Machka

Contemporary Turkish cuisine with a Mediterranean influence can now be found in the Financial District thanks to the 2012 opening of Machka. Showcased signature dishes include their goat cheese salad; blue cheese and chorizo stuffed dates with pastirma (Turkish pastrami) and a frisée salad; grilled octopus; meat and vegetable kebabs, and freshly made falafel wrapped in durum. Dessert is a must with the traditional künefe comprised of layer of soft white cheese inside shredded filo dough, fried and soaked in sugar and rosewater syrup and topped with roasted pistachio. Accompany the cuisine with a well-curated international wine list, including hard-to-find Turkish vintages. Go with friends and sit at the chandelier-lit communal table. Keep an eye out for the lovely display of vintage photographs purchased on "Istiklal Caddesi," the most famous street in Istanbul.