Pideban – Quirky and traditional

Pideban is such a humble, down at heels place you could easily miss even if you specifically search for it. Not many Istanbul locals would know it, either. Luckily in Sariyer neighborhood many can finger point it.

Their most famous dish is ‘pide’, a flat pita or pizza like dough baked in stone oven which you get to see on the first floor. Although ‘pide’ is a staple of Turkish cuisine available in every other place, best versions are ‘Karadeniz Pidesi’, that is the Black Sea type just as you find here. You can have yours either with minced meat, or ‘kavurmalı’ (sort of precooked and frozen meat reheated ), or with incredible cheese coming right from Trabzon city of Black Sea. Not only the cheese, but almost everything used in ‘pides’ including the flour that makes them soo crispy, precooked meats, and butter all come directly from Black Sea Region.

Do not forget, the best friend of any ‘pide’ is the Turkish yoghurt drink: ‘Ayran’.

The delicious home made pickles served automatically are on the house!

On the upper floor various other typical home cooked Black Sea dishes are being presented on a window. Especially rice with Turkish anchovy (Hamsili Pilav), and ‘dible’, a dish prepared with green beans and some sort of cabbage called karalahana are ‘must’s. You can order them by ‘half a portion’ as is a tradition in similar restaurants in Turkey.

They have two other branches, both in greater Sariyer neighborhood. But this central one has the more comprehensive menu.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Pideban | Restaurants | Cheese Pide TL 8.00
Dereboyu Caddesi No. 23 | +902122424239
10:00 – 22:30 daily