Van Kahvaltı Evi

I definitely recommend getting the supreme breakfast so you can try all the delicacies that this place has to offer. The entire breakfast was amazing - from the spreads to the jams, and the eggs to the cheeses. The kaymak was phenomenal. So was the cheese from Van. The service was also great and friendly. We had a great time conversing with the staff. They even gave us Turkish coffee on the house. I highly recommend this place for breakfast. You won’t regret it and you’ll want to come back again and again!

The best breakfast in the world is the “Van” Breakfast, originating from South East Turkey. A king’s (or a queen’s) breakfast – with a wide ranging sweet and savoury dishes, cheeses, butter, the very special “Kaymagi”, and the scrambled eggs. I am not listing out the whole spread – it needs to be experienced. If you don’t have the time or space to visit Van, then the next best thing is to visit Van Kahvalti Evi in Istanbul. A 10 minutes walk from Taksim – this breakfast place is always reliable, and will leave your with heart and tummy full!

Rainy morning in Istanbul and this place delivered. The Turkish breakfast spread was beautiful, fresh, and perfect for photos, but even better in taste. Let me say, “Get the Buffalo Cheese & Honey” (don’t knock it until you try it). That was a combination that I never knew I needed until I had it and now your girl is hooked. “The Menemen” dish was like having tomatoes purred and eggs with sausages inside, when I say, “ It didn’t disappoint, I mean it delivered and the chef came himself to ask how it was. My friend had the sunny side up egg dish with mushrooms, trust in believe (everything tastes like home.) maybe not my American home because Istanbul serving with the freshest of the fresh here. Lol. Cozy atmosphere, friendly service, and a great start before exploring Cihangir and the colorful steps. Definitely a must-visit if you want an authentic breakfast experience, not just a tourist stop. Ali was our waiter, and he gave amazing suggestions on what we should try and he didn’t disappoint.

I went here a month ago and I still CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS RESTAURANT!!! This was one of the best meals I’ve ever had and the service was 10/10😙🤌🏽 Our waiter Faiz really made the experience so delightful. We ordered the platter for two which was more than enough food and the combinations were endless. Faiz helped us start off since it was a bit overwhelming with so many options but when I say this is some of the freshest, most tasty, essential eats visiting Istanbul….Not even exaggerating but I’d plan another trip just to visit here. We came here for breakfast twice during our trip around 11/12ish and stayed full until dinner time. Perfect fuel for a long journey of exploring Istanbul. Highly recommend coming here!!

The best food in Istanbul. Beats any dinner or food place we’ve had. Staff are super attentive, anything you need boom you have it. The kindness is unmatched- we got given a free dish because a staff member said it goes nice with tahini (and it was!) chai refills constantly- even when they thought it may be cold. Offering Turkish coffee for free (which I declined) but we’ve not had this level of kindness anywhere yet. We’re coming back every day during our stay. See you soon!

This is a fantastic spot, truly. The breakfast here is top notch. I didn’t do Turkish breakfast, I just went with eggs & sausage and the cream & honey. The bread was soft and paired perfectly with the meal. The waiters are in fact very attentive. The menu is simple and to the point so ordering between the Turkish breakfast or individual items is easy. I would say it’s a must stop for breakfast in Istanbul.

Went there twice during my stay in Istanbul! The service is very good and you get the proper experience of a turkey breakfast! I would recommend to sit in the restaurant on the right it has a better environment. Also dessert of honey and ashta is a great combo! Also the pita with cheese and sojok is a must in addition to the usual breakfast.

We saw reviews for this place and went to try the Turkish breakfast. Absolutely amazing food. One breakfast was sufficient for two people. Since I was vegetarian on this I was skeptical about this breakfast. The one who served us offered me sautéed mushrooms and I also had bread, honey and cream. Location was little away from the tram station but the walk was totally worth it. Ambience at the restaurant was good.

Love love love the food here. It's priced reasonably and is fresh and delicious. The service is beyond attentive and the relaxing atmosphere includes a soothing soundtrack in the background. Would not hesitate to recommend.

A true Turkish breakfast. One of the highest ranked and most popular breakfast spots in Istanbul. Came as a party of 6. Honestly, to feed the whole group, you only need to order two Turkish breakfasts because there is SO MUCH food. Seating was quick with very friendly service. Restaurant stretches two building, bathroom is downstairs and clean. A few outside seat options ideal for smokers. Lots of locals with a few tourists too. Accepts credit cards. As mentioned, it's a lot of food. Standouts included the menemen, lightly fried balls of dough enjoyed with fresh honey, yogurt, and strawberry jam, cheeses, olives, and dips. Honestly everything. Probably one of the two best Turkish breakfast I've ever had. Definitely enjoy Turkish tea with your meal. The easiest path to enjoy here is to simply get the set and try some of everything. Experiment and find what flavors you like!

