Tugra Restaurant Menu — What to Order
Published
The Tugra menu is the imperial Ottoman repertoire cooked straight: a Gerdaniye soup of lamb neck to open, lamb tandir sealed in its oven, Bosphorus bluefish with fennel and cherry, and roasted-pistachio kunefe to close. The eight-course Chef's Tasting Menu runs 3,250 TL per person. Here is what to order on the first floor of the Ciragan Palace.
What Tugra Actually Cooks
Tugra is the formal Ottoman dining room of the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, on the first floor of a nineteenth-century palace in Besiktas with the Bosphorus running past the windows. The kitchen works from recipes unearthed in palace archives rather than a modern reinvention of them, and it carries a Michelin recommendation plus three toques from Gault & Millau in the Outstanding Table category. Our Tugra review covers the scores and the room; for the table itself, our Tugra reservation guide has the booking method, which runs through the palace concierge, not an app.
What to Order at Tugra
Start with the Gerdaniye soup, a rich lamb-neck broth, and the chef's signature stuffed potato with warm gravy and peanut cream. Those two set the register: old palace flavours, precisely plated.
For mains, the lamb tandir, slow-cooked in a sealed oven, is the dish to build a table around, with lamb kusleme and slow-cooked veal ribs both served on beetroot couscous close behind. From the water, the Bosphorus bluefish with fennel and cherry puree is the seasonal catch worth ordering when it is on. The vegetable and meze line holds its own with stuffed vine leaves and olive-oil dishes for the table to share. Close on the Ottoman dessert canon: roasted-pistachio kunefe, a handmade baklava platter, katmer with nuts, and milk helva with figs in pomegranate blossom.
The Tasting Menu Versus A La Carte
The eight-course Chef's Tasting Menu, priced at 3,250 TL per person, is the full procession through the imperial kitchen and the way to eat here if it is your first visit. A la carte, budget roughly 90 to 150 dollars a head before drinks for a two-to-three course Ottoman dinner. The seasonal Ramadan iftar has run around 7,800 TL per person. Prices move with the Turkish lira, so treat any figure as a guide and confirm the current one when you reserve.
The Smart Play
Take the tasting menu on a first visit, or open with the soup and stuffed potato, share a lamb tandir, and let one bluefish anchor the table. Ask for a Bosphorus-facing window at sunset. It is a proposal and impress-clients room above all, and it ranks with the city's grandest tables in our Istanbul hardest-reservations guide. For a modern contrast on a rooftop, read what to order at Mikla; the wider field sits in our best Turkish restaurants worldwide.
View Tugra on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Tugra Restaurant review.
- How to get the table: Tugra reservation guide.
- The wider city: Istanbul dining guide.
- The rooftop contrast: how to book Mikla and how to book Araf.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you order at Tugra in Istanbul?
Open with the Gerdaniye soup of lamb neck and the chef's signature stuffed potato with peanut cream, then build the table around lamb tandir sealed in its oven and the Bosphorus bluefish with fennel and cherry puree. Finish with roasted-pistachio kunefe. If you want the full procession, the eight-course Chef's Tasting Menu runs the imperial repertoire end to end. See the Tugra review for the room.
How much does the Tugra tasting menu cost?
The eight-course Chef's Tasting Menu is priced at 3,250 TL per person. A la carte, expect broadly 90 to 150 dollars a head before drinks for an Ottoman dinner, and the seasonal Ramadan iftar has run around 7,800 TL per person. Prices move with the Turkish lira, so confirm the current figure when you book through the Ciragan Palace Kempinski.
Does Tugra serve vegetarian dishes?
Yes. The Ottoman kitchen leans to lamb, veal and Bosphorus fish, but the meze and vegetable line carries stuffed vine leaves, seasonal vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil, and the dessert canon of kunefe, baklava and milk helva. Flag any dietary need when you reserve and the kitchen will build a meat-free run of courses around the tasting menu.
What kind of food is on the Tugra menu?
Imperial Ottoman cuisine, drawn from palace-archive recipes rather than a modern reinvention. The seasonal menu moves through soups, cold and warm meze, slow-cooked meats such as lamb kusleme with beetroot couscous, Bosphorus fish, and an Ottoman dessert table. It carries a Michelin recommendation and three Gault & Millau toques in the Outstanding Table category.
Where is Tugra Restaurant?
Tugra sits on the first floor of the Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Besiktas, Istanbul, in a nineteenth-century palace with the Bosphorus running past the windows. Book a window table for sunset through the hotel concierge, and read our full Tugra review for the scores and the room.