Watching the amazing Galata Tower from a roofbar: ROBIN'S

And finally we are together in Istanbul again! Lara has just came back from Toulouse , only for 10 days unfortunately... But still, it is super nice to spend some time together in this beautiful city just like in the old days. And here is our first discovery since Lara came: ROBIN'S

ROBIN'S is a great ROOFBAR in this popular district GALATA. It is located on the hill between Galata Tower and Tunel(The second end of Istıklal Street). As you pass the Galata Tower and climb up the hill , you will see the HOTEL DUO on your left side, which is also a restaurant. Go inside this restaurant and ask immediately where the ELEVATOR is ! Because the surprise is waiting for you upstairs! Fourth Floor and you are kindly welcomed to the roof bar ROBIN'S !

 

It is actually a small terrace (much smaller than we expected) but it doesn't even matter after you see that amazing view of the Galata Tower. Much more than the view of the Bosphorus, this roofbar amazes you by the fact that its located just next to the Galata Tower. While you enjoy your cocktail , you feel so close as you can seriously reach and touch the Galata Tower.

 

Furthermore, this place is not crowded, maybe because it is actually hidden in a hotel. We actually loved the idea that this place is not so easy to see and discover! As it is not so crowded, this bar is a super option to spend some hours before a dinner and having a drink while enjoying the view. And that was what we did the other day! We went to this place about 19.00 pm and enjoyed our conversation with a glass of wine. Of course there was a lot to talk about!

After all , Robin's is a perfect place with its
AMAZING VIEW
GOOD QUALITY OF SERVICE
NICE, EASY LISTENING MUSIC
GOOD SELECTION OF WINE ( They have a couple of wine options which you can order as a glass - a glass of wine is about 20-25 Turkish Lira)
TASTY COCKTAILS ( We tried a cocktail which was similar to Gin Tonic- but they added cucumber in it! I have never thought before that cucumber would go so great with a drink! - It was so fresh! )

Honest Istanbul Guide Vol1: GALATA

LETS GET STARTED WITH MY HONEST ISTANBUL GUIDE

I am a fan of this city and I go out almost every weekend to discover some nice places, because to be honest, although there are like thousands of cafes and bars around in this huge city, just a few of them have a really good quality. Yeah I know, what a shame! But unfortunately, after searching and tasting and discovering like crazy I have to admit that most of the spots we see around have just spent the money on the decoration but have no idea about the quality of service and food!
And thats why I am writing to you right now! So that you won’t get dissappointed and just pick the right places with my help . İstanbul is such a great city but to see its real great beauty, you have to know the city pretty well, cause its way too big and complicated!!!

Thats why I am here to share my best discoveries, to share the most wonderful local spots that I personally enjoy ! So here are some tips from me:

We start with one of my favorite districts in İstanbul at the European side: GALATA 

Galata is full of little cafes, which are located in little tiny streets rather than the main street. So it is a little hard to find them , I am gonna try to describe where they are but I suggest you to check this internet site foursquare.com  , where you can find all the cafes and their exact locations I am gonna suggest you. You  just need to enter the name of the cafe or restaurant and it opens you directly its location on google map!

BUT I AM ALSO GONNA MAKE SOME SCREENSHOTS FROM GOOGLE MAP AND PUT IT HERE. 

Okay, lets take this famous GALATA TOWER as the center. Firstly I suggest you going up on this tower as the view is fantastic! This is of course a MUST DO thing in Istanbul! But be careful about the timing cause the line gets too big, especially in the afternoon after the dreadful sun gets less effective. So you better visit there in the morning for example. I know, the sunset view will be awesome too but dont worry, I will tell you another place very soon where you can not only enjoy the sunset but also maybe a beer or cocktail! So Galata Tower is just in the middle and there are lots of streets around it. At the towers right side, right at the corner there is a hotel ( ANEMON GALATA ) and there is a street going down right near it. When you go that street down, you will find a great wine bar on your right side: SENSUS WINE .

