$5 Lunches in Istanbul

I have been walking around, tasting stuff and reading the menus for a bit lately to figure out lunches worth 5 dollars (7-10 Turkish liras) in the city. No McDonald’s… Here are some other ideas:

1. Kumpir: Baked potatoes, but really big ones, which you fill up with all sorts of stuff to your liking. Common ingredients are: butter, kaşar cheese (which is like the Turkish mozeralla), olives, sausages or salami, beans, sweet corn and maybe ketchup and mayonnaise. The price varies depending on how many ingredients you use; but an average kumpir costs TRY 7.5.

2. One portion of köfte at Köfteci Ramiz: Köfteci Ramiz is an old and well-known brand for köfte (meatballs) that was initially founded in Akhisar in year 1928. However, the actual story of Ramiz goes even further back in the history to the beginnings of the 20th century. The founders of Köfteci Ramiz were two Macedonian brothers who arrived to Anatolia early in the 20th century and travelled all around the continent, serving at restaurants in different cities. When they stopped traveling around and settled down in Akhisar of Manisa, they opened their first store with a few wooden tables and few chairs. The key to their delicious köfte is the trilogy of  veal, salt and onion. In 1934, they moved out to their historical and actual restaurant, that still operates on the highway between İzmir and İstanbul. Years of fame helped Köfteci Ramiz to branch out to different parts of the country, including different parts of the cities. In Istanbul only there are approximately 10-12 branches of Ramiz inside the shopping malls, as well as commercial business areas. Of course the quality of meat varies from one branch to the other. It is not easy to keep up at par with the initial and historic branch of Akhisar. Nevertheless, meals at Ramiz are around 5 dollars and are decent enough. The national brand has also earned itself the ISO 9001 certificate from the English World Certification Services.

3. Afacan Restaurant on İstiklal Street in Taksim: An artisan restaurant where you can grab a portion of traditional Turkish home meal (vegetable or meat dish with rice is an example) or a portion of anything off the grill (meatballs, chicken or meat) with one glass of non-alcoholic beverage (ayran -yogurt based Turkish beverage or soda) for TRY 7-8 liras. Since it is self-service and open buffet, it is also practical for those looking for a quick lunch.

4. Marmaris Buffet: Quick, budget, unique toasts and sandwiches. This is usually the preference of locals for grabbing something solid and cheap after clubbing. The original store is in Taksim near the main square, few more branches have been opened later on in Levent near the metro stop and in Bebek. Preferred also for breakfast by white-collar business people. Take-out is possible. Locals’ favorites include: dilli kaşarlı (mozeralla and tongue salam), bifter-kaşar (beef and cheese), double cheese, yengen (cheese, salami and a special sauce) and ayvalik (anything you can think of is inside)…

5. Kokoreç at Şampiyon: This is a classic of the Turkish tradition, but is hard to grasp the idea of consuming this if you are fragile in the stomach or too picky about what you put into your stomach. Kokoreç is animal intestines… It’s a bit like consuming the brains, kidneys and other offal. Therefore, do not be misled by the seductive smells of kokoreç buffets. Know what you might be eating before dashing for the buffet. Şampiyon offers other things such as clams apart from the kokoreç. Clams are served as sandwiches or separately depending on how you might want to eat them. Clams can be deep-fried or consumed as dolma (stuffed with rice).

There are many other $5 lunches that can be found walking around the city. These were the most traditional and most decent… Comment below if you have an competitive idea. Cheers =)