A Taste of History

About

Founded by Russians fleeing the Bolshevik revolution to recreate the urbane life they had left behind, the restaurant came to represent a carefree evening out for the children of the new Turkish Republic. Royals and émigrés, civil servants and spies, bohemians and politicians all rubbed shoulders in its wood-panelled dining room. Contemporary guidebooks described dinner here as much a part of experiencing Istanbul as a visit to the bazaar or the Blue Mosque. No visitor to Istanbul – be it Mata Hari or Greta Garbo, Agatha Christie or the King of Spain – would leave the city without paying a call. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish President, was a loyal client, all attracted by a sophisticated ambiance, Russian delicacies and lashings of ice-cold lemon vodka.

This Istanbul institution with its 80 years of Beyoğlu tradition has been intensively and extensively researched, bringing every detail back to life so that this legend of a restaurant can once again shine in its own glory.