 Its a great place for the evening to taste some wine ( especially the turkish products are suprisingly good! ) but sometimes you need a reservation, but you will probably find place on the bar. The prices are fair. Normally in the restaurants if you order just one glass of wine they dont have many options and they charge you pretty much for a tiny glass of wine ( they usally fill the glass just a little ! I HATE THAT! ) 

BUT this Wine House, as they sell their own products, offer you about 15 different wines that you can order just as a glass . And the prices change between 9 Turkish Lira to 25 Turkish Lira. So that means you do not have to open a bottle and stick to one type of wine- Get their special menu for Glass Wines and pick what you want, try some several different options-! That was what I exactly did- of course I prefered the cheaper ones and they honestly tasted all good ! So this place is PERFECT for a cheap but definitely quality WINE TASTING!

Anyways, if you pass this wine bar and continue to walk down, there is a super sweet cafe called CAFE VELVET: great place to drink a cup of coffee or something refreshing such as their homemade lemonade! By the way, if you wanna try something authentic: TRY THEIR YUMMY TURKISH DESERT: “KAYMAKLI UN HELVASI”. I mentioned more info about this place already on my blog! So check the special post about this place !

Now lets go back to Galata Tower. At the left corner there is an authentic turkish cafe where people generally have turkish tea for about 1.50 or 2 turkish lira and chat and watch around and this time there is again a street going down full of cafes. At the beginning of this street there is a shop which sells some authentic turkish products.So when you start going down this street, the streets automatically turns right. Follow it and you will see a coffee shop on the right side: CHERRY BEANS. 

Its one of the most peaceful places for a cup of coffee, its really tiny. The coffee is really good and their homemade cakes go great together. This spot is definitely one of my favorite spots for a COFFEE-BREAK. Inside smells awesome ( a lovely tasty combination of fresh coffee and warm homemade cookiieess and cakesss ) 

What I secondly adore in this place is always the music playing inside: sometimes they often play easy listening classical tracks and it goes perfect while sitting in this cute cafe, watching outside and drinking your fresh warm coffee.

 http://www.cherrybeancoffees.com/

If you skip this one and keep going down, you will see CAFE KONAK at the left side. This cafe is a standard patisserie but they have this terrace on the top of the building and it has an awesome view! You can drink maybe a turkish tea and enjoy the view: Galata Tower right on your back , which seems so close like you can even touch it, and the amazing bosphorus on your front. 

LET'S GET STARTED AGAIN !

I know , it has been AGAIN ages since I wrote my last post :(( BUT it was such a difficult year for both me and Lara , as we were trying to graduate from our high schools and struggling with our last finals ! All that exams, stress, university applications... After all we still made some discoveries but could not find time to share them .

BUT NOW IT IS TIME AGAIN ! It is time to discover, to drink, to cook, to eat, to enjoy and to APPRECIATE all these. And of course TO SHARE.
This time we will be writing even more than before. I will be here in Istanbul studying in the state conservatory of Istanbul University but my dear friend LARA LEFT ME AGAIN => This time she left me for EUROPE ! She will be studying in Toulouse in France.
But you already know that the distance does not play any role in our friendship ;) The fact that Lara was going to USA two years ago as an AFS student was the reason we started all this blog thing.

Soo, I would like to start with a discovery I made the last day ALL BY MYSELF because Lara is already gone.....

I went to this wonderful roof bar in Beyoglu and enjoyed a glass of Italian white wine together with the amazing sunset view of the Bosphorus :  NUTERAS

This place is in Pera which is a district right behind Asmalımescid. When you start walking in İstiklal Street , starting from Tünel towards Taksim, after about 3-4 minutes you will see this arcade called ODAKULE on your left side. There is this clothes shop called 'Collezione' right in front of it. So pass through this arcade and you are directly in Pera.

Go to Nuteras right after 6.30 and you will immediately find a nice seat at the roof bar. My pick was whine but of course you can also have a beer or you can try one of their great cocktails.