This place is adorable and you get so much food! I went here at a friend's recommendation and we ordered the traditional Turkish breakfast and got a huge variety of food. It was so fresh and delicious! Language was a barrier but luckily Google translate came to the rescue. They took credit card and gave us takeaway containers when we asked.

Yum! Visiting from the U.S. Second time here this week. Food is great, so much to taste! Service is great too.

Step into this establishment and you will understand why brunch has become my favorite meal time. This is breakfast "tapas style." This place is very popular for better and worse. Even though it is a large establishment, there is a line throughout the morning. I will probably return but avoid weekends, and sneak to my alley brunch spot across the street if this is too crowded. It was chilly today so I opted to sit inside. The central rooms are warmer but noisier from the crowds echoing. However the rooms by the door can get a little chilly because people forget to close the door on their way out. I believe they have a few other locations I highly recommend the breakfast sampler. It gives you a wide selection from savory to sweet. Some of my favorites were the cheese platter (ranges from funky to mild, goat etc.). Martuga, a lot more interesting than the ingredients sound. The texture and color fools you into thinking it's potatoes. The walnut spread and cherry jam. Honestly, it is all good but with so much to choose from you can't help but discern your favorites before you become too full. Free refills on the tea. The waiter did not understand that I wanted to substitute the fried egg for menemen, so I got "egg in the face" with two orders. However, they do eggs right!

Authentic Turkish "serpme" kahvalti. And pan cooked meats. We love sucuk. Very tasty, good generous portions. Unlimited turkish tea! Definitely coming back here. Four of us paid about $50 total and could not finish everything.

Girls enjoyed the food very much! Recommend the donut shape fried bread with jams, great for breakfast!

Best breakfast in Istanbul! For 170 TL, you enjoy a spread of warm bread, dips, salads, cheeses, eggs, etc. Each dish is full of flavor and the unlimited tea is perfect. The moment you order, food is delivered. The staff is very kind!

Was recommended to come here for a traditional Turkish breakfast. The food was fresh and delicious. One of the breads they served was soo good and was perfect to pair with the different items. I felt like the portions on some of items like the eggs were a bit small for 2 people.

Amazing - best eggs and food and breakfast and I loved their cream and honey! The ambience is great and everytime I'm in Istanbul I have to check it out

This was our first Turkish breakfast landing in Istanbul and our experience was very poor. Food was ok, nothing spectacular. Not as flavorful as other Turkish breakfasts I've had. What really soured our experience was the service. Upon payment, we used a credit card and our waiter pointed at the tip sign. Not having the option to add tip on the receipt, we were going to put down cash on the table. However, we were still enjoying our tea and were planning to leave a tip when we finished. Our waiter came back complaining that we did not leave a tip when we obviously have not left the restaurant yet and are still drinking our tea. We gave them a tip right after but being demanded a tip and making a scene about it was upsetting. I would not recommend, you can find better food and service elsewhere. Food is honestly average and not worth the terrible service.

The best breakfast in town! They bring out a traditional turkish breakfast as little bit of everything in the middle or you can order whatever you like a la carte! Service is outstanding they have so many locals and a lot of tourist customer. Turkish tea comes unlimited which is a great perk!;)

The best breakfast I have ever had, everything they served were fresh and delicious Thanks to Ahmet and Halil,

Amazing Turkish breakfast and service. Highly recommended. Once you go there you don't want to try anywhere else.

Got the breakfast platter - was good but not great. Lots of little things to try. The bread was a bit sad, a few of them were nice (the local one).

Met an old work friend here for breakfast. Lovely spot close to a number of alleys filled with antique shops and cafes. 1. Breakfast set. So good. My favorite item is the clotted cream with honey but there's something for every palate, really. 2. Mesemen. Essentially a scrambled egg sort of dish. Good. 3. Gözleme. Easiest parallel would be quesadillas. Thin, chewy pancakes that can be served plain or with something in between. I personally like to pair this is simit with the clotted cream.

