Hidden Beyoğlu Tour

Excellent tour! Basak was an outstanding guide and we loved all of the places we visited and the food we tasted. The group was also a nice size and very congenial. 10 out of 10.

I wanted to share some feedback following my recent experience with the Culinary Backstreets evening food tour in the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul. From a tourism and product perspective, I found the experience to be excellent and would certainly consider it a strong option to recommend to clients looking for an authentic and culturally immersive experience. The tour successfully combines sightseeing, local food and cultural storytelling. What particularly impressed me was that the various food stops provided much more than simply an opportunity to taste Turkish cuisine — they offered genuine insight into local eating habits, traditions and the role that food plays in everyday Turkish life. The selection of venues and dishes were varied, authentic and of a very good standard, with everything we tasted being delicious. The experience felt distinctly local rather than tourist-oriented, which I believe is an important selling point for discerning international clients. The guide was also exceptional. She was extremely knowledgeable, engaging and clearly passionate about both Turkish cuisine and Istanbul. Her ability to connect the food with the history, culture and character of the city added considerable value to the experience. From a supplier perspective, I would rate the tour very positively. It offers a good balance of culinary discovery, cultural interpretation and interaction with local establishments, making it a product that could complement a more traditional Istanbul sightseeing programme. The Donner Kebab and all the Meze were all fresh , tasty - absolutely delicious. The cobbled stones roads, backstreet alleys and all the cats watching , added to make the culinary experience more extraordinary. Only the best were served - from the pickles , raki wine, meze platter and off course my favourite - the baklava.

We had a fantastic evening with Basak and the other people of our small group. It was wonderful walking around the streets, learning about the area and Istanbul. The food was great, a really nice selection of different types of dishes from a variety of restaurants and shops. We would highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this wonderful culinary experience. We visited many restaurants, cafes and shops, sometimes to sit and eat, other places just to sample a quick bite or a taste. Başak was a great guide, she knew the area very well and chose some super locations. She was warm, friendly and helpful with many facts about local food traditions and history. We ate many diverse foods, all tasty and full of flavour. I can highly recommend,to experience the great food and to experience many locations that would be difficult to find without a local guide.

We just finished the Hidden Beyoglu tour by night in Istanbul and it was outstanding. Basak was a wonderful tour guide - so knowledgable and charming. And the group we were with was so nice and compatible. But most importantly the food was delicious and we felt like we learned a lot about local food traditions and also the neighborhood. And it was a good value! 10/10!