What is a serpme kahvaltı in Istanbul?

A Turkish breakfast spread that arrives all at once: cheeses, tomato and cucumber, olives, jams, tahin-pekmez, bal-kaymak (honey with clotted cream), sucuk, börek, simit and eggs, fried or cooked as menemen with tomato and green pepper. It usually starts with black tea and ends with a Turkish coffee and lokum.

Where is the breakfast street in Beşiktaş, Istanbul?

Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı is the name for two Beşiktaş streets, Çelebioğlu and Şair Veysi, where nearly 35 breakfast places operated in 2020, most serving until 18:00 or 19:00. Pando Kaymak opened there in 1895 as Beşiktaş's first breakfast shop, and Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu opened on Çelebioğlu Sokak in 2002.

How much does breakfast cost in Istanbul in 2026?

At Morn on Yoğurtçu Parkı Caddesi in Moda, breakfast cost 450–700 TL per person in March 2026. The cheapest option is a simit, which went from 25 to 30 TL in Istanbul on 26 September 2026, with a glass of tea.

Breakfast in Istanbul: Kahvaltı Cafés in Moda and Beşiktaş

Kahvaltı is the Turkish breakfast, and at weekends it is an outing: people go out with family and friends to popular cafés, or drive to the countryside for a rustic spread.² One theory traces the word to tahte'l-kahve, "under coffee", a small meal eaten to coat the stomach before coffee.¹ The habit is fairly recent: Ottomans ate two main meals a day, and breakfast culture became widespread only in the late 19th century.¹

The modern format of many small dishes took shape in the Republican era, in cafés, çay bahçeleri (tea gardens) and later breakfast restaurants.¹ Brunch cafés cluster on the Asian side, where Moda and Yeldeğirmeni together hold about two in five, with Üsküdar next and Cihangir, Balat and Beşiktaş behind.

Local tip: On a budget, a 30 TL simit with a glass of tea makes a quick breakfast on a weekday; save the serpme spread for a weekend, when Istanbul goes out for kahvaltı.²⁴

Where these cafés are: Moda (6), Yeldeğirmeni (5), Üsküdar (3), Balat & Fener (2), Beyoğlu, İstiklal & Taksim (2), Kadıköy Çarşı & Bahariye (2), Cihangir & Çukurcuma (2), Acıbadem & Koşuyolu (1), Nişantaşı (1), Ortaköy & Kuruçeşme (1), Galata & Şişhane (1), Şişli & Mecidiyeköy (1), Beşiktaş (1).

At a glance

28Cafés listed

16With opening hours

07:00Earliest opening

01:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Appetite Cafe, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–00:00).

Closes latest: Aşiyan Books And Coffee, until 01:00 (Daily 10:00–01:00).

Most common features: wi-fi (39%), open late (39%), outdoor seating (32%).

What arrives on a serpme kahvaltı

Serpme means scattered, and the whole spread comes at once. Expect cheeses, tomato and cucumber, olives, jams, tahin-pekmez (tahini with grape molasses), bal-kaymak (honey with clotted cream), sucuk (spiced beef sausage), börek, simit, and eggs, either fried as sahanda yumurta or cooked into menemen with tomato and green pepper.² The meal usually starts with black tea in tulip glasses and ends with a Turkish coffee and a piece of lokum (Turkish delight).²

At Morn on Yoğurtçu Parkı Caddesi in Moda, breakfast cost 450–700 TL per person in March 2026.³ A simit from an Istanbul bakery or street stall went from 25 to 30 TL on 26 September 2026.⁴

Moda's breakfast streets

Breakfast in Moda gathers on three streets. Moda Caddesi has Naan Bakeshop at No. 113, with bread from its own oven and eggs Benedict, Naga Putrika at No. 161/A, and Moda Van Kahvaltı at No. 163/A, which has served a traditional spread since 2010.⁵

On Dr. Esat Işık Caddesi, Çay Tarlası at No. 34 cooks Black Sea dishes such as mıhlama, cheese melted with cornmeal and butter, and 180 Coffee Brasserie at No. 36/A serves granola, pancakes and sourdough sandwiches.⁵ Yoğurtçu Parkı Caddesi has Brekkie Breakfast Club at No. 24/1, with all-day brunch, and Morn at No. 62/A, with bowls and lighter plates.⁵ Nearby, lil Bake opens at 09:00 daily and Gaf at 10:00 at weekends.

Yeldeğirmeni and Üsküdar

In Yeldeğirmeni, Flake Breakfast & More on Recaizade Sokağı serves 09:00–19:00 from Tuesday to Sunday, and Sonne on Celal Muhtar Sokağı 09:00–18:00, closed on Tuesdays. Küff, on Karakolhane Caddesi, serves a village breakfast with ezine, lor and tulum cheeses all day.⁵

Üsküdar's Nevmekan cafés combine a library with a café, and they became popular with students for offering free tea, soup and cake.⁶ The Kuzguncuk and Selimiye branches serve breakfast, and Aşiyan Books And Coffee, on Selman Ağa Çeşme Sokağı, opens at 10:00.

Beşiktaş's Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı

On the European shore, two Beşiktaş streets, Çelebioğlu and Şair Veysi, are known together as Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı (breakfast-makers' street); in 2020 nearly 35 breakfast places lined them, and most served until 18:00 or 19:00.⁷ The tradition goes back to Pando Kaymak, which opened in 1895 as Beşiktaş's first breakfast shop, selling mainly honey, kaymak and milk.⁷ In 2002 Şah İsmail Çakmak, once Pando's apprentice, opened Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu on Çelebioğlu Sokak.⁷

For an early start elsewhere on the European side, Gezi İstanbul Cafe on İnönü Caddesi near Taksim serves breakfast from 07:30 daily, and Gül Pastanesi in Şişli opens at 07:00. Yiğit Sofram on Yeni Yuva Sokağı in Cihangir is a breakfast house, and in Balat, Cafe Ma on Dervişzade Sokağı serves brunch from Tuesday to Sunday.

Breakfast & brunch cafés in Istanbul

At a glance

Appetite Cafe

Aşiyan Books And Coffee

Cafe Ma

Flake Breakfast & More

Gaf

Gezi İstanbul Cafe

SOFA

Sonne

Tramvay

Vi Coffee & HealthyLiving

26A

700 GRAM

Garni

Gergedan cafe & bistro

Janti

Küff

Morn

Müessese

Mundo Novo Coffee & Patisserie

Nevmekan Kuzguncuk

Nevmekan Selimiye

Panvino Balat

Yiğit Sofram

Cafe Neva

Gül Pastanesi

Kosmos

lil Bake

Vivi

What arrives on a serpme kahvaltı

Moda's breakfast streets

Yeldeğirmeni and Üsküdar

Beşiktaş's Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı

Sources

Other ways to browse Istanbul

Specialty coffee

Outdoor seating

Wi-Fi

Open late

Bakery cafés

Breakfast & brunch in Istanbul: questions

What is a serpme kahvaltı in Istanbul?

Where is the breakfast street in Beşiktaş, Istanbul?

How much does breakfast cost in Istanbul in 2026?

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