Ciya Sofrasi

The Verdict

Çiya Sofrası is the right booking if you want to eat regional Anatolian food that is genuinely difficult to find elsewhere in Istanbul, or anywhere else. The format is a lokanta-style buffet, the setting is Kadıköy market on the Asian side, and the draw is a rotating menu of dishes that chef Musa Dağdeviren has spent decades researching and reviving from across Turkey's culinary regions. It ranked #181 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list in 2024 and climbed to #194 in 2025, with a Highly Recommended citation in 2023. For a casual meal with serious food credentials, it is hard to beat at this price tier.

The caveat: this is not the place for a conventional sit-down dinner with tableside service. If you want a long, attended meal with wine pairings and a fixed menu, look at Turk Fatih Tutak or Neolokal instead. But if you are willing to cross the Bosphorus and eat the way a working Kadıköy local eats, this is the right call.

What to Expect

Çiya Sofrası operates as a lokanta, meaning a canteen-style setup where dishes are displayed and you select what you want. The menu changes constantly, built around seasonal produce and Dağdeviren's ongoing field research into forgotten regional recipes from Anatolia, the Black Sea coast, and southeastern Turkey. On any given day, you might find dishes from areas rarely represented in Istanbul's restaurant scene. The Google review score of 4.0 across more than 12,000 reviews reflects a place that delivers consistently on its own terms, even if those terms are deliberately informal.

The kitchen's aromas — spiced stews, slow-cooked legumes, charred peppers, herb-laden preparations — carry through the market surroundings of Güneşlibahçe Sokak. This is not ambient background scent; it is the signal that the cooking is real and production-scale. For a special occasion framed around discovery rather than ceremony, that counts for something. The experience is closer to eating at someone's large family kitchen than to a restaurant in the conventional sense, which is either a selling point or a drawback depending on what you are looking for.

Dağdeviren's profile extends well beyond Istanbul. His work was the subject of Chef's Table Volume 5, Episode 2, which introduced Çiya to an international audience and brought a significant increase in international visitors. That visibility means the dining room is no longer exclusively locals, but the food itself has not shifted to accommodate tourist expectations , it remains anchored in research and regional authenticity.

Leading Time to Visit

Lunch on a weekday is the call. The kitchen opens at 11:30 am daily, and arriving early gives you the widest selection before dishes run out and before the lunchtime crowd from the surrounding Kadıköy market fills the room. The buffet format means popular dishes deplete through service, so a 12:00–12:30 arrival on a Tuesday through Thursday will get you the fullest spread. Friday and Saturday evenings close at 10:30 pm (30 minutes later than the rest of the week), which gives slightly more flexibility, but the evening atmosphere at a lokanta does not change materially from lunch , if an evening with ambient mood and lighting is the priority, this is not the format. Sunday lunch is workable but draws more visitors given the market activity in the neighbourhood.

For those combining the visit with a broader day on the Asian side, the Kadıköy market area rewards arriving early. Pairing Çiya with a walk through the market and the surrounding streets makes for a complete half-day. If you are staying on the European side, see our full Istanbul hotels guide for options positioned well for the ferry crossing.

Group and Occasion Framing

Çiya Sofrası is a good choice for a special occasion defined by genuine food curiosity, but it is not a private dining venue and does not operate with the ceremony that formal celebrations often require. There is no private room. Groups of four to six do well here , the format encourages sharing across multiple dishes, and a larger group allows you to try more of the buffet across a single sitting. For a birthday or professional lunch where the food itself is the event, it works. For something requiring dedicated service, a private room, or a wine program, it does not.

If group dining with regional Turkish food in a more formal setting is the goal, Aheste and Alaf are worth considering as alternatives in Istanbul. For a broader view of what Istanbul's restaurant scene offers across categories, see our full Istanbul restaurants guide.

Practical Details

Çiya Sofrası is on Güneşlibahçe Sokak in Kadıköy, open Monday through Thursday and Sunday 11:30 am to 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday until 10:30 pm. Booking is easy , walk-ins are the norm for a lokanta of this type, and advance reservations are generally not required. Arrive at opening for the leading selection. No dress code applies; the setting is casual market-adjacent and smart-casual or everyday clothing is standard. Price range data is not confirmed in our records, but the lokanta format and Kadıköy context place this firmly in the affordable tier by Istanbul standards. For context on getting to the Asian side, the Kadıköy ferry from Eminönü or Beşiktaş is the most direct route.

For Turkish cooking worth seeking out elsewhere in Turkey, 7 Mehmet in Antalya, Maçakızı in Bodrum, and Narımor in Izmir represent regional alternatives with serious food credentials. For Turkish food outside Turkey, dede in Baltimore is a reference point. See also our Istanbul bars guide and our Istanbul experiences guide for planning the rest of your trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How far ahead should I book Çiya Sofrası? Walk-ins are standard here , this is a lokanta, not a reservation-driven restaurant, and no advance booking is typically required. Arrive at or shortly after 11:30 am for the leading dish selection. If you are coming with a large group, calling ahead to confirm capacity is sensible, but day-of visits are the norm.
• What should I order at Çiya Sofrası? The menu rotates constantly, so there is no fixed list of signatures to chase. The practical approach is to arrive early and work across the full buffet spread, prioritising dishes you do not recognise , those are likely the regional Anatolian specialities Dağdeviren has researched specifically for the restaurant. Familiar dishes are almost always available; the point of coming here is to eat what is not familiar.
• What should I wear to Çiya Sofrası? No dress code. The setting is a casual market canteen in Kadıköy , everyday clothes are correct. Smart-casual is fine if you are combining the visit with other plans, but there is no expectation of formality.
• Is lunch or dinner better at Çiya Sofrası? Lunch is the stronger choice. The buffet is at its fullest early in the day, and the Kadıköy market surroundings are most active at midday. The lokanta format does not change between lunch and dinner in terms of service or atmosphere, so there is no evening advantage , and at dinner, some dishes will have sold out.
• Is Çiya Sofrası good for a special occasion? It depends on what the occasion calls for. If the celebration is built around eating seriously and discovering food that is genuinely hard to find elsewhere, yes. If the occasion requires a private room, tableside service, or a wine program, no , and in that case, 29 or Neolokal are better fits for a formal Istanbul celebration dinner.