Walking along the cobbletstoned streets of Balat, past decaying Ottoman-era buildings and a few surviving synagogues and churches – the area was once home to a significant Jewish and Greek population – always feels like a trip through the past. Like the rest of its surrounds, Köfteci Arnavut feels preserved in time.
Opened in 1937, the intimate eatery serves up succulent, square-shaped meatballs that provide reason enough to venture out into the historic neighbourhood. The eatery is currently run by its third-generation heir Mine İştay, who is one of the only women running a business in the area. Having come to Balat from Albania in the late 19th century, the İştay family are experts in making the milky trileçe desert that is ever so popular in Balkans.