Istanbul fish restaurant scene is still little understood by the tourists traveling to the city. Located between the Black and Marmara seas Istanbul has historically been big on fish and a whole culture has developed around fish dining. Whenever I go to any Istanbul fish restaurant I always spot unease of foreigners unaware of that culture and I feel tempted to jump to their table with my unsolicited advice. Mostly people are terrified with my enthusiasm so I thought I would sneak some advice on Istanbul fish restaurant etiquette by writing this post.

Here is a an easy guide on how to enjoy your night out at an Istanbul fish restaurant, know what to do, what to order, how to deal with the waiters and handle the bill. In 9 easy steps.

Step 1. Walk in with confidence

I recommend doing some homework prior to going to an Istanbul fish restaurant. Homework ensures confident performance. You will show more clue than a regular foreigner taken aback by the dining crowd of Nevizade Sokak. And more clue always means less trouble in Turkey. So, get an idea about the place beforehand because if you are aiming for key Istanbul fish restaurant streets such as Nevizade Sokak, Ciçek Pasajı and Asmalımescit you will find many restaurants looking very similar. If you are overwhelmed by the choice then judge by the looks - choosing an Istanbul fish restaurant for a night out is an emotional affair anyways.

So, walk in the place you have preselected, establish eye contact with the waiter who looks more senior to you or who has already headed your way to help, strike a broad smile, respond to the waiters’ greetings with a polite “Good evening”. If you are a man - shake hands. Showing confidence is a good start of an Istanbul fish restaurant evening.

Step 2. Get seated at a table of your choice

Some Istanbul fish restaurants are smart enough to have dedicated seating areas for foreigners. Somewhere as unsexy as the upper floor (infamous Refik does that, for instance). That way they maintain authentic feel of the place for the frequenting locals who get ace tables downstairs and solve problem of maintaining large English-speaking staff. This is not what you want. You want to sit outside if the weather allows or at a nicely social flour. So, ask a table at one of those areas.

It maybe harder if you are a group and have not made any prior reservations. Yet if you are only a few there is room for discussion. Inquire about reserved tables and clarify for which hour the reservation is made: if there is 1-1.5 hours before it you can tell the waiter that would be enough for you to finish your meal and they can turn table at least twice that night. If you are extremely unhappy with the seating you eventually got you better find another Istanbul fish restaurant with more accommodating staff.

Step 3. Ditch the menu and order like the locals

You will be brought a menu. In English. An Istanbul fish restaurant menu in English is one of the most dull things you will ever read in your life. “Eggplant salad”, “Dry beans in olive oil”, “Spicy tomato paste” can hardly excite anyone. You should keep a menu in case but ask the waiter to bring a tray of starters (meze) for your examination instead. Once he does so you have all the time on earth to point at each and every meze, inquire about the names and ingredients and order a few.

To be sure, you can ask how the meze you have ordered correspond to the menu and prices so that you know exactly what you are getting. This is something locals do but for you it will pay off to be little knitty-gritty.

Soon a bottle of water, bread basket and the meze you have ordered will materialize on the table. Good time to order hot starters - they will be arriving as you will be eating the cold ones.

Step 4. Order your drinks

After ordering meze you will be asked about the alcohol drinks you would like to have. Local drink of choice in such occasions is definitely rakı, aniseed flavored liqueur made of distilled grape juice. It is always cut with water which makes the drink cloudy and lends it a name of “lions milk” unambiguously pointing at the character of rakı drinkers. I can’t guarantee you will like rakı but if you like trying all things local you may appreciate the experience.

You can order a bottle size depending on your ambition with the modest one being 0.35L and going up to 1 L for the long night in a merry company. You can also order by glass - single (tek) and double (duble). When doing so ask for bringing pure rakı in the glass - you would add water and ice yourself. That way you will be sure about the quantity of the actual liqueur in the drink.

A small note on Turkish wine. Most likely in an Istanbul fish restaurant you will be offered red or white. It’s a shame for the country counted 4rth in the world by the area of the wine yards but it’s a fact of life. I will not venture into great detail about Turkish wine here but generally white ones goes nicer with a fish restaurant fare and are generally safer choice in Turkey, if you have little knowledge of the local grapes and producers. For an Istanbul fish restaurant night anything will go but try to stick to a major producer (Kavaklidere, Kayra or Doluca).

Step 5. Order honey-dew melon and white cheese

“Kavun, peynir“, a wonderful combination of juicy and sweet with dry and sour, goes particularly great with rakı. Honey-dew melon and white cheese would be the first starter to indulge before other meze. Waiters do not always offer it as mostly locals get it. When ordering, please be aware though that it will be a major cost driver of your meze order.

Step 6. Thoroughly enjoy the meze

You are probably excited about a few little plates with Turkish meze that have arrived on the table. Well, I am excited for you too - meze are truly a highlight of the Turkish cuisine revealing the richness of tastes borrowed from many neighboring countries. Mezes are best enjoyed with bread: scoop a little quantity with a spoon or fork, savor it and have a piece of bread after. If something looks like a dip to you it’s OK to eat it like one.

There are no particular rules about eating Turkish meze besides one: go slowly. You would notice how locals would go for hours nibbling on a few meze enjoyed with rakı and this is exactly the pace you should follow. Nobody is rushing you and if someone does - just disregard them.

Step 7 (optional). Order fish

Interestingly enough, it is totally fine to skip this step at an Istanbul fish restaurant. So if you are full by the time you are done with the meze and want to continue drinking or jump to the dessert or maybe even ask for the bill - don’t hesitate to do so. However, should you be ordering fish - here is a bunch of friendly advice.

If you are not a big fish expert and want to play very safe - order small fish like anchovy (hamsi) or red mullet (barbun or tekir) - coated with corn flour it will come deep-fried most of the time. Another great option is grilled sea bass (levrek), fish with white tender meat and few bones. Sea bass is mostly farmed and available throughout the year.

If you feel more confident ask the waiter to bring a tray of fresh fish for you to choose. When choosing keep in mind the distinction between farmed and wild fish - usually wild ones come much larger in side and higher in price. It is worth clarifying before you order.

Step 8. Ask for dessert

Fish restaurants are not sweet shops but their desserts are often very good so don’t miss out. Candied vegetables, fruits or nuts such as pumpkin, quince or walnut, or puddings, or chocolate souffle are popular options.

By the way, if you have been polite to the waiters and maybe had a chat with them - they will offer you a cup of Turkish coffee on the house. This is a great sign of Turkish hospitality indicating the hosts are happy to have you and they don’t want you to leave yet. Kind of.

Step 9. Settle the bill

Depending on the place you have chosen you can be more or less relaxed about the arriving bill. Don’t despair when you get a folded piece of paper with a number on the outer side and unreadable scribbles inside - it’s a custom at Istanbul fish restaurants. Most likely this is the amount you would need to pay in cash or credit card. And it already includes the tip.

However it does not hurt going through the bill especially you sense there is something wrong with it. If you can’t make sense of it yourself - call the waiter. Once we had a conflict at a rather reputable establishment which decided to add 10-15% to each single dish we ordered. Foreign tax, if you wish. If problems like that arise try to resolve them at spot - be cool and polite and request a new bill. If nothing works, for your own satisfaction you can mention Zabita, a police sell protecting rights of consumers. Most restaurant owners fear it like fire.

But this is really the worst case scenario which I hope will never happen to you. If you have followed the nine steps - you will be just fine at an Istanbul fish restaurants and pretty much elsewhere in Istanbul.