Istanbul Food Tour

Tailoring each tour to your wishes by locals who love their city

Top 10 food tours & experiences around Istanbul

From exploring cool neighborhoods to eating with the locals to seeing iconic sites, these are some of our favorite experiences

When in Osaka
make sure to try
“kushikatsu”!

See the city like
you would with a friend who lives there

See all

When in Osaka
make sure to try
“kushikatsu”!

See the city like
you would with a friend who lives there

The best private food tours & experiences with locals

Perched in its prime position between two continents, Istanbul has seen its fair share of people passing through (it’s the final stop on the ancient Silk Road, after all). Centuries ago, traveling merchants passing through made a pitstop in Istanbul and decided to stay. Today, Istanbul benefits from diversity stretching back hundreds of years, and the city’s food scene celebrates it. Uncover the culture of the Turkish capital on unforgettable food tours of Istanbul with City Unscripted and one of our food-loving local guides. Our Istanbul food tours are the perfect way to explore iconic sights and taste the most spectacular cuisine the city has to offer.

Meet some of our food-loving local hosts

Like the people who travel with us, they have different backgrounds and interests – but they’re all so passionate about the place they call home, they choose to spend their free time sharing it with the like-minded travelers matched to them.

We’ve handpicked them and we’ll match you to your perfect one!

A taste of Turkey

Few cuisines in the world have reached icon status like Turkish food has, and it’s not difficult to see why. Turkish foods took the best flavors from around the world to create tastes and textures that are tough to beat. Discover the very best of them on food tours of Istanbul with a knowledgeable local guide! A taste of Turkey is like a trip around the world spread across a silver platter. Let your host tell you fascinating stories of Istanbul’s homegrown cuisine – a fusion of flavors from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Eastern European, and Armenian. Ready to try it for yourself?

Mealtime at the market

It’s impossible to explore the city without getting lost in a colorful, fragrant marketplace, and food tours in Istanbul are no different. Forget Istanbul restaurants – there are over 200 authentic markets serving up some of the best food in Istanbul, and the Grand Bazaar is just the tip of the iceberg. Get going early on an Istanbul food tour to try a traditional Turkish breakfast, or squeeze in some sightseeing and build up an appetite for street food like fish sandwiches on fresh bread, Turkish pizza, and kumpir – a fluffy baked potato topped with cheese, corn, mayonnaise, peas, and carrots.

Try foods unique to the city

In Turkey’s capital city, you’ll find every food the country is famous for. Discover them on Istanbul food tours (and taste a whole lot of them too!). Your local guide has already scoped out the city’s food scene, and can share all the best-kept secrets with you. Try Şiş Kebap, a juicy kebab cooked over glowing coals, or grab a quick meal of Turkish coffee and a traditional flatbread topped with ground beef and veggies. Or, skip right to the sweet stuff, like jewel-toned Turkish delight or baklava dripping in honey – this is your Istanbul food tour, so you make the rules.

Istanbul travel tips and inspiration from our Travel Magazine

Find the best things to do, places to eat, must eat foods and lots of travel tips in Istanbul and around the world recommended by our local hosts

Latest reviews from our guests

Ferhat showed me all the important and iconic sites. He was very knowledgeable about the history and able to meet my curiosity with my many questions. He also very thoughtful and considerate of rest stops and finding alternative movement around town when I became a bit fatigued. Excellent tour and guide. Thankyou Ferhat

July 2022

Gail H
Attila took the time to ask questions to understand fully what would be ideal for me to see. The actual tour was very personalised, and I felt so comfortable with him. Taking me to Kadiköy was the best place to go for the experience of local life that I was looking for. A very good tour guide, I would highly recommend.

July 2022

Gail H
Atilla was great. Handled our needs and shaped the day to met our wishes. He listened and adjusted plans per our wishes.

July 2022

Sam S
Atilla was an amazing guide and I am so glad we got this tour. He gave us invaluable insight into the local culture, showed us beautiful mosques, helped us bargain for lamps and carpets, took us to great places for wine and kabobs, and was just an all around wonderful person to know in Istanbul. I really appreciated how he read the survey we filled out and personalized our visit accordingly. He took us over to the Asian side by ferry, and even though he lives there, he rode the ferry back with us at the end of the night and put us in a cab to make sure we got back to our hotel safely. It was above and beyond the call of duty. Teşekkürler, Atilla!

June 2022

Shahirah M