Lipstick chic is the order of the evening at Istanbul's first lesbian bar. The terrace club is all girls; the café/pub, one floor below, is open to everyone...
Istiklal CaddesiFans of colonial watering holes tend to head for the bar at the Pera Palas Hotel; that's because they don't know about the Büyük Londra. Another late...
Meşrutiyet Caddesi 53Behind the Galatasaray Lycée, this fabulous 19th- century building was originally a school for the Italian Workers' Association. Beautifully converted into...
Hayriye Caddesi 12A shopping mall may seem like a strange place for a bar, but Nişantaşı's Milli Reasürans Carşışı is full of them. Corridor has a lively but laid-back...
Milli Reasürans Carşışı 47/48Turkish bears and other earthy types who won't do with the bright lights and thumping electronica of Beyoĸlu gather here in the comparatively more exotic...
Muratpaşa Sokak 9The only way to tell this place apart from the dozens of other establishments on Nevizade Sokak is by the '27' crudely painted on the wall. There's a mellow...
Nevizade Sokak 27This Egyptian-themed bar, with wall paintings and statues, is incongruously located in a converted three-storey townhouse. The top-floor wine bar holds...
Kadife Sokak 26The first and only Irish pub in Istanbul. The decor is predictably clichéd, but the punters are a mixed bag of worldly Turks, expats and tourists who come...
Balo Sokak 26
Kaktüs' elegant dark-wood interior owes a great deal to the classic French café. Its patrons do their best to recreate the ambience of a Godard movie by...
Imam Adnan Sokak 4Kaktüs's elegant dark-wood interior owes a great deal to the classic French café. Its patrons do their best to recreate the ambience of a Godard movie by...
16 Cihangir CaddesiThis much-loved haunt in the heart of Kadıköy's bar strip is known for three things: alternative music, cheap beer, and fine art. The music policy can only...
Kadife Sokak 16This karaoke club near Taksim Square consists of a small bar and two private rooms that are available for hire - the intimate, red-leather Tokyo Room and...
Zambak Sokak 15
Located on the sixth floor of the Richmond Hotel on Istiklal Caddesi, Leb-i Derya has probably the best views of any restaurant in the city, even by...
Sixth Floor, Richmond Hotel, Istiklal Caddesi 445Part-way down the precipitous slope of Yeniçarşı, Limonlu Bahçe is set in a big, bucolic back garden. This pretty setting draws a self-conscious young crowd...
Yeniçarşı Caddesi 98
If you're caught in a traffic jam in Bebek, the likely cause is the string of SUVs double-parked outside this neighbourhood hotspot. By night, sleek society...
Cevdetpaşa Caddesi 51/B