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Soup season · Istanbul, Turkey
The best bowl in Istanbul: Red lentil soup
Red lentils, onion and a little rice cooked to a velvet puree, finished with paprika butter, dried mint and a squeeze of lemon.
Istanbul eats soup for breakfast. The lokanta that opens at 6am with five pots on the stove is the city at its most itself, and mercimek is the one everyone orders.
Kanaat Lokantası
Selmanipak Caddesi 9, Üsküdar, Istanbul
Get: Mercimek çorbası with lemon and bread, then something from the steam table
Bir mercimek çorbası, lütfen. Limonlu.One lentil soup, please. With lemon.
An Üsküdar lokanta since 1933 that opens around 6am and makes its soups every day (lentil, ezogelin, tripe, trotter and one more); still full in 2026.
From 6am. Take the ferry over from Eminönü or Karaköy.
Make it at home
Mercimek çorbası, Turkish red lentil soup
The paprika butter at the end is what turns a plain lentil puree into the lokanta version. Squeeze the lemon at the table, never into the pot.
You need
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 small potato, peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp Turkish pepper paste (biber salçası), optional
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 2 tbsp short-grain rice or bulgur
- 7 cups (1.7 l) chicken or vegetable stock or water
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- For the paprika butter: 3 tbsp butter, 1 tsp sweet paprika or Aleppo pepper, 1 tsp dried mint
- Lemon wedges and bread, to serve
How to make it
- Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and lightly golden.
- Stir in the tomato paste, pepper paste and cumin and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the potato, lentils, rice and stock. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then simmer partly covered 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed completely.
- Blend until completely smooth, using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender (vent the lid). Return to the heat, add the salt, and thin with hot water if it's thicker than heavy cream. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Make the paprika butter: melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams, take it off the heat, and stir in the paprika and mint. It should turn brick red and smell toasty, about 30 seconds.
- Ladle into bowls, drizzle each with the red butter and serve with lemon wedges and bread.
Pans and tools
- 4-quart pot
- immersion blender or blender
Chef's tips
- Rinse the lentils well or the soup will taste dusty.
- It thickens as it stands; loosen with hot water when you reheat.
- Ezogelin is the same soup with bulgur, more pepper paste and mint, left a little rough.
Four more bowls in Istanbul
Lamb trotter soup
A rich, silky broth from lamb's trotters, finished with garlic vinegar and chile butter, eaten early or late.
Hünkar · Mim Kemal Öke Cd. No:21, Nişantaşı, 34365 Şişli/İstanbul
Get: Paça çorbası, then the hünkar beğendi (lamb on smoked aubergine purée)
Bir paça çorbası, lütfen. Sarımsaklı olsun.One trotter soup, please, with garlic.
Run by three generations of the same family since 1950; its trotter soup is the signature order.
Make it at home: Turkish lamb trotter soup (paça)
The trotters give a broth that sets like jelly when cold. The terbiye (egg-lemon) and garlic vinegar make it.
You need
- 4 lamb trotters, cleaned and split by the butcher
- 1 onion, halved
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- Terbiye: 1 egg yolk, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup (240 ml) yogurt (optional)
- Garlic vinegar: 4 cloves garlic, crushed, in 1/2 cup (120 ml) white vinegar
- 3 tbsp butter with 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
How to make it
- Scald the trotters in boiling water 5 minutes, drain and rinse. Put them in a clean pot with the onion and the 3 quarts of water.
- Simmer very gently, skimming, 3 1/2 hours, until the meat falls off the bone. Strain; pick the meat and skin off the bones, chop and return to the broth. Season.
- Whisk the terbiye ingredients smooth, whisk in 2 ladles of hot broth, then stir it back into the pot. Heat without boiling 5 minutes.
- Melt the butter with the pepper until it foams red.
- Serve with the chile butter on top and the garlic vinegar at the table, a spoon at a time.
Chef's tips
- A pressure cooker does the trotters in 1 hour.
Tripe soup
Tripe in a milky broth, sharpened at the table with garlic vinegar and chile: the after-midnight cure of Istanbul.
Lale İşkembecisi · Tarlabaşı Blv., Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Get: İşkembe çorbası with extra garlic vinegar and a squeeze of lemon
Bir işkembe, sarımsaklı ve sirkeli.One tripe soup, with garlic and vinegar.