Very nice staff which is rare for Istanbul. Amazing traditional Turkish breakfast. Very cute environment also walking distance from antique market. I definitely recommend this place for travelers. They also walk tea around constantly and u don't have to wait for it 2 ppl breakfast 390

Amazing breakfast spot! Excellent service and delicious food. I really appreciate the fact that this place does not attempt to surcharge tourists...that's very important in Istsnbul.

We absolutely loved the breakfast. It was so much food at a very affordable price. The place is charming and the service is great. Hope to be back soon

I got overcharged by 40% because I didn't question the menu. Very sad. Watch out as a tourist.

We visited this restaurant at the recommendation of a travel blog and we were extremely impressed. The food was delicious - the special bread had the qualities of a sweet challah or brioche and was amazing with all of the accoutrements served with the traditional Turkish breakfast - the honey and cream was an incredible combo with this bread. We got the breakfast for 4 people but it easily could have fed 2 more, we were completely full by the end of the meal but had so much food left over. Unlimited Turkish tea which was delicious. The orange marmalade was also fantastic with perfect candied orange peels. We did order some extra fries egg dishes and the spinach and cheese "omelette" which was more like a flat fried pita sandwich - all delicious. The total for all this food came out to around $40USD which was a great value. The cost of Turkish breakfast for 4 is around $28 USD. The staff was also incredibly kind and humble, welcoming of foreign travelers. I would recommend to anyone looking for a great breakfast option. It is about 1.5 miles south from the Nisantasi shopping area past Taksim square.

Van Kahvalti Evi is located in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. It offers both a traditional Turkish breakfast and a special breakfast that is particular to Van (Eastern Turkey). Based on previous Yelp reviews, we came here for a late breakfast. We visited the cafe on a Sunday around 2PM and it was very busy. We waited about 45 minutes for a table, which was definitely worth it. We ordered the Van village breakfast (for 2+ people) that cost 30 TL per person. We also ordered nar and portakal suyu. The breakfast was huge and delicious. Throughout our meal, we were continuously brought fresh bread and cay. Our favorite was, of course, the kaymak and bal- very tasty! The breakfast is very fresh and well worth it. You will leave the cafe full and sad that you weren't able to finish everything on the table. Be sure to come with at least 2 people so that you can order the traditional Van breakfast. Overall, I highly recommend Van Kahvalti Evi. It's very busy on the weekends but the food is well worth it. How often can you have a traditional Eastern breakfast?

On our first day in Istanbul, we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and went to seek out a hearty breakfast. A 15 minute walk (mostly uphill) led us to this well-known gem. The restaurant was packed with a good mix of locals and tourists and we ordered the Van Breakfast for 2. Within a couple of minutes, a dozen plates of spreads, cheeses, olives and veggies appeared in front of our eyes. I didn't even know where to start. I tried all of the items and my favorites were the honey and milk cream. Did I mention that it comes with unlimited tea?

Let me start by saying, what a breakfast!! This is the go to spot whether you're a tourist or a native. Everything we ordered was tasty and had the homemade touch to it. We ordered the breakfast platter that had a variety of food. Next were the omelettes which were very tasty. The unlimited tea was great, we had plenty!! The seating and the area is beautiful, a homey and cozy vibe brought everything together. The service which is the most important was stellar. The smile from every waiter and the quick answer to every question or order. I would definitely have breakfast here over and over because it's light, fresh and has the perfect vibe for breakfast. Definitely bring a friend or a loved one!

Absolutely amazing, must experience place! Food is fantastic, staff is attentive- definitely will go back!

Amazing food and service! Highly recommend this place. Definitely worths waiting. -Hzl

One of the most epic breakfasts ever! We ordered the van breakfast which came with various olives, cheeses, a spicy tomato spread, honey, tahini molasses, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, yogurt sauce, and a few other delicious spreads! It also came with unlimited tea. It was the perfect combination of flavors that I never even knew I was missing! The cheeses were very mild and were a perfect compliment to the more prominent flavors of the spice-filled spreads and the sweet honeys and jams. The eggs and chopped vegetables also added a nice burst of freshness. It was so fun to try different ingredients together and combine the different flavor profiles. My favorites were the cheeses, honey, and spicy tomato spread. It was a super filling breakfast/brunch, but not excessively heavy. This is a must do if you're visiting Istanbul, such a cool and cultural experience!

Everything your Turkish breakfast dreams are made of. I think it was 60 Lira for 2 people to eat Turkish breakfast + a menemen... which of course you must add! And everything here is great quality and will delight your senses. Fruit, nut, and chocolate spreads of all sorts. Food and tea are served piping hot by a wonderful staff that keeps the tea appearing as fast as you can drink it. Mostly tourists here, but the food quality is fantastic. Definitely a meal to remember.

