6 Spectacular Tea Gardens To Visit In Istanbul

The çay bahçesi or tea garden is an integral part of Turkish social life. Typically sprawling, often informal and always reasonably priced, tea gardens demonstrate that the most enjoyable pleasures are also the simplest. While tea gardens vary little in terms of tea, service or outdoor furniture, they are distinguished by their location. Istanbul’s most vibrant tea gardens are those with spectacular views and atmospheric settings – we explore 6 of the best.

# Bebek Kahve

Undoubtedly Bebek Kahve is one of Istanbul’s premiere locations to brush shoulders with high society. Their polished clientele is matched in grandeur only by the neighborhood’s sublime setting on a calm cove along the Bosphorus. Bebek Kahve’s food menu offers a good reason to prolong one’s visit, whether to people watch or gaze at ships traversing the Bosphorus. Perhaps more so than other sections of Istanbul’s straits, Bebek offers a vantage of beautiful nature on both sides of the water, with large houses and quaint palaces dotting the waterside.

# Cengelkoy Cinaralti

Located right on the Bosphorus, patrons of the Çengelköy Çinaraltımight be met with the splash of waves in their eagerness to secure the rare waterfront perch. Having garnered fame as the set for many a Turkish soap opera, this cafe easily has the seating capacity for several casting crews. Open all hours of the day, the cafe takes its name from a couple of hundred year old sycamore trees casting shade over the massive grounds.

# Dolmabahçe Çay Bahçesi

Perhaps a bit pricier than the average tea garden, Dolmabahçe Palace justifies its inflated prices with a royal aura and a privatized waterfront. Nestled on the waterfront in the shadow of a beautiful marble clock tower at the gates of The Dolmabahçe Palace, this tea garden is an ideal spot to take in the sunrise as it envelopes the horizon of the Marmara Sea and the Prince’s Islands in the distance. The Dolmabahçe’s tea garden is also a relaxing place to take in the atmosphere of the Ottoman dynasty’s first attempt to create a Westernized palace along the Bosphorus waterfront.

# Firuzağa Kahvesi

Perhaps Istanbul’s most fashionable spot to sip on tea is a crowded garden tucked behind the 500-year old Firuzağa Mosque. Known by locals simply as çaycı or the tea server, Firuzağa Kahvesi sits on the corner of one of the busiest intersections, connecting the trendy Cihangir neighborhood to Istanbul’s arterial Taksim Square. Perhaps the only locale in Cihangir offering beverages below an inflated price line, Firuzağa Kahvesi is a surprisingly democratic cornerstone to Cihangir’s otherwise elite range of trendy restaurants, cafes and coiffeurs. Old neighborhood residents, chic young Turks and many of Istanbul’s expats flock to this bustling tea garden.

# Moda Çay Bahçesi

A sprawling tea garden perched on a hill above the Bosphorus, Moda’s tea garden is one of the city’s most popular destinations. A scenic ferry boat ride away from the bustling hubs of the historic peninsula, Galata and Taksim, Moda and its environs are a welcome alternative to Istanbul’s busy central district and its tea garden is perhaps one of the most serene parts of inner-city Istanbul. Like the neighborhood which it adjoins, Moda Çay Bahçesi is calm yet cosmopolitan, with a westward facing view of the Marmara Sea, ideal for sunsets and Sunday afternoons.

# Emirgan Çinaraltı Cafe

Named after a 17th century Safavid Persian army commander who resettled in Istanbul, Emirgan has served as a relaxing garden repose for centuries. Today, the historic ambiance of the locale lives on in the Emirgan Park and the adjacent tea garden with views of the second bridge crossing the Bosphorus. Nearby is the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, famous for its collection of traditional Turkish art.