GREAT MUSIC+AN UNFORGETTABLE SUNSET VIEW+A GLASS OF WINE=Only about 15 to 25 Lira.  To enjoy all these costed me only 23 Turkish lira. I think it was a PERFECT DEAL for a peaceful evening.

Meşrutiyet Caddesi No.67, Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu

Here is the link : http://nupera.com.tr/restoran/nuteras

For more info+photos: https://tr.foursquare.com/v/nuteras/4c00234237850f479fcc973f

Beymen Brasserie

Last Friday we were in a cozzy restaurant-bar: BEYMEN BRASSERIE
Located in the most elite area of İstanbul: Nisantasi

We tried two different cocktails which were both very tasty.

A great option to have a drink, chat and chill with friends - peaceful atmosphere !
and nice music! Prices are quite high BUT if you are looking for a nice modern bar where you can spend hours chatting with friends here is the right direction.

Gecen cuma aksamı söyle sakin bir yerde oturup sohbet edelim yanına da güzel birşeyler icelim dedik; kendimizi İstanbul'un en güzel semtlerinden Nisantasi'nda yer alan BEYMEN BRASSERIE de bulduk.

Denedigimiz kokteyller cok basarılıydı, yanına cerez getirmeyi de ihmal etmediler. Fiyatlar eh BEYMEN olmasından dolayı biraz daha pahalı ama ortamına deger mi? Deger.

Saatlerce sohbet edip ickinizi güzel müzik esliginde yudumlayabileceginiz bir yer.

Abdi Ipekci Cad. No: 23/1 Nişantaşı, Istanbul

SANGRIA TIME !

      Biraz restoranlar, biraz yemek tarifleri derken şimdi de sıra içkide !

En az yemek yapmak kadar değişik kokteyller denemeyi de çok seviyorum. Spesiyallerim arasında bol naneli Mojito var ( İleri bir zamanda onu da paylaşıcam ). Ama önceliği iki senedir bayıla bayıla içtiğim kokteyle vermek istiyorum: SANGRIA 

Some restaurants, some food recipes... And now its time for some drink !

I love to prepare some cocktails as much as to cook ! One of my specialities is Mojito with lots of fresh mints! ( I will share the recipe with you soon! ) But firstly ı want to tell you about this great cocktail which ı have been often  preparing and drinking for two years: SANGRIA

Bu nefis şarap kokteylini Lara ile de yapmışlığımız vardır :) Şarabın kendisini zaten çok severim ancak bir sürü meyve, limon ve portakal suyu , biraz da şekerin eşlik etiiği şarabın tadi daha da güzel oluyor !

I have also made this delicious Wine Cocktail with Lara :) I like the wine itsself a lot but it tastes much better when you add lots and lots of fruits, lemon and orange juice and some sugar in it !

Ayrıca sadece BİR ŞİŞE şarap kullanarak yaklaşık ÜÇ SÜRAHİ Sangria elde edebiliyorsunuz. Böylece arkadaşlarla içip dağıtmak hem daha HESAPLI hem de daha LEZZETLİ ! 

( Küçük bir not: Alkole şeker kattığınızda kafayı bulmak da daha kolay. Her açıdan kardasınız anlayacağınız ;) )

Besides you can prepare with just ONE BOTTLE of red wine almost THREE JUGS of Sangria! So you can drink and have fun with your friends much CHEAPER and much MORE DELICIOUS. 