Serving tripe soup on Tarlabaşı since 1960, open late, for the night owls and taxi drivers.
Make it at home: Turkish tripe soup (işkembe çorbası)
Clean, blanched tripe from a good butcher makes this easy. The garlic vinegar is not optional.
You need
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) cleaned beef tripe
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour
- 1 egg yolk, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
- Garlic vinegar: 6 cloves garlic, crushed, in 1/2 cup (120 ml) vinegar
- Chile butter: 2 tbsp butter with 1 tsp pul biber
How to make it
- Rinse the tripe, cover with the water and salt, and simmer 2 1/2 hours until tender. Lift out, cut into thin strips; strain and keep the broth.
- Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in the broth a ladle at a time until smooth, then add the tripe and simmer 15 minutes.
- Whisk the yolk, lemon and milk with a ladle of hot soup, then stir it into the pot. Heat gently, without boiling, 3 minutes.
- Serve with chile butter on top and garlic vinegar and lemon on the side.
Chef's tips
- Add the vinegar a spoonful at a time and taste: the soup should be sharp.
Bulgur and meatball soup
'Mother and daughter' soup: big bulgur dumplings stuffed with spiced lamb (the mothers) and tiny plain ones (the daughters) in a sour chickpea broth.
Karaköy Çorba Evi · Karaköy, Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Get: Analı kızlı at lunch, or the lentil if it's sold out
Bir analı kızlı, lütfen.One 'mother and daughter' soup, please.
A Karaköy soup house the city's food guides send you to for lentil and analı kızlı at lunchtime.
Make it at home: Analı kızlı (bulgur dumpling soup)
A southeastern Turkish soup. Make the dumplings the size of a walnut and a chickpea.
You need
- Dough: 2 cups (320 g) fine bulgur, 1 cup (240 ml) hot water, 1/3 cup (40 g) fine semolina, 1 tsp salt
- Filling: 8 oz (225 g) ground lamb, 1 onion, finely chopped, 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped walnuts, 1 tsp pul biber, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt
- Soup: 2 tbsp butter, 1 onion, chopped, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp pepper paste, 2 quarts (1.9 l) chicken broth, 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) chickpeas, drained
- Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp dried mint
How to make it
- Soak the bulgur in the hot water 20 minutes, then knead with the semolina and salt 10 minutes into a smooth, firm dough.
- Brown the lamb and onion 10 minutes, add the walnuts and spices, season and cool.
- Make the 'mothers': flatten a walnut-sized ball of dough into a cup, fill with 1 tsp lamb, close and roll smooth. Roll the rest of the dough into chickpea-sized 'daughters'.
- For the soup, cook the onion in butter 5 minutes, add both pastes for 2 minutes, then the broth and chickpeas. Bring to a boil.
- Drop in the mothers and simmer 10 minutes, then the daughters for 5 more. Finish with lemon and mint rubbed between your palms.
Chef's tips
- Wet your hands while shaping so the dough doesn't stick.
Red lentil and bulgur soup
Red lentils, bulgur and rice with mint and pepper paste: the bride's soup, a little heartier than plain lentil.
Paçacı Mahmut Usta · Kıztaşı Cd., Fatih, İstanbul
Get: Ezogelin, or the paça if you're brave
Bir ezogelin, lütfen. Limonlu.One ezogelin, please, with lemon.
A Fatih soup house on the guides' Istanbul lists for its trotter soup and ezogelin.
Make it at home: Ezogelin soup
Named for Ezo, a bride from Gaziantep. Dried mint fried in butter is the finish.
You need
- 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp red pepper paste
- 1 cup (200 g) red lentils, rinsed
- 1/4 cup (45 g) coarse bulgur
- 2 tbsp rice
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tsp salt
- Finish: 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp dried mint, 1 tsp pul biber; lemon wedges
How to make it
- Soften the onion in the oil and butter 6 minutes. Stir in both pastes for 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils, bulgur, rice and broth. Simmer 35 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything is soft and the lentils have broken down.
- Season. Leave it textured or blend half for a smoother soup.
- Melt the butter with the mint and pepper until sizzling and pour over each bowl. Serve with lemon.
Chef's tips
- It thickens as it stands; loosen with hot water.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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