On a narrow backstreet of Beyoğlu, where the city’s musical culture has always burned brightest, Galata Meyhanesi has been filling glasses and raising voices since 1992. It is the grand finale of The Other Tour‘s flagship Istanbul day — a living meyhane tradition of fasıl music, shared rakı, and tables of strangers becoming friends — and, in a city where one by one the great taverns have gone quiet, perhaps the last place on earth where this still happens the way it always did.
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A Living Tradition Since 1992
Galata Meyhanesi opened its doors in 1992, founded by İşık and Bilgin İnanç — a husband-and-wife duo who walked away from careers in law to build something that mattered more to them: a place where traditional meyhane culture could breathe. From the first night, the commitment was absolute. Good food, flowing drinks, and live Turkish music every evening — no shortcuts, no compromises. The result earned the kind of recognition that cannot be manufactured: The New York Times once declared, of all of Istanbul‘s taverns, “My favourite place is Galata.”
Authentic Local Music
The music here has always been fasıl — an acoustic, unhurried form of Turkish art music performed by a four-person ensemble: violin, oud, kanun zither, and darbuka drum. No microphones, no amplifiers. The band performs as it always has — unplugged, close enough to the tables that you feel the strings — and the repertoire spans everything from melancholic Suzidil to lively Hicaz pieces, all played true to tradition. Regulars don’t listen passively; they sing. Old favorites bring entire rooms to their feet, voices rising in unison over the clinking of glasses, and nobody thinks twice about it.
Excellent Food
The kitchen has always been inseparable from the music. Signature dishes like yogurtlu pazı — chard leaves in garlicky yogurt — and the semolina halva dessert became beloved fixtures over the decades, as did the pazı sarma and the house specialty Galata böreği. One local reviewer summed up what regulars had known for years: Galata Meyhanesi is “the most iconic address in Istanbul for fasıl, meze, drinks, and quality entertainment.” That reputation was built slowly, honestly, and without fanfare — the only way it could have lasted.
The Revival Under Chef Eralp Üngeldi
By the late 2010s, Istanbul’s nightlife was shifting. Some of the city’s most storied meyhanes closed; others lost the thread of what had made them special. Galata Meyhanesi went through its own hiatus — a pause that felt, to those who loved it, like a small grief. Then, in October 2024, it came back. The driving force behind the revival was Chef Eralp Üngeldi, who took the helm as managing partner and head chef, bringing with him a single, clear conviction: restore what made Galata great, exactly as it was.
That meant finding the band. The original fasıl musicians — the violinist, the kanun player, the oud, the darbuka — had scattered during the closure, picking up other work around the city. Eralp tracked them down and persuaded them to come home. They quit their other jobs to return. Now, five nights a week, the old ensemble performs in the same room where they built their reputation, and it sounds exactly as it always did — which is to say, like something you didn’t know you’d been missing until you heard it again.
The renovation was equally thoughtful. Modern additions that had accumulated over the years were stripped back to reveal the building’s original character — stone walls, vintage textures, the grain of a place that has actually lived. At the same time, Eralp introduced an open kitchen and a central bar, blending old and new without sacrificing either. The food, meanwhile, was elevated to match: the menu is now seasonal and market-fresh, with classic meze favorites alongside specials like a bubbling seafood casserole and a succulent sea bass kebab, prepared to order rather than in advance. The soul of the place remains entirely intact — if anything, the rakı culture here burns stronger than ever.
A Night at Galata Meyhanesi
The Other Tour‘s groups arrive at Galata Meyhanesi after a full day in the city — Istanbul‘s neighborhoods walked, its food eaten, its stories absorbed, sometimes a Turkish bath squeezed in before dark. By the time everyone settles around the long checkered-cloth table and cold meze plates begin to arrive, the energy in the room is already high. The first toast — Şerefe! — cuts through the noise, and then the fasıl band strikes up from the corner, and the evening takes on a shape of its own.
The musicians are masters who have played together for decades — it shows in the way they read a room, building slowly, feeling out the mood before the first big familiar melody arrives and someone at the back starts to hum along. A violin solo, the plucked cascade of the kanun, older Turkish patrons closing their eyes mid-bite — the atmosphere is warm and convivial, like a family gathering where nobody is quite sure how the night will end but everyone suspects it will end well. As the rakı flows and the courses keep coming, the volume of laughter and song rises to meet it.