( P.S.  Besides its much easier to get drunk when you add sugar to alcohol ;) ) 

Bir ispanyol şarap kokteyli olarak bilinen SANGRIA'yı yapmak inanılmaz basit:

MALZEMELER:

Bir şişe kırmızı şarap ( Direk en ucuzundan alın! Meyveler ve şekerle karışınca şarabın kendisinin kalitesinin pek önemi kalmıyor açıkçası )

İki çorba kaşığı toz şeker

İki portakalın suyu

İki limonun suyu

Bol buz

Küçük küçük dilimlenmiş Portakal,Limon ve Yeşil Elma ( Bunlar Sangriaya en çok yakışan meyveler ama kafanıza göre istediğiniz meyveyi ekleyebilirsiniz. Örneğin ben yazın şeftali de ekliyodum )

Yaklaşık iki su bardağı hazır limonata 

It's very easy to prepare SANGRIA which is a spanish wine cocktail:

INGREDIENTS:

A bottle of red wine ( Choose the cheapest one! Because the taste of the wine itsself doesn't matter when you put sugar and fruits in it... )

Two tablespoons granulated sugar

Juice of two oranges

Juice of two lemons

Lots of ice

Tiny sliced or chopped oranges,lemons and green apples ( These are the best fruits for Sangria but you can add every fruit you like. For example ı added peach into it in summer)

Two cups of lemonade

Yapmamız gereken tek şey tüm bu malzemeleri kocaman bir sürahide veya kapta karıştırmak. Önce şarabı bir güzel boşaltıyoruz sonra şekeri atıp karıştırarak içinde erimesini sağlıyoruz. Ardından portakal ve limon suyunu ekliyoruz. Sonra da içine meyvelerimizi küçük küçük doğuruyoruz. İster yarım ay şeklinde doğrayın ister küp küp. Ben genelde küp küp doğruyorum. Böylece içerken ağzımıza ufak ufak meyve parçaları geliyor. En son olarak limonatayı ekleyip bolca karıştırıyoruz. Kokteyl için ölçüler bu şekilde ancak damak tadınıza göre biraz oynama yapabilirsiniz. Ben her Sangria yaptığımda tadına bakarak biraz daha limonata veya portakal suyu ekliyorum mesela.

All you need to do is to mix all of the ingredients in a large jug or a bowl. First you poor the red wine in to the jug/bowl. You add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves in it. Then you add the orange and lemon juice. After that you prepare the fruits. You can slice them in the shape of a new moon. Or you can chop them in cubes. I prefer to prepare them in cubes so that ı can easily eat these tiny pieces of fruits  when ı drink my cocktail. Finally you add the lemonade and mix well. This is the basic recipe for the drink but you can make some changes in order to your taste. For example ı taste this cocktail every time ı prepare it and sometimes add a little more lemonade or orange juice.

SANGRİANIN ESAS PÜF NOKTASI içmeden evvel saatlerce buzdolabında bekletmek. Böylece meyveler içkiyi iyicene içine çekiyor ve tadı gittikçe güzelleşiyor. Ayrıca içmek istediğiniz zaman Sangrianız zaten buz gibi oluyor. Bardağınıza bir kaç buz tanesi koymanız yeter. Bekleticek vaktiniz yoksa o zaman kokteylinizi bol bol buzla doldurun !

THE TRICK by making Sangria is to keep it hours long in the fridge so that the fruits give their tastes perfectly into the wine and it tastes better and better! And you also don't need to put lots of ice in it because your cocktail will be chill enough! If you don't have time to keep it in the fridge , then dont forget to put lots and lots of ice in to the jug and to the glasses!

Sangriayı büyük bir sürahide servis edebilrisiniz. Veya derince bir kapta yapıp Punch gibi kepçe ile bardaklara doldurabilirsiniz. Hatta ben bir defasında Sangria hazırladığımda kocaman bir kavanozun içine yaptım ve ardından kepçe ile bardaklara servis ettim.

Sevgiler,

Revna

You can serve Sangria in a large jug or you can put it in a large bowl and serve it with scoop just like a punch. I even prepared it in an enormous jar!

Take care,
Revna

CurcuNa !

