Turkey: Best Fish Sandwich in Istanbul

by jenjenk on October 25, 2011

On a rainy day in Istanbul, I was walking across Galata Bridge when I noticed a few very colorful boats by the pier:

As you can see from the picture, it was pouring rain, pretty cold and I was just uncomfortable.  Although Carrie said, “I bet those fish sandwiches are some goooooood eats,” I wasn’t inclined to hang out in the rain testing the theory.  I dragged her off for some more shopping and sightseeing.

A few hours later, I was pretty hungry, having only had a slice of bread in the morning.  As we were making our way back across the bridge, I saw a small crowd surrounding the boat on the far left.  We could smell the wonderful aromas coming off the boats, with a lot of men munching in great satisfaction on the sandwiches [I have no idea where the women are in this town].  We decided there was nothing ventured by NOT trying these sandwiches, so we hunkered down to mini tables & chairs that I haven’t sat in since pre-school.

But oh…when I sat down with the warm sandwich in my hand seeing the puffs of steam coming out into the cold air, I took a deep breath.  Crisp white onions and green leaf lettuce snuggled the juicy white fish all tucked safely into the soft bun surrounded with a crisp crust.  After adding a little sea salt & lemon juice, it was the perfect sandwich on a cold day.

Here’s a short video on how crazy rockin’ the boat was that day – I was getting sick just watching it…Note that at the 18th second, I pan AWAY from the guy who leans over with a sharp knife to cut the sandwich in half as the boat rocks wildly.  No fingers were lost during the taping of this short clip.

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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Miss Footloose | Life in the Expat Lane October 25, 2011 at 4:20 am

I’ll put this on my list of must-eats. I’m planning to visit Istanbul in the near future, probably when it’s cold too.

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jenjenk October 25, 2011 at 5:31 pm

it was fantastic – i think all those boats are great, whichever one you choose!

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Turkey's For Life October 25, 2011 at 6:59 am

If you’d have gone across the bridge to the fish market, you could have sat on dry land – without the rocking. 🙂 We love the fish sandwiches in Istanbul. It was the first thing we ate when we arrived there recently.
Julia

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jenjenk October 25, 2011 at 5:31 pm

oh, yes!! i did go!!! I wanted to have some fried fish but it was raining too much – the seating area was soaked! 🙁

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laurel October 25, 2011 at 3:21 pm

I love the idea of getting a fish sandwich from a rocking boat, sounds like a fun adventure.

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jade October 25, 2011 at 8:53 pm

Yum- I love fish sandwiches, especially in Florida.. .but I can’t say that I’ve ever had them actually on a boat?!

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RON | fliptravels.com October 26, 2011 at 9:59 am

the miniature chairs and tables are so cute… i can only imagine “plus” sized people dining (hilarious!) but if i have the picturesque turkey in my background? i wouldn’t mind at all.

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Andrea October 26, 2011 at 4:23 pm

Yum! Sad we missed out on these when we were there…

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Annie - FootTracker October 28, 2011 at 10:07 pm

Wow! That sandwich has a lot of onions o_O It is interesting to see how they cook on the boats and not get sea sick. x_X eek I agree, I felt sea sick just watching the video too..

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