Donuz

I always advise my friends and colleagues, who will be visiting Istanbul, to do a brunch by the Bosphorus. Sunday brunches by the Bosphorus, following a long Saturday night are always refreshing.

I should actually call them ‘mini’ brunches, since the cafes around the Bosphorus do not necessarily offer cold, hot and desert dishes as in Hotel Ritz Carlton or Kennedy Hall (Washington, D.C.). In other words, in a typical Turkish brunch, you shall not expect, smoked salmon and tuna fish followed by shrimp linguini and steak tartare. Nor should you expect a long table of deserts and champagne.

In contrast, the extent of the Turkish brunch really depends on your taste. Typically, in any café by around the Rumeli Fortress –by the Bosphorus- the clients get to order from a menu or they order from the top of their minds (That’s because they already know what is available and typical). Typically, Turkish brunch starts with the cold dishes. These include: feta cheese –a must-, a variety of other cheese –optional-, olives, virgin olive oil, tomatoes, cucumbers (sliced), salami and honey & cream and a variety of jams (fig, orange, apricot, peach, rose, pear, quince, strawberry, blueberries etc.). These should be eaten with soft white bread or sesame bagels –another Turkish tradition. Later arrive the hot dishes. The hot dishes can as varied as the limits of your imagination. The most typical dishes include: Menemen (a special egg dish that resembles scrambled eggs, but is cooked with butter, tomato, peppers, cheese and spices), scrambled eggs with Turkish salami and butter, plain boiled egg, börek (Turkish pastry cooked with minced meat, cheese, potato or grasses), sausages boiled and sautéed with tomatoes and gözleme (a variety of savoury pancakes toasted together with cheese, potatoes, minced meat of grasses as well). The Turkish people usually do not eat desert after their breakfast. They rather drink dark Turkish coffee with a slice of Turkish delight.

Nevertheless, the nature of brunches changes from place to place. While many cafes use the order-from-the-menu method, newer cafes launch an open buffet brunch. The pioneers of this tradition include House Café and Lucca. These and some other cafes offer an open buffet that includes an assortment of cheese, jams, salami and ham, simple hot dishes like scrambled eggs and sausages only, an assortment of bread and pastry, fruits and sweet cookies and cakes –at a fix price. Anything additional –that is not found on the buffet- is served at an additional fee.

Yet, another version is the International version, which is no longer “Turkish.” At Ritz Carlton, Ciragan Palace Kempinski and probably in most of the other big and luxury hotels, the brunches follow the rule of thumb: Open buffet, cold dishes, hot meals, chocolate fountains, champagne and deserts.

For first-time visitors, my heart and mind would urge them to go try the tradition. Sade Kahve, Kale and Bebek Kahve are some of the well-known examples. The tradition shall be followed by a very long walk by the coast line –to help ease digestion J

Sade Kahve:

http://www.sadekahve.com/tr/

Yahya Kemal Caddesi No:36/1

Rumelihisarı / Sarıyer

İSTANBUL

Bebek Kahve:

Next to the Bebek Mosque, in front of Mc Donalds in Bebek, Istanbul

Kale:

http://www.kalecafe.com/

Yahya Kemal Caddesi No: 16 34470 Rumelihisar – ISTANBUL

House Café:

http://www.thehousecafe.com.tr/

Branches in Ortakoy, Bebek, Nisantasi, Istiklal Caddesi, Kanyon AVM, Istinye Park AVM…

Lucca:

http://www.luccastyle.com/index_eng.htm

http://www.nileguide.com/destination/istanbul/restaurants/lucca/62025018341

Cevdet Paşa Cd.

Bebek, İstanbul

Tags: Bosphorus, House Café, Istanbul, Kale, Kennedy Hall, Lucca, Menemen, Ritz Carlton, Sade Kahve

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