Tarihi Karadeniz Döner Istanbul – One of the best döner

One should not leave Istanbul without having had a proper döner. And Karadeniz Pide and Döner has made their mark on the genre with a huge following. The owner of the shop, Asım Usta starts serving his famous döner around 10:30am and it hardly lasts into the afternoon, so come early. It is the only kebab place in that area where there is always a queue. The line will be long, but it is worth the wait.

There is just one döner, but several ways to order: on a plate, with rice, dürüm (a wrap), pide (in a pita) or ekmek (in a fluffy white bread). You may also order the iskender kebab, which is the döner meat and freshly baked bread, cooked in a tomato and butter sauce with yoghurt.

This is more like a take-away place but you could eat it there while sitting on one of the stools. You can also grab an ayran (watery yoghurt drink). The ambience is average, cheap furniture, no interior design and it is jam-packed inside but the service is fast. Their döner is a little fatty for my taste, but extremely delicious.

One main downside: the meat is cooked with electric instead of wood coal here to be able to keep up with the high demand.