A quiet place to eat and talk in Cihangir

One of the restaurants that has long been a favorite is one that you might stumble on by accident.

Perhaps you were thinking of eating somewhere along Cihangir’s Akarsu Caddesi, a three-block stretch that has become a fashionable, if slightly offbeat, avenue lined with early 20th century walk-up apartment buildings. Economics has turned a number of the ground floor flats into stores, real estate offices, a museum and restaurants or cafes.

As you walk along, growing hungrier by the minute, you might be attracted by a modern, crisp lime green colored, well-lit restaurant. There are a few people sitting at tables outside but elect to go inside as in fall the heat of the day quickly turns cool at night.

Porte has been made to fit a long and somewhat narrow space in deference to the 80-year-old building’s architecture. You can feel a bit hedged in by this because you will find the bar and the kitchen also on the ground floor with another area open up some stairs at the end of the bar. The bathroom facilities are upstairs. In winter though the restaurant can handle 70 people.

The restaurant opened a mere four years ago but has succeeded in spite of more and more competition on the street. Its owner Abdullah Dokur got off to a rocky start, even unable to pay salaries on time but eventually his business turned around and today he is doing well.

Worldwide cuisine
The menu offers dishes from world-wide cuisine but favors Italian food and pizza. Chef Ilker Afacan is a friendly sort whose smiling face sometimes appears at the window leading to the stainless steel kitchen. That smile broadens even more when a customer notices him and gives him the thumb’s up of approval.

Pizzas are made by the award winning Elena Spera, who specializes in Italian pizzas. There are many different types and you can even make up your own. It boasts a crispy thin crust and heaps of ingredients. The restaurant takes requests for delivery in the Cihangir area or you can put in an order and pick it up. The box in which it arrives is strong and the pizza arrives hot. It will arrive promptly each time and the cost will be under YTL 20.

As a gesture and almost as soon as you are given a menu to peruse, a basket of bread with a side dish containing olive oil for dipping appears. Then your order comes, sometimes just a little slower than you might like but it is well worth the slight delay. But beware, orders seem to be king-sized, driving home the fact that Porte’s owner studied and worked in America.

Large and diverse menu
Porte has a large and diverse menu. Take spaghetti. The restaurant’s spaghetti a la carbonara is now called Spaghetti with Crispy Proscuito and arrives heaped on a warm plate. The waiter who serves it asks if you want Parmesan cheese on it and a sprinkle of black pepper, freshly ground. This spaghetti dish is made in Italy usually without the cream sauce and with bacon rather than proscuito. A glass of white wine, a house wine, goes well with it. The wine is well chilled and arrives promptly.

And if you are an avid salad eater, always check them out at Porte. The seafood salad is pleasantly surprising. It was very large, more than you might really care to eat. The greens were well washed and crisp. The seafood was perfectly done.

In the end, you may find you’ve eaten well but too much to contemplate a dessert although they appeared very tempting. So you might want to settle for tea or coffee and come back another time for a dessert. The two main dishes were each YTL 16.50 and worth the price. On average you can expect to spend around YTL30.00 per person. VAT is included, and credit cards are accepted. Porte also serves breakfast from 10:00 until 17:00 and has a special noon lunch menu.


Open every day from 10:00 to 02:00.

Reservations: (0212) 244 89 89

Address: Akarsu Caddesi No. 21/A, Cihangir (Parking available across the street. Mention that you are going to Porte.)