The first things you’ll notice as you enter Ela Meyhane are the 3D landscape paintings on the walls, followed closely by the quintessential blue-and-white tables and chairs. This typical Greek tavern offers Cretan ezme (paste), Aegean olive salad, papagannis (a version of baba ghanoush), thyme salad, stuffed grape leaves in olive oil, smoked octopus arms on a bed of beğendi (creamy eggplant puree), tarama (fish roe spread), melcano salad, caciki (a cold dish of yogurt, garlic and chopped cucumber), fava beans, hummus, shrimp and meyhane pilaf with mussels. You’ll also find paçanga börek (pastry with pastrami), pan-roasted calamari and fish köfte (patties) on the menu. The fish change seasonally, while the herbs are brought from the Feriköy Organic Market. Ela Meyhane’s dessert menu is short and simple: irmik helva (semolina helva) served with ice cream and sakızlı muhallebi (mastic pudding).
The venue’s also known for its music, with a live performance by İstanbul Rembetikleri Orkestrası and Buzuki Orhan every Friday and Saturday night from 20.30 until 01.30. Fasafisa Sirtaki Grubu also performs sirtaki and zeybek (traditional Greek and Turkish dances) at Ela on these nights, when the set menu costs 110 TL per person. Every other day, you can check out DJ performances between 20.30 and 01.30, when the set menu costs 90 TL per person.