At some point — and this is not a performance, not a scheduled moment in a tourist show — the whole restaurant breaks into a chorus. A foreign visitor once noted that she and her husband were the only non-Turkish diners in the room, and watching the other guests sing along “with gusto” was one of the most fascinating things she had ever seen. The musicians wander table to table, encouraging clapping, singing, dancing. A halay line forms in a corner. Someone who arrived not knowing a single Turkish song is now bellowing the chorus of something beautiful, not quite sure how it happened. This is exactly what The Other Tour comes here for — not to observe Turkish culture, but to be absorbed by it.
The Last Real Meyhane in Istanbul?
In our experience, Galata Meyhanesi is the only place left in Istanbul where the traditional meyhane atmosphere survives in its full, undiminished form. Other venues have modernized, toned things down, or turned the fasıl experience into a set piece for tourists. Galata does none of that. The music is real, the singers are masters, the rakı sofra is exactly what it has always been — and the guests, mostly local, are there because they love it, not because they were told to.
When The Other Tour‘s day finally ends — and these days have been known to stretch well past midnight, because nobody wants to be the one to call time — guests step out onto the quiet late-night streets of Beyoğlu saying it was the highlight of the trip. Not the Istanbul they expected to find, but something rarer: the Istanbul that still exists for those who know where to look. As one reviewer put it simply: “Go for the experience, not just for the food.” The food, for what it’s worth, is excellent. But it’s the experience that sets this place apart, and keeps The Other Tour coming back every single night.
Tips for Visiting Galata Meyhanesi
This is an old Greek-style tavern favored and frequented by locals who have a taste for the finer things in life! The Other Tour has been taking its clients there for 15 consecutive years.
Music Nights & Reservations
The live fasıl band performs Tuesday through Saturday. The meyhane is closed on Sundays; Mondays are open for dining but without live music. For the full atmosphere, aim for a Tuesday–Saturday evening and arrive around 8:00 PM — music gets going by then and continues late into the night.
Galata Meyhanesi is popular with locals and fills quickly, especially on weekends. A reservation is strongly recommended. Staff can accommodate English speakers by phone, or your hotel can call on your behalf. For large groups, book well in advance.
Getting There – Taxi Tip
The restaurant sits on a narrow side street in the Asmalımescit area of Beyoğlu — address: Orhan Adlı Apaydın Sk No:5/A, near Şişhane. Taxis cannot reach the door directly. The easiest approach: ask the driver to drop you at Pera Palace Hotel, then walk into the side streets — a two-to-three minute walk, and a chance to glimpse the historic facade of the hotel where Agatha Christie once stayed.
Food & Drinks
A typical evening involves a wide spread of cold and hot meze plates, a main course of seafood or grilled meat, and fruit or dessert to finish. Rakı — an anise-flavored spirit — is the drink of the meyhane tradition; sip it slow, mixed with water, and say şerefe! to toast. Wine and beer are available, but locals will gently insist that rakı is the only correct choice for the full experience. Plan to spend three to four hours at the table — this is not a rush-in, rush-out kind of dinner.
for a simpler evening, the fixed menu runs approximately ₺3,000 per person and includes a wide selection of meze, a main course, dessert, and a shared bottle of rakı for every two diners. À la carte is also available for those who prefer to order as they go.
Etiquette
Smart casual dress is fine — the atmosphere is warm and boisterous rather than formal. Staff will never rush you or push for extras; they genuinely want you to have a great time. If you know a Turkish song, sing along. If a stranger raises a glass in your direction, raise yours back — that’s the whole point.
Getting Home
Staff can help call a taxi at the end of the night, or walk up to Meşrutiyet Caddesi by Pera Palace or İstiklal Street to find one. Uber also operates in Istanbul. After a few glasses of rakı, you may find yourself exchanging numbers with the new friends you made at the next table — don’t be surprised.
Authentic Reviews
Go to Galata Meyhanesi with The Other Tour
Since 2011, Galata Meyhanesi has been the emotional high point of The Other Tour. After a full day living the depth and humanity of Istanbul — its neighborhoods, its food, its history — our guests arrive at this little backstreet gem and are swept up in something timeless. The clinking glasses, the familiar tunes, the dancing — they don’t watch it happen. They become part of it.
It is not just a meal. It is the Turkish way of life, distilled into a single unforgettable night. Şerefe!
