With spectacular views of the original Bosphorus bridge and floodlit Ortaköy mosque, Banyan comes into its own on summer nights, and enjoys a far superior location to its...

Far from the centre and the sights, this is primarily a business hotel. From the outside, the four-storey building is nothing special, but inside the 21 suites are all gleaming...

With its bright colours, velvet furnishings and an eye-catching floor piece of a nude young Norma Jean Baker, 5.Kat boasts one of the city's most striking interiors. As its...

This brasserie succeeds in recreating the French bohemian vibe with its dark, mirrored interior, high ceilings offset by a huge chandelier, and posters for local events...

On one of the smaller streets behind Cihangir's main drag, this juice bar is the perfect antidote to Beyoĸlu's boozy bars. Choose from around 40 fruit and veggie cocktails,...

Don't let the entrance via the dismal lobby of the Villa Zurich Hotel put you off: Doĸa Balık is a splendid neighbourhood fish restaurant. The dining rooms on the seventh floor...

The Eresin Crown is unusual as a medium-sized, high-end hotel amid small 'Ottoman' boutique competitors in Sultanahmet: it's on the southern side of the peninsula, a stone's...

Arnavutköy's coolest new venue is housed in aconverted Ottoman yalı, which stands out from the throng of nearby fish restaurants with its burgundy façade. If you can't grab one...

The 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 for the decent range...

A continental-style café owned by local Magnum photographer Ara Güler, whose evocative black and white shots of Istanbul adorn the walls and place mats. In fine weather, tables...

Opposite Tünel station, an elaborate iron gate leads to an enchanting 19th-century arcade overgrown with potted plants. Of the handful of cafés lucky enough to share this...

A more sophisticated alternative to its popular predecessor around the corner on Kumbaracı Sokak. The new premises, on the sixth floor of the Richmond Hotel on Istiklal...

Currently the place in Cihangir where you're most likely to have to queue for a table, Leyla is wildly popular at peak times. The café is unpretentiously cool, with a relaxed,...

It's located in the distinctly unglamorous Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre, but the plush interior is a world apart: geometric leather banquettes, low-slung Japanese...