Which cafés in Kuzguncuk and Çengelköy, Istanbul, have outdoor seating?

Kuzgun Kahvesi at 25 İcadiye Caddesi in Kuzguncuk has outdoor tables and opens daily 09:00–01:00. Nevmekan Kuzguncuk on Çifteçınar Sokağı is one of Üsküdar municipality's library cafés. In Çengelköy, the Tarihi Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi has been a tea garden since the 1970s, under a very old plane tree.

Can you smoke at cafés in Istanbul?

Not indoors. Turkey's smoking ban was extended to bars, restaurants, village coffeehouses and nargile cafés on 19 July 2009, and venues have since provided heated outdoor seating for smokers. Some cafés are smoke-free inside, including Kronotrop Cihangir on Firuzağa Cami Sokağı and Altkat Coffee Community in Yeldeğirmeni.

Outdoor Cafés in Istanbul: Moda, Kuzguncuk and Bebek

Q: When is the best time of year for outdoor cafés in Istanbul?

May to September. At Florya the mean daily high is 22.2 °C in May and stays above 25 °C from June through September, and July is the sunniest month, with about 311 hours of sunshine. October brings about 80 mm of rain and December, the wettest month, about 87 mm. The lodos wind can bring severe storms.

Açık hava means open air, and an outdoor table in Istanbul can be a café terrace, a tea garden by the water or a few stools in a lane. The season is long. At Florya, on the Marmara shore, the mean daily high is 22.2 °C in May and stays above 25 °C from June through September (1991–2020); October brings about 80 mm of rain and December, the wettest month, about 87 mm.¹

Terraces also matter to smokers. Turkey's indoor smoking ban was extended to bars, restaurants, village coffeehouses and nargile (water pipe) cafés on 19 July 2009, and venues have since put out heated outdoor seating for people who smoke.² If you would rather avoid smoke, a few cafés with outdoor seats are smoke-free, among them Kronotrop Cihangir on Firuzağa Cami Sokağı and Altkat Coffee Community in Yeldeğirmeni.

Local tip: On a lodos day, when the warm southwesterly wind can bring severe storms, choose a café with a room behind the terrace, such as Papatya on Moda Caddesi.¹

Where these cafés are: Moda (24), Yeldeğirmeni (14), Kadıköy Çarşı & Bahariye (9), Beyoğlu, İstiklal & Taksim (8), Galata & Şişhane (8), Karaköy (8), Üsküdar (8), Cihangir & Çukurcuma (7), Sultanahmet (7), Arnavutköy & Bebek (6), Şişli & Mecidiyeköy (6), Nişantaşı (6), Beşiktaş (5), Ortaköy & Kuruçeşme (4), Balat & Fener (4), Eminönü & Sirkeci (4), Kasımpaşa & Hasköy (4), Fatih & Grand Bazaar (2), Kurtuluş & Feriköy (1), Acıbadem & Koşuyolu (1), Levent & Etiler (1).

At a glance

137Cafés listed

59With opening hours

07:00Earliest opening

03:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: d'Orient | Kadıköy, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–23:00).

Closes latest: Ab'bas Waffle, until 03:00 (Daily 08:00–03:00).

Most listed streets: Cumhuriyet Caddesi (2).

Most common features: wi-fi (43%), open late (29%), card payment (20%).

Moda Caddesi and Yeldeğirmeni

Moda has the most cafés with outdoor seating, about one in six of them, with Yeldeğirmeni second. Moda Caddesi, the quarter's main street, runs from the center of Kadıköy to the grassy Marmara coast and ends on a wide view over the sea.³ Papatya, at No. 128A, has tables outside from 07:00 to 20:30, and KONT Moda on Moda Mektebi Sokağı serves 09:00–22:30 with Wi-Fi. Böğürtlen Butik Cafe and Kulübe Moda also have outdoor seats.

In Yeldeğirmeni, Duatepe Sokağı has Rucio Cafe at No. 10, open 09:00–21:00, and Küff at No. 27. Garda Cafe and Altkat Coffee Community are on Karakolhane Caddesi, and Cafe Eya, at 49 İskele Sokağı, keeps its tables out until 23:59.