Biliyorum biliyorum...
Yine ihmal ettim blogumuzu...
Ama benim de su koca yaz tatilinin ardından liseye adapte olmam biraz zaman aldı acıkcası.
Hatta bizler daha sabahın altısında kalkmaya tekrar alısmaya calısırken sözlüler ve sınavlar çoktaaan basladı bile!
Neyse ki sonunda Cuma aksamları ve ardından gelen mükemmel Haftasonu kesiflerime baslamıs bulunmaktayım!
Larasız Cuma okul çıkıslarına her ne kadar alısamasam da artık bir İstanbul sokaklarını kolacan etmenin vakti gelmisti.
Peki nereyi sereflendirdim?

Tabii ki Kafe Pi Grubunun yeni harikalar diyarı :  Curcuna !

Okay, ı admit it...
I seemed so careless about our blog again...
BUT it was really hard to adapt to school again after a huugee summer vacation!
While we are trying to get used to the school, the exams have already started!
But finally ı have officially started to my Friday Night and Weekend Discoveries!
However its so hard to get used to the friday nights without Lara, the time has come to start spotting new places in the streets of İstanbul.
And guess where ı went this friday?

Of course, the new wonderland of Kafe Pi Group : Curcuna !

Sevgili Laracım İstanbul'a veda etmeden bir ugramıstı Curcuna'ya.Ben de su dillere destan yeri pek merak ediyodum. Derken gecen cuma aksamı kendimi bu sirin yerde buluverdim!
İçeri girer girmez hakkaten de " Lara'nın anlattığı kadar varmıs" diyiverdim. Öyle tatlı ve renkli dekore edilmis ki... Hakkaten de tam bir curcuna: Tüm detaylarıyla adeta bir lunapark.Atlı karıncalı barı, salıncakları, duvarları süsleyen binlerce bira siseleri... Tam bir cılgınlık !

Lara had already visited this place before she went to USA. I was so curious about this place too and finally ı found myself on a friday night. As ı got into the place ı said to myself ' Wow its really as beautiful as Lara has told.'. The decoration was so creative and sweet! It was just like an amusement park with its all details:
A carousel shaped bar, colorful swings and walls covered with thousands of beer bottles. What a craziness !



KOKTEYLLER
Dekorasyonu bir yana Kafe Pi aynı zamanda yaptakları kokteyllerde de inanılmaz yaratıcı. Her birine komik bir ad takıldığı çesit cesit kokteylleri var. Hepsi birbirinden leziz! Neyse ki Curcuna' da kokteyl menüsü içinde kaybolduğumu fark eden barmen hemen yardımıma yetisti ve menünün kapağını kapayıverdi. Kokteylde ne seversin sorusuna hic düsünmeden ' Kırmızı meyveler!' 
diyince bana harika bir kokteyl hazırladı.




COCKTAILS
Beside its decoration Kafe Pi Group makes very tasteful and creative cocktails. They make lots and lots of cocktails that they have given a funny name to each. I was just lost in the cocktail menu when a barman noticed and managed to help me. He just asked what ı like in a cocktail and ı answered ' raspberries ' . Then he made me a cocktail which was very delicious!

Curcunanın iddialı kokteyllerinden bazıları ise:
GODFATHER
MATHILDA
PASSION OF FASHION
AKVARYUM(Koca bir sürahide geliyor!)
AYSEL GÜREL(Servis edildiği cam şişe çok yaratıcı!)
28 CURCUN


Some of the famous cocktails of Curcuna:
GODFATHER
MATHILDA
PASSION OF FASHION
AKVARYUM(served in a huge jug!)
AYSEL GÜREL(its so creative that its served in a glass bottle)
28 CURCUN


Bu arada Curcuna'da her pazarları BARBEKÜ PARTİSİ düzenleniyor!
Menü sucuk,sosis,ızgara sebze ve köfte kapsarken parti langırt,tabu,trivial pursuit gibi oyunlarla renklendiriliyor.

By the way there is a BARBECUE PARTY every sunday in Curcuna!
Besides the menu contains soujouks,sausages,grilled vegetables and meatballs the party is made also really enjoyable by table football and
the games such as trivial pursuit and tabu.


Peki CURCUNA nerede?

Evliya Celebi Mahallesi
Refik Saydam Caddesi No 15


And where is this CURCUNA?

