Lokmata Istanbul

For my daily diet I go with the 80/20 principle: 80 percent of the time I focus on eating clean, healthy foods, and 20 percent of the time I have the freedom to indulge freely. If you are like me and enjoy rich indulgent desserts, you are sure to adore this place!

Fried dough balls getting stuffed and smothered with chocolate... Just the definition is enough to explain the queue in front of this small store in Akaretler, Beşiktaş.

This is a dessert shop specializing in making traditional Turkish lokma (fried sweet dough that is covered in a simple syrup). Lokmata puts its own spin on the dessert by filling the lokmas with chocolate or pastry cream. They're crispy on the outside, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture on the inside. Served hot as they emerge bubbling from the pot, the lokmas are stuffed and drenched in different flavors of toppings. What I really like about Lokmata is the quality of the ingredients. They use good quality Belgian chocolate and regularly change the frying oil.

A portion contains 8 bites. Enough to make your stomach happy, but not full. The store offers some place to sit and beverages to enjoy, but mind this is more of a dessert fast food. So it is not a stop to spend some time but more of a grab, eat and go. Some evenings it gets too crowded inside and it might be challenging to find a seat or even order your choice of lokma.