Kuzguncuk, Üsküdar and Çengelköy

Kuzguncuk, in Üsküdar, lies in a valley that opens onto the Bosphorus, on streets of old Ottoman wooden houses.⁴ It has two synagogues, Bet Yaakov from 1878 and Bet Nissim from the 1840s, several churches, and a mosque built in 1952 in the courtyard of the Armenian church.⁴ Kuzgun Kahvesi, at 25 İcadiye Caddesi, sets tables outside and stays open daily 09:00–01:00.

Nevmekan Kuzguncuk, on Çifteçınar Sokağı, belongs to Üsküdar municipality's Nevmekan network of library cafés, which began in Bağlarbaşı in 2016.⁵ The Bağlarbaşı branch, on Gazi Caddesi, also has outdoor seating, as do Kahve Dehası and Kahve Sokağı on Cumhuriyet Caddesi. In Çengelköy, the Tarihi Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi has been a tea garden since the 1970s, under a plane tree said to date from the 1200s.⁶

Bebek, Arnavutköy and Ortaköy

On the European shore, Bebek sits on its own bay, and its waterfront is lined with seaside cafés and restaurants.⁷ Patio Bebek and Ab'bas Waffle both have tables on Cevdetpaşa Caddesi, at Nos. 15/A and 46, and both open at 08:00. La Pierre Pasta Cafe and Wuufbox Cafe are on Bebek Arnavutköy Caddesi, and in Arnavutköy, Hide Arnavutkoy on Arnavutköy Dere Sokağı opens 08:00–22:00.

Ortaköy has three more: Assk Cafe at 64 Muallim Naci Caddesi, Ora Coffee on Eskibahçe Sokağı with Wi-Fi, and Müessese, a smoke-free brunch café.

Karaköy, Eminönü and the old city

Across the Golden Horn, Karaköy's outdoor tables are on side streets: Postane Cafe on Camekan Sokağı keeps 09:00–19:00, and Qzey, on Kemeraltı Caddesi, has Wi-Fi, toilets and step-free access. In Eminönü, Root'inn at 3/A Mimar Vedat Sokağı opens 08:00–22:00, and Cafe Sabor Cağaloğlu is on Ankara Caddesi.

Near the monuments, Sebil Cafe has tables on Ayasofya Meydanı and Optimist cafe on Atmeydanı Caddesi. Elsewhere in Fatih, Zeyrekhane is on İbadethane Arkası Sokağı, and in Kasımpaşa and Hasköy, Sütçüoğulları Muhallebicisi, a pudding shop with outdoor seats, serves 09:30–01:00. At Florya, July is the sunniest month, with about 311 hours of sunshine (1981–2010).¹

Outdoor seating cafés in Istanbul

At a glance

Ab'bas Waffle

Alex Coffee

An cafe

Arezu Moda

Assk Cafe

Backhaus

Böğürtlen Butik Cafe

Cafe da Giovanni

Cafe Eya

Cafe Pont

Chef Coffee

Coffee Department

d'Orient | Kadıköy

d'Orient Beyoğlu

Envai

FatCat

Firuz Cafe

Flake Breakfast & More

Gallant Galata

Hide Arnavutkoy

House Of SOFA

Kaffa Miro

Karabatak

KAVACOFFEE

Kavanoz

KONT Moda

Kronotrop Cihangir

Kulübe Moda

Kurukahveci Fuat bey

Kuzgun Kahvesi

Muhayyel Cafe

Nata Lisboa Galata

Nutcase

Ohayo Matcha Bar

OMBOR

Ora Coffee

Moda Caddesi and Yeldeğirmeni

Kuzguncuk, Üsküdar and Çengelköy

Bebek, Arnavutköy and Ortaköy

Karaköy, Eminönü and the old city

Sources

Other ways to browse Istanbul

Specialty coffee

Wi-Fi

Open late

Breakfast & brunch

Bakery cafés

Outdoor seating in Istanbul: questions

When is the best time of year for outdoor cafés in Istanbul?

Which cafés in Kuzguncuk and Çengelköy, Istanbul, have outdoor seating?

Can you smoke at cafés in Istanbul?

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