Twenty-four hours in Istanbul

Close up of a stone building with shadowed arches with text over the top reading: ’24 Hours in Istanbul’

24 hours in Istanbul neighbourhood guide with Soho House

A neighbourhood guide for what to see and do around Soho House Istanbul

Words and photography by Ali Kalyoncu

Istanbul member and photographer Ali Kalyoncu stayed in Room 71 on his recent visit to Soho House Istanbul, and explored his favourite spots nearby during his 24-hour stay.

Join Kalyoncu below as he shares his top recommendations for what to see and do in the neighbourhoods surrounding Soho House Istanbul.

Birdseye view of a cafe bar with a member of staff collecting plates of food ready to be served

Coffee at Noir Pit Coffee Co
A two-minute walk down the road from Soho House Istanbul is Noir Pit Coffee Co, the ideal stop for your morning caffeine fix. It imports and roasts its own beans, so there’s a brew to suit everyone’s tastes.

Browse Vitruta
Stroll down towards the Bosphorus coast and check out Vitruta, a boutique specialising in modern international fashion brands. Minimal Scandinavian outerwear labels such as Rains, Sandqvist and Fjällräven appear alongside Converse, FILA and adidas, among others. There’s also plenty of homeware and skincare products to check out, too.

Shot of a dinner table in a restaurant with various plates and bowls of food on it and a glass of red wine

Black and white photo of a white cat peering into an open cafe door

Lunch at Restaurant Mabou
For lunch, head to nearby Restaurant Mabou, which, as its blackboard sign declares outside, is composed of: ‘German chef, Turkish ingredients, French soul’. The 18-seat restaurant presents a seasonal Mediterranean menu that changes every two to three months; summer brings grilled peaches with rosemary and cream, while Brussels sprouts with burrata and orange segments arrive in winter. There are excellent pasta dishes too, such as gnocchi cacio e pepe, and linguine in pistachio butter, many of which are enlivened with the distinctive citrus astringency of sumac.

Photo of a square screen in a dark room showing video clips from Istanbul

Check out Meşher art gallery
Housed in a 19th-century building in the Beyoglu district, Meşher shows art from various disciplines, spanning the Middle Ages to the present, and including ceramics, painting, photography, and design. Its current exhibition I-You-They: A Century Of Artist Women is on until March 2022. Featuring 232 works by 117 female artists who lived and worked in Turkey from the 1850s to 1950s, it’s spread out across three floors.

Blurry photo of a red cocktail in a coupe glass

Dinner at Aheste
Once you’re ready for dinner, head over to Aheste. The restaurant’s name is Persian for ‘slowly’, which is an excellent approach here. Start with cocktails and sit back as the meze plates arrive one by one from the kitchen. You can choose your favourites, or go all in with the tasting menu.

Book a bedroom at Soho House Istanbul here.