For our last meal at Istanbul, we went to Lokanta Maya, a newish place known for modern and creative take on Turkish mezes. I read about this place on Spotted by locals, a wonderful online city guides written by locals from cities around the world. The restaurant is located in-between the Istanbul modern museum and the Karakoy port which is a great area to see vibrant street life. We arrived before the restaurant opened but they let us sat down and rest.
Konya blue cheese with melon
Turkish love their melon with cheese, though this is the first I see it being paired with blue cheese. The Konya (a city in central Turkey) blue cheese tasted quite strong and very “blue” compare with the ones I’m familiar with. It’s an acquire taste but it went well with melons.
Zucchini fritters, dill yoghurt sauce – lightly battered, crispy outside and melty inside. Very good.
Roasted sardines with pine nuts and lemon zest – It’s very simple but oh so delicious! The sardines were very fresh, I would love to recreate this dish if I could get my hand on some fresh sardines
legume salad with tomatos – good
Grill Octopus – the dish smells so wonderful. The octopus was very tender.
Forgot what the dessert was, but I remember it was light and refreshing.
It was a great meal and I love the vibe of the place, it’s stylish but low-key. The price was reasonably too. After the meal, we took a walk along the coast for people watching (there are lots of people fishing, street vendors…etc) and watched boats come and go. The old town across the water lit up beautiful at night. It was a nice closure to our fantastic trip. This concludes my report on our culinary adventure at Turkey!
Lokanta Maya
Kemankes Caddesi 35-A, Karakoy, Eminonu
Tags: meze, small plate, turkish
Hi Joan,
Thank you so much for linking to Spotted by Locals. Really beautiful pictures of the food. I wish I was in Istanbul again!
Cheers, Bart