Pandeli Restaurant

Three Kitchens, Three Culinary Styles

"With a reverence for the classics of Turkish and Istanbul cuisine, the kitchen centers zeytinyağlılar, lamb specialties, döner kebab, and sea bass en papillote. Vegetables braised in olive oil take pride of place—think winter celery with quince or summer okra and beans—simmered slowly over “candlelight” to preserve flavor, while crisp delights like puff pastry and squash blossoms are fried quickly without absorbing oil. The traditional round stuffed vine leaf, made Greek style since the time of Pandeli Çobanoğlu, is not to be missed, its rice, pine nuts, onions, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, dill, and parsley cooked gently with onions, lemon, and plenty of olive oil. Chef Bayram Karaçam’s mastery with oak charcoal lends a defining smokiness: eggplant is roasted and folded into beğendi with butter-sautéed flour and aged kaşar; spinach is blanched, shocked, and finely chopped to stay vivid; döner is cooked over oak and served atop the famous eggplant pastry. A classic sea bass en papillote is wrapped with butter, tomatoes, and lemon and grilled on an oak wood grill, and melt-in-the-mouth lamb tandoori and lamb shank with buttered rice pilaf reaffirm how indispensable well-prepared classics remain." - MICHELIN Guide