Yummy Istanbul

Yummy Istanbul has been running food tours in the city since 2013, and its tours are built around the idea of eating your way through neighbourhoods with a local guide. Its best-known walk, Taste of Two Continents, links the European and Asian sides of the city and combines a ferry crossing with stops in the markets and backstreets of Kadıköy.

The tour starts at Viyana Kahvesi in Sirkeci, near the Spice Bazaar, and runs for about five and a half hours. After the first tastings on the European side, the group crosses the Bosphorus on a public ferry, with time on deck to enjoy the views, and then works through Kadıköy market and the streets beyond. There are eight food stops and more than twenty tastings in all. The sample menu includes simit, Turkish cheeses and olives, pastırma, menemen, eggs with sucuk, honey with kaymak, Turkish tea, İskender kebab, lahmacun, beyran soup, stuffed mussels, baklava and Turkish ice cream, though what you eat varies with the day and the season.

Departures run daily at 09:30, 10:30 and 11:30, and groups are limited to ten people, with private tours also available. Ferry tickets for the crossing are included. The tour ends at Kadıköy ferry terminal, and the guide helps you catch a ferry back to the European side. The company also runs a three-hour Kadıköy Street Food tour, a three-hour Taksim evening tour and private tours.

Vegetarian alternatives are offered at six of the eight food stops. The tour is not ideal for anyone with severe nut or dairy allergies, vegan options are harder to arrange, and gluten-free or coeliac needs may not be met, so raise any requirements before booking. Arrive hungry, wear comfortable shoes and bring a layer for the ferry, which can be breezy.

The tour suits first-time visitors, families with older children and food lovers who want a sociable introduction to Turkish food and to Kadıköy. Book through the company's website, where a contact form is answered within a day. The meeting point is a few minutes' walk from Sirkeci tram stop and Sirkeci Marmaray station, and the details are confirmed by email after booking.