Evliya Celebi Street
Refik Saydam Avenue No 15


Curcuna'ya gitmenin en kolay yolu bence İstaklal Caddesi Tünel tarafından Pera'ya geçmek. Asmalı Mescitin arkasından dolanıp
Peraya geçtiniz mi hemen Trt Binasına gelmeden otoparkın yanından

 inen merdivenleri takip edin.Asagı caddeye indiğiniz zaman direk sola
 kaptırın ve az ilerde Curcunanın sokagını goruyosunuz. 
 Olmadı Pera'da bir restorana sorarsınız.Sahsen ben öyle buldum!

The best way to find this place is to pass to PERA from the Tünel which is in the end of the İstiklal Street.
You can get through the place 'Asmalı Mescit' and when you arrive to Pera you will see the steps in front of this huge building TRT.After you go down the steps you should go left and walk straight untill you see this small street (in which Curcuna takes place) on your left side.
Or you can ask any hotel or restaurant in Pera just like ı have done! 

İnternet Adresi/ The Website:  http://www.nebucurcuna.com/

Bu eğlenceli atmosferin en sevdiğim kısmı ise kesinlikle DJ-Kabiniydi: Eski bir Volswagen Kaplumbağa !

The best thing ı loved about this place was the DJ-Cabin which was in an old Volswagen Beetle!

Curcuna'nın ardından gecemizin bir sonraki durağı ise Küçük Beyoğlu'nda yer alan Kafe Pi Teras oldu. Gelelim Küçük Beyoğluna...Küçük Beyoğlu; Yine Kafe Pi Grubu'nun bir projesi olarak yaklaşık 50 metrelik bir sokak şeridi üzerinde, Saloon KB, Spark, Seven, Fabrika, Blow ve Dark Stage olmak üzere 5 farklı isimde mekânı kapsıyor. 
Beyoğlu’nun daha önce karanlık ve bakımsız sokaklarından biri olan Yeşilçam Sokak; Nisan 2008’de, 5 ayda restore edilip yepyeni bir çehre kazandırılarak “Küçük Beyoğlu” adını almış.

After Curcuna our next stop was Kafe Pi Teras which is in a part of the Küçük Beyoğlu.
Küçük Beyoğlu is again a project of Kafe Pi Group and is a 50 m long street which contains 5 different bars named Saloon KB, Spark, Seven, Fabrika and Blow the Dark Stage.This street used to be called Yesilcam Street which had been a dark and neglected street before it was renovated in April 2008 and got the name ' Kücük Beyoglu'.



Gençlerin aksam eglencelirinin tartısmasız bir duragı haline gelen Küçük Beyoğlu güzel atmosferi,içkileri ve de sahane müzikleri ile ideal bir mekan.
Biz de Kücük Beyoglu'nun gözdesi KafePi Terasta karar kıldık.Asırı kalabalık olmasına ragmen cok az beklememizin ardından bizimle hemen ilgilenmeleri pek hosumuza gitti :)



Kücük Beyoglu, which has become the most trendy meeting point of the youth is a great place to hang out with its atmosphere, tasty drinks and awesome music! We enjoyed our night in the Kafe Pi Teras which is on the roof of the bar called FABRİKA. Although it was really crowded the waiters cared for us after we waited for just a little time.

Terasta White Russian adlı krema likörlü kahveli ( Kesinlikle Öneririm !! ) kokteylllerimizi içtikten sonra biz de bir Cuma gecesinin sonuna gelmis bulunduk :)


We enjoyed our cocktail called " White Russian " which contains cream liquer and coffee. I definitely recommend it!






Küçük Beyoğlu nerede?

Yeşilçam Sok. No:14/A, Beyoğlu/ İstanbul

Where is Küçük Beyoğlu?

Yeşilçam Street No:14/A, Beyoğlu/ İstanbul

http://www.kafepi.com/kucuk_beyoglu.html

http://www.kucukbeyoglu.com/