Excellent food and even better service. The food was fresh and delicious. The breakfast (for one) included a variety of cheeses, tomatoes, green & black olives, cucumbers (which remained uneaten...I do not like cucumbers), and an egg (sunny side up). It came with fresh bread and too many spreads to list. I will be back before I leave town and it will be the first place I visit for breakfast when I come back to town. The walk from the Galata Tower area for breakfast was well worth it!

I don't know what all the fuss is about this place. The service is sub par. I was talked out of the full village breakfast because the server said it's for two people. For almost the same price I got much fewer items . The bread was stale. I saw others getting more fresh options. I don't think it's worth the trek .

My first meal in Turkey and no other meal has blown me away since. My friend took me here for traditional Turkish breakfast and it was a fantastic experience. The food came out very fast and it was wonderful to get a taste of everything as a welcome to Turkey. Traditional Turkish breakfast, if you haven't tried, is one of the world's greatest food delights. It's a feast of sweet and savory tapas that'll give you a reason to wake up. Honestly, come here if you want an authentic traditional Turkish breakfast. I'm sure there are tons of restaurants that serve traditional Turkish food just as well, but the quality of the food here, combined with the warm hospitality, was quite like no other that I've experienced throughout my 10-day stay in Turkey--and that is saying a lot. I enjoyed pretty much everything but some of the most memorable plates were the bal-kaymak (fresh honey and clotted cream; my most favorite), the strawberry reçel (jam), and the hazelnut spread. I'm a huge cheeseaholic, so the variety of cheeses was also interesting, as I hadn't tried some Turkish-style cheese prior. We also had the Menemenler (scrambled eggs with tomatoes), which reminds me a whole lot of my mom's own scrambled eggs and tomatoes; it felt homely, nevertheless. Everything was fresh and our tea glasses never went empty. Seems like both locals and visitors enjoy this place, and it's pretty much no frills. I've been craving Turkish breakfast lately, which is why I had the itch to write this review--it's that good.

This place was awesome and the best price for a full Turkish breakfast in Istanbul. 30L (Lira) per person. Ordered scrambled eggs and Turkish pancakes with it. Four espressos and two chi's also totaled out to be 120L. That's translates to about $22 US dollars. The food was great, as well as the service. Would def come here again.

Came here twice because brunch is my fave meal. They do it right here and it's the only meal type they serve here. The repeat visit reasons +'s: + Quick seating. The staff are quick to clear a table and have you settled. + Free and constant refills of Turkish tea. It's nice to have this perk especially since a lot of places charge. + Few tables are outside for the smokers. + Brunch is the fare here all day. The most common is the 22TL fare that has everything and enough for two persons. Includes cheeses, cucumber slices, olives, jams, butter, honey, nutella and an array of other dishes. + Other notables are the menemen (plain is 8TL) + Like most Turkish establishments, you eat at leisure and call for the bill when ready. + Takes credit cards + International crowd or could be a bunch of tourists. The not-again moments -'s: - Don't try to customize your order. Doesn't seem to fare well here. - Golzeme with spinach, roast beef, cheese or other fillings are on the menu. Pass on the roast beef--it's just ground meat bits. Spinach one not too flavorful either. TIP: Don't expect staff to speak fluent English.

Craving this right now. We stopped here since we heard brunch in Turkey is a must! We weren't disappointed! Get the 22TL option and you will have plenty of food for 2 people. It comes with plates of fresh bread, variety of cheese, olives, jam, nutella and honey butter. The honey butter was AMAZING and so fresh. I'm reviewing this a year later but I still remember the taste!! We also ordered menemen (turkish scrambled eggs) and the turkish pancakes. Those were also really good and plenty for about 3-4 to share with the 22TL option. Oh, and you get free tea!!! I probably had at least 4 cups because our server kept refilling. Cute little place but a little harder to find since it's tucked in a neighborhood. I believe we used TripAdvisor's city guide to help us out.

Decent local spot to try some traditional Turkish breakfast. Went in specifically for the good reviews, hard to find spots in Turkey with reviews in yelp. Ordered the Van Kahvalsiti for two and the menemenler with mushrooms and roast beef. A+ for service and cleanliness but would give a B or average to the food. Tight spot to find a place to sit but within walking distance from all the hotels in taksim square.

Great food! Great service! I definitely recommend you try this place. We had our first and last breakfasts in Istanbul and both were great!

