Deraliye

Taking its name from one of Istanbul’s former monikers, Deraliye is run by Necati Yılmaz, who opened up his own eatery in Sultanahmet after a 15-year stint in various Ottoman-themed restaurants. Deraliye serves food fit for a sultan, and we mean this quite literally, since its menu is comprised of recipes derived from historical sources dating back 500 years. One of our favourite items on the menu is the terkib-i mutancana, made up of diced cuts of tender lamb served with honey, apricot and dried figs. For your main, you can't go wrong with the lamb chops or grilled meatballs served on a bed of smoky eggplant. For the grand finale, any one of Deraliye's selection of Ottoman desserts will go nicely, but the most mouth-watering of them all has to be Levzine, a buttery halva pudding with an almond-flour base, topped with pistachios and more almonds.