A culinary journey of breakfast in İstanbul: From home kitchen to fine dining

In Türkiye, kahvalti is considered the most important meal of the day—as lovingly and meticulously prepared on a weekday as it is on weekends. Meaning “breakfast before coffee”, it is a ritual that has a legacy of bringing people together at the start of every day.

A MELTING POT

As a melting pot of culinary cultures, few places encapsulate the diverse nature of Turkish breakfast better than İstanbul. Having preserved the flavors, ingredients, and recipes of ancient civilizations, the city ensures early diners delight in the same taste experiences as those who lived centuries before them.

Maksut Aşkar is an expert in building this bridge between the past and the future. As a local chef and co-owner of the green Michelin-starred restaurant Neolokal, he has made it his life work to reinvent traditional Turkish cuisine in a way that satisfies the palate of a contemporary audience.

Inspired by its culinary ancestry, a Turkish breakfast in İstanbul often combines sweet and savory. Visitors can expect vegetables and olives intertwined with fruits, jams, and honey. Or a selection of cheeses followed by a kahve (coffee) and lokum (Turkish delight)—often flavored with rosewater, bergamot, or citrus.

Flavor profiles divide the breakfast table, in the same way the Bosphorus Strait divides the city. It is the way these two sides come together that grants İstanbul its unique charm. Join Chef Aşkar on a culinary journey of two halves as he reveals the spirit of breakfast in the metropolis.

Chef Maksut Aşkar co-owns the green Michelin-starred restaurant Neolokal

HOME COMFORTS

“Turkish cuisine is all about the memories. It takes me to my childhood,” says Aşkar, whose passion for food started in his mother’s kitchen. It is here that he would help to prepare the first meal of the day and feed his curiosities about cooking.

Through Neolokal, he has found a way of bringing his mother’s cuisine into the refined dining scene. Diners are presented with dishes that are as artistic as they are nostalgic, evoking feelings of home in every bite.

For young Aşkar, Sundays were a firm favorite as they were the only days when his whole family would have breakfast together. They would share a beautiful spread of salad, eggs, simit (bread encrusted with sesame seeds), sucuk (spicy sausage), börek (savory pastry), and bal kaymak (honey and clotted cream).

An entire Sunday can easily be dedicated to breakfast in İstanbul. Start with a traditional çay (tea)—brewed to any strength owing to the separate pots for tea and hot water—before grazing at an assortment of Turkish produce. End with a cup of strong kahve, which is proven to aid digestion.

Traditional Turkish breakfast combines sweet and savory

Simit is ideal for breakfast on-the-go

This sense of community extends beyond diners to the chefs themselves. As Aşkar explains, “We are not only cooking; we are sharing the stories of the food we put on our menus.”

Some of the most shareworthy dishes of Turkish breakfast include eggs. Their gooey centers are a perfect excuse to tear a loaf of bread among friends and soak up the flavors in each dip. Visitors to İstanbul can try menemen, a simple one-pan recipe that includes eggs, tomatoes, and green peppers, or çılbır—poached eggs served over a delicious garlicky yogurt and finished with a warm, spicy butter sauce.

CULINARY CONNECTIONS

Turkish breakfast has many guises. It can be an on-the-go treat from a local pastry shop or a simit cart or a table decorated with more than 60 food platters. It is during a feast, like this, that its true colors are displayed.

Designed to be social, shared, and savored, Turkish breakfast is best experienced in the company of others. It is an opportunity for people to connect over a universal custom, learn about different cultures, and make new memories together.

This sense of community extends beyond diners to the chefs themselves. As Aşkar explains, “We are not only cooking; we are sharing the stories of the food we put on our menus.”

Kahvalti is designed to be social, shared, and savored

Cooking in Türkiye is inspired by the seasons

In the summer months, İstanbul’s breakfast scene comes alive with salads. Combining the freshest tomatoes, peppers, and herbs with locally-sourced olive oil, a salad is a simple and healthy option that is sure to create a fulfilling culinary experience for consumers.

Winter, on the other hand, is reserved for warmer and heartier dishes—one of the most popular being lentil soup. Often made with pantry staples, like red lentils, carrots, and cumin, it is an easy dish to make at home and a chef’s favorite on many restaurant menus. For those who enjoy a bit of heat, take inspiration from Aşkar who “spices it up with some chilly oil.”

SEASONAL COOKING

People in Türkiye live in harmony with the land they grow in and harvest from. As a result, the seasons often dictate what they eat for breakfast. While the dishes remain the same, the ingredients change depending on what is locally available.

It is about respecting the soil. “If you don't use the right produce at the right time, you will never achieve the soul of the ingredient itself,” says Aşkar. For this reason alone, he only uses and eats tomatoes for two months of the year, when they are perfectly ripe.

As a true reflection of the country that it derives from, kahvalti owes its spirit to its diversity. Made up of so many components and enjoyed in multiple scenarios, it offers something for every type of consumer. Although breakfast in İstanbul varies from restaurant to restaurant, the temptation of it always remains the same.