I think this place is a little bit overrated. Breakfast was nice but nothing spectacular. There are so many places that do not have this many reviews but serve great food. We had regular turkish breakfast for two which included many options but as noted nothing that you're can not find elsewhere. Better to explore some other options which I ll definitely do.

This place was pretty good! The staff is very nice and friendly and there is a non-stop tea refill! We got the array for 2 breakfast option and liked mostly everything we got. Definitely try this place for a good Turkish breakfast.

Best breakfast ever in the world. Loved it. Tye ambiance, the service, the food all 5 stars. Visited from the US will try next time

possibly my fav place of all the eateries I went to in Istanbul. I went to the breakfast place that Anthony Bourdain went to but I think this place smokes them. far better menemen and you can tell even by looking at the honey it came from a legit source. staff is super super friendly and huge sense of urgency. ORDER at table JEANS ok by far

Gozleme with spinach - 3.5 stars Kind of like a quesadilla with spinach but without cheese, so it was a little flavourless but a nice change from having too much cheese in quesadillas. Fried dough - 3.75 stars Tasted like Singaporean butterfly buns - a little savoury. I loved the olive spread it came with! The apricot preserve was also delicious IMO because it was barely sweetened unlike most jams. The cheese was good. Menemen with mushroom - 3.75 stars My favourite of the lot. Tasty and simple but it is on the comfort food/diner end - a bit "unrefined" with lots of oil in the menemen. Bread - 2.5 stars Underwhelming - served cold. Sahlep - 2.5 stars Not my thing. First time having it - it was basically thickened full cream milk with cinnamon. I don't like the taste of full cream milk. Overall it's pretty inexpensive though - we paid 50 lira in total for two of us before tip, with leftovers.

Very fresh and delicious Turkish breakfast! They had things in the menu that I had not see previously at other places like jaji (I think it was cacik), çemen (acuka) and murtuğa (I think this is a Van Kahvalti invention :) fried flour with eggs). There was also a ground nut addition I couldn't identify, maybe ground hazelnut with honey. They said there was butter but I don't think we had. Nonetheless it was all delicious! The gozleme was outstanding. We had the potato and the spinach. Menemen was also delicious. We will go again!

One of the best breakfast place in Istanbul. I have been here several times during my stay in Istanbul, couldn't get enough of it. Don't skip "JAJI" that is the best to me.

One of the best breakfasts I've ever had, ever. Can't go wrong with ordering the Turkish breakfast, and the shakshuka style eggs (forget what it's called on the menu in Turkish, but it's scrambled eggs with tomato sauce). That's everything the body needs! Delilah!

The big Turkish breakfast caught my attention. The trek to get here was rather exhausting but getting here and enjoying their breakfast was very enjoyable. We ordered the Turkish breakfast with unlimited tea. They kept on refilling our tea and I felt like I felt fuller off the tea than food. Outdoor and indoor seating available and super kind staff.

Best Breakfast I have ever had! This is a small restaurant located in a cute area in Istanbul. What made this place stand out to me the most was how fresh the ingredients were in each of the small dishes. This makes a huge difference for a traditional Turkish breakfast since breakfast is typically made of 7-12 small dishes of fresh olives, honey, sesame seed spread, tahini, yogurt, and more! These are normal spreads but when they are made fresh it can take a breakfast rating from a 1 to a 5. Along with the traditional breakfast plates we ordered the fresh donuts served with jam and feta cheese. Man or man was this good! 3 fresh unsweetened donut served HOTT with fresh cherry jam and feta cheese. I can eat this for days. None the less this place is a must try. I condemn this restaurant for not cutting any corners and serving fresh and yummy dishes.

This is a good place for breakfast really not brunch. It is a limited breakfast menu. The upside is they speak English. But they got our orders wrong, but it was fixed. We explored it under yelp recommendation but to me not extraordinary. Would try other choices.

Fantastic breakfast! Everything tasty, authentic, interesting. Such a variety of breakfast items all in from of you. The bread, unlimited çay, honey, kaymak, and the rest. Make sure you get the breakfast platter. Friendly staff, fast service, cozy interior. Must experience in Istanbul.

I wanted Menemen (every day of my trip - don't judge me). I went here at the recommendation of my concierge. It's a quick in/out kinda place, in my mind. The menemen was fantastic and the bread was (I ate the whole bowl of bread, don't judge me) equally delightful. It was by far the best menemen I had in Istanbul. It's a small place, so be prepared to be a bit crowded. But still amazing.