet neighborhood so there certainly was no shortage of restaurants that were still open but some spots that we had planned to check out were all closed. At the last minute, we stumbled upon a place called Deraliye for lunch, mainly drawn to its focus on the Ottoman palace cuisine.

When it comes to a restaurant menu, Deraliye should get some credit for coming up with one that is very comprehensive in terms of telling the story of its dishes (such as whether and how they were prepared in the palace for sultans during the heydays of the Ottoman Empire). It could look like a touristy gimmick, but the food certainly wasn’t bad at all. Jun and I have had the muammara spread (made with pepper paste) multiple times during our time in Turkey, and one of the fresher ones was from this restaurant. One thing we didn’t have up until our visit to Deraliye was fried beef kebab (called the kirde kebab), and the dish from the restaurant, accompanied by yogurt and vegetable on a crunchy dough, was a delicious dish. On the other hand, while the boiled lamb neck was soft in texture, the addition of plum sauce unfortunately overwhelmed the meat. For dessert, don’t skip the traditional Turkish dish katmer, a baklava dough with green pistachios on top and accompanied by ice cream. We’ve had this one at a restaurant in Cappadocia but the one at Deraliye was much better.

You can most likely walk in for lunch anytime without booking in advance thanks to the spacious dining space. In fact, the restaurant was fairly slow when we arrived until a large American tourist group arrived in the middle of our meal. The décor of the restaurant will give you a feeling that you are somewhere inside a fancy Turkish palace. There is an extensive Turkish wine list, and our server, a lady by the name of Asma, was very friendly and attentive throughout our meal. If you are ready to eat for delicious Turkish dishes after all the sightseeing around such famous sites like Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, Deraliye offers a solid option to consider.

KenScale: 7.75/10 (Jun’s Score: 7.75/10)

Address: Alemdar Mahallesi Ticaret Hane Sokak Giriş Kat No 10, 34122, Türkiye

Website: https://deraliyerestaurant.com/

Reservation via Telephone +90 212 520 77 78