8 Food Tours in Istanbul to Book This Year

1.Istanbul: European and Asian Side Guided Foodie Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 1,038 reviews · 5.5 hours · from $135Our pick

Spend 5.5 hours eating your way through Istanbul with an English-speaking guide such as Sinan, Tunç, Ali, or Feyza. Start near the Spice Bazaar, then cross the Bosphorus by ferry to Kadıköy and Moda for local dishes, market snacks, Turkish coffee, baklava, and dondurma. Expect 8 to 9 food stops, four drinks, and plenty of walking.

“The food tour in Istanbul is an absolute must! If you love eating and enjoy trying new things, you’ll be in food heaven. Sinan has a great talent for storytelling and effortlessly combines food culture with history and everyday life in Istanbul. Informative, delicious, and full of charm – an experience you won’t forget.”

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2.Istanbul: Guided Food Tour with Ferry Ride and Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 770 reviews · 6 hours · from $115

Spend six hours eating across Istanbul with guides such as Binnur, Önder, Salih, or Şenay. Start near the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, taste breakfast classics, cross by ferry to Kadikoy, explore markets and Moda, then finish with Turkish coffee, künefe, and baklava. Come hungry and wear comfortable shoes.

“I had only one day to spend in Istanbul so I decided to do this food tour to experience the most of the local cuisine going to different parts of the city . The tour itself was great and fulfilled my expectations and our tour guide Salim was very attentive and patient during the entire tour . He also had a great sense of humor and ensured we had the best time possible during the day. The only downside was that the ferries were closed due to bad weather and we ended up getting the subway instead however that was not the organizers fault, just bad luck. Overall I recommend…”

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3.Istanbul: Guided Food and Culture Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 528 reviews · 4 hours · from $136

Join an English-speaking guide such as Burak, Salih, or Cumali for a four-hour food walk across Istanbul’s European and Asian sides. Ride the public ferry, browse Kadıköy’s market, try stuffed mussels and southeast Turkish dishes, sip tea and coffee, and finish with dessert. Small groups are limited to 10 people.

“Our tour was outstanding. Barak was a fabulous guide - highly recommend him! Knows the history and culture of the city extremely well, and customized the tour for a vegetarian and nut allergen diet. He was great!!! Definitely ate our way well through hidden parts of the city!”

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4.Two Markets, Two Continents with Culinary Backstreets

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 479 reviews · 6 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $145Top rated

Spend about 6.5 hours eating across Istanbul with a small group capped at seven. Visit Karakoy, cross by ferry to Kadikoy, tour the market, and continue toward Moda for more local food, drinks, coffee, and a sweet finish. Guides such as Esin, Ugur, Gonca, and Kadir add food knowledge, history, and neighborhood connections.

“Ein wundervoller Tag, Esin hat es mit ihrer herzlichen und beschützenden Art, zu einem Erlebnis gemacht, an das ich immer wieder gerne erinnern werde!! Die Gruppe hatte eine angenehme Größe, und in meinem Fall sofort wie eine kleine Familie!! Esin wurde überall auf der Tour herzlich begrüßt, dadurch fühlte man sich auch richtig wohl und willkommen!! Kurz gesagt, ihr werdet diese Tour sicher nicht bereuen!!”

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5.Istanbul Culinary Tour: Local Hotspots & Gourmet StreetFoods

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 86 reviews · 3.5 hours · from $87Best value

Spend 3.5 hours tasting Istanbul with a small group of up to eight people. Guides such as Erol, Gamze, and Tolga lead you from Karaköy to Beyoğlu and Taksim, explaining Turkish food, customs, and local life as you try gözleme, çiğ köfte, mantı, tantuni, kebab, mussels, sweets, tea, and more.

“Thanks you Erol for all the amazing places you show us and all the informations about your beautiful country.”

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6.Istanbul: Private Guided Food Tour with 10 Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 49 reviews · 3 hours · from $117

Meet your English-speaking private guide at Espresso Lab Cihangir for three hours of Turkish food and city discovery. You’ll sample 10 local favorites, including Turkish delight and dürüm, with vegetarian options available. Guides such as Emre, Ayse, Faruk, and Deniz add personal stories, cultural context, and useful Istanbul tips between stops.

“My host was absolutely the key to my best experience in the short time I had in Istanbul on a layover. In addition to enjoying the stops on the tour, I feel like I made a friend in the area. I learned a lot about Turkish culture and was able to ask questions about history and cultural issues that I was curious about. I felt 100% safe with him at all times, as well, which, as a woman traveling alone, is of utmost importance to me. The tour itself is well worth it if you want to maximize your experience in the area. Clearly the food and the locations are…”

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7.Authentic Food Tour in Istanbul’s Asian Side – Kadıköy

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 35 reviews · 2h 30m · from $101

Explore Kadıköy with a local English or Turkish-speaking guide, tasting pickle juice, fish sandwich, çiğ köfte, mussels, kokoreç, wet burger, and sambali. This small-group walk serves a full meal in six stops, with vegetarian choices available by request. Guides including Asli, Madina, Laura, and Necla have led recent tours.

“The perfect amount of food to eat in the time we had, history of foods we tried and some great views from places that only locals would find.”

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8.Istanbul: Turkish Food Tour in Kadikoy Across the Bosphorus

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 33 reviews · 3 hours

Meet your English or German-speaking guide near Hamdi Restaurant in Eminonu, cross the Bosphorus by public ferry, and spend about two and a half hours eating through Kadikoy. Expect simit, meze, cheese, olives, pastrami, baklava, Turkish delight, tea, and other local tastes in a private group of up to eight.

“It has always been our belief that tasting the local street food is as important as visiting historical monuments if one needs to understand the culture of a place. Thus, we booked this tour hoping to get a glimpse of the wonderful Turkish cuisine that we had heard so much about before. Çetin saw to it that we were given the royal treatment. His insights into the Turkish cuisine, it's history and influences from other neighbouring cuisines were fascinating. We were planning before to do such a tour on our own, but knowing what to order is one thing and knowing where to order it from is a completely different…”

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