The Soup is Always On: Istanbul's 24/7 Soup Shops
In Istanbul, soup can be every meal. No matter what hour of day or night, there are places across the city serving up dozens of delicious, comforting soups. Here is their story:
Note: This article was originally published in Turkish by Apéro, translated from the original by Reyhan Ülker. I also wrote about two of the four spots featured in a piece in FLANÖR earlier this year.
In Turkey, soup is the building block of the country's rich, multilayered cuisine. For some it is simply the starter of a broader meal, for others the conclusion of a night of heavy drinking. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that millions of people begin their day with a bowl of soup alongside fresh, crusty bread. Many argue that this is the true Turkish breakfast, rather than serpme kahvaltı, internationally famous for its vast array of selections that make for a crowded, colorful and tasty table.
The most ubiquitous soups found practically everywhere in the country are mercimek and ezogelin, both made from red lentils with the latter adding tomato paste and spices. These are cheap, fresh and comforting, and if a restaurant is only offering two soups, they are the selections likely to be on the menu. They are always served with a wedge of lemon or two, and it would be an insult for lemon to not be available, as its juice squeezed over these soups provides the perfect level of acidity.
On the other side of the spectrum are more pungent, adventurous affairs such as işkembe, made from tripe and loaded with garlic and kelle paça, which features chunks of meat from the sheep's head and foot. These soups are not for the faint of heart, and are usually considerably more expensive than their vegetarian counterparts, and generally consumed after dark. But that is just the beginning. In Istanbul, there are multiple places that offer several dozen varieties of soups 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In the actual city that never sleeps, these places provide a valuable service to Istanbullites from all walks of life.
We start in the center of Kasımpaşa at Deniz Lokantası, which was opened in 1999 by Cengiz and Naciye Yıldız. The former passed away years ago at a young age, and the restaurant is also known as Esnaf (tradesman) Cengiz in his memory and is still owned and operated by Naciye, a vivacious woman who is passionate about soup. Among the staff includes Hasan, who is from the same village in the Northeastern Black Sea province of Rize as Cengiz and has worked at Deniz Lokantası since the beginning. The offerings include several dozen soups as well as stews and Black Sea regional dishes.
When we arrived on one early Friday afternoon, these lunch dishes took up half the counter and there were 'only' about a dozen or so soups. We stumbled upon the transition time where massive pots of soup are transported by cart from a nearby kitchen in a different building and then passed directly through the window and situated in the counter. Staff insisted that we wait to take photographs until the new arrivals are all steaming in place. The aroma in the room is thick and tantalizing. My favorite soup here is tavuklu yarma, a savory and satisfying bowl of shredded chicken thigh and cracked wheat berries swimming in an array of herbs and spices.
“On these lands where civilizations were born, soup is our be-all and end-all,” Yıldız said with confidence, explaining how she has traveled throughout Anatolia and learned recipes from establishments that have been around for multiple generations. Many of these have made it to the counter of Deniz Lokantası, where 48 different soups have been served. Among these is karalahana çorbası, made with red beans and kale, a staple of the Black Sea region which is healthy as it is tasty.
Our next stop is just down the street in Kasımpaşa. Merkez Çorbacısı was opened by former employees of Deniz Lokantası, but it was not an acrimonious split, and there is plenty of soup to go around for everyone. Opened during the pandemic, among those running the front of the house is 31-year old Barış, who worked at Deniz Lokantası for nine years before helping to open Merkez Çorbacısı. We order a bowl of atom, a fiery combination of kelle paça and işkembe doused with red pepper flakes. We can't resist pouring a heap of minced garlic and mixing it thoroughly. Filling as it is flavorful, we still feel like it was a bit early in the day and would have preferred to enjoyed this potent soup after a drink or five. When we ask what the most popular soup is, we are told that there isn't one, as people from all segments of society come in. The price for atom is several times higher than mercimek and ezogelin. The table next to us was a group of young men working at a nearby börek shop, likely having started their shift at the crack of dawn and eagerly tucking into their late lunch.
Though the weather was bright and warm during our visit to Kasımpaşa, things took turn for the gray and drizzly as we made our way over to Sanayi Mahallesi, where in the middle of hundreds of auto repair shops can be found both a handful of dodgy, men-only nightclubs as well as a handful of excellent restaurants. Among these is Hebun Çorba Evi, which is bustling in the early evening. Once again there is a blissfully fragrant smell in the air as upwards of 20 different soups sit side by side, hot, fresh and ready to be served.
This time we dive into a bowl of sebze çorbası, in a creamy broth with carrots, corn and smooth yet meaty mushrooms, resulting in a concoction that amounts to the perfect antidote to cold, dreary weather. Hebun means “existence” in Kurdish, a testament to the gravitas that soup possesses vis a vis not just the culinary culture of the region, but life itself on these lands. The restaurant initially opened in Karaköy in 2011, but similarly to the situation with the two previous spots in Kasımpaşa, the partners parted ways and Hebun moved to Sanayii Mahallesi, while the Karaköy location remained, changing its name to Karaköy Çorba Evi, which is our final stop on this twenty four-seven destination.
Ahmet Irikli has been at Karaköy Çorba Evi since it opened. This tiny, cozy restaurant makes your glasses fog up immediately upon entry, and we are greeted by a young, friendly staff. This humble restaurant is one of the few places that makes us want to come to the intensely gentrified Karaköy. This time we opt for a warm yogurt soup with chickpeas, also suitable for the drab weather. Given that yogurt may be the most important ingredient in Anatolian cuisine, it is not surprising that it forms the base for a number of hot and cold soups. Waiting for the lenses of our glasses and cameras to clear up, we asked İrikli about the shop's most popular selections and the secret to great soup.
“They are all delicious but generally the classics are preferred, işkembe, kellepaça, merçimek, ezogelin. We do have different soups, including those that are sour,” explains Irikli, adding that their selection of 21 soups depends on what vegetables are in season.
“The secret depends on the usta (master). If they add their love, it is good. Since I do my job with love, our soups are very good,” İrikli added.
One interesting thing about Hebun and Karaköy Çorba Evi is they both maintain a specific concept: serving the soup in large bowls alongside heaping bins of croutons, which are a deliciously crunchy replacement for the requisite white bread. At Deniz Lokantası and Merkez Çorbacısı, the bowls are smaller and the bread is standard, but all four restaurants adhere to a supreme level of quality that does not diminish due to the fact that they are open around the clock. In Istanbul, someone somewhere is always awake and never has to worry about not being able to fulfill a craving for soup.