RFK Rankings · Istanbul
Best Late-Night Restaurants in Istanbul 2026
Open late · Istanbul · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 7, 2026 · Updated June 7, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
The raki bottle is sweating on the table, a plate of meze you did not order has already arrived, and somewhere off Asmalimescit a meyhane is only now hitting its stride at eleven. Istanbul does late dinner better than almost any city, because here the long evening is not a novelty, it is the structure of the night. The meyhane culture of Beyoglu and Kadikoy runs on rounds of raki and a slow procession of meze that does not start to wind down until well past midnight, and the newer rooms keep pace: 360's panorama over Istiklal turning toward a club, Zuma's izakaya at Istinye Park, Ulus 29's terrace strung high above the Bosphorus. These seven still serve a real plate after eleven. Ranked by the kitchen and how genuinely late the table runs, not by the bar.
1.Münferit
Beyoglu's stylish open-kitchen Mediterranean with a bar that runs late, wood-fired octopus and lamb loin; book it for a long late dinner.
Münferit takes the top spot because it does the hardest thing on this list: serious cooking that still wants to be open late. On Yeni Çarşı Caddesi in Beyoğlu, just off İstiklal, the open kitchen sends chef-driven Mediterranean plates the regulars order without the menu, the wood-fired octopus and the lamb loin among them, with a halva to close. The room runs at the upper-mid register and slides from dinner into a genuinely late bar as the night goes on, one of Beyoğlu's most reliable rooms for a table that does not want to end at eleven. Plan on a comfortable upper-mid spend a head before drinks. Book it for a long dinner among friends that turns into the bar without anyone having to move.
Reserve through Münferit direct; the later it gets, the more the room turns toward the bar.
2.Asmalı Cavit
The Beyoglu meyhane institution, raki and meze run slow past midnight, stuffed mussels and halva; book it for a long late team dinner.
Asmalı Cavit is the meyhane every Istanbul list eventually arrives at, and it runs exactly as a great meyhane should: slowly, late, and on its own terms. On Asmalımescit Sokak in Beyoğlu, the room turns on the signatures the regulars order without looking, the meze selection, the stuffed mussels and the halva, served in rounds across an evening built on raki rather than a single seating. The whole structure of a meyhane is the long table, so the kitchen keeps sending plates past midnight as the bottles empty. The register is honest, the value among the best in the city. Book it for a team dinner that is meant to last four hours and end well after the last tram.
Reserve through Asmalı Cavit direct; come for the long raki table, not a quick bite.
3.Çukur Meyhane
A tiny basement meyhane in Galatasaray off İstiklal, lamb liver and raki run late on the long table; book it for a slow late solo dinner.
Çukur Meyhane is the back-alley answer, a tiny basement room that proves the long late meyhane night does not need a marquee address. Tucked into a narrow lane off İstiklal in Galatasaray, Beyoğlu, it reads the way the Istanbul establishment expects a meyhane at this address to read, considered and exact about the few things it cares about. The cooking turns on the signatures the regulars order without thinking, the chef-driven meze and the lamb liver, washed down with raki across a long, unhurried evening. It runs at an honest register with a deep value, and the kitchen keeps pace with the table well past eleven. Book it for a slow solo dinner at the counter, where the night runs late and the crowd is all local.
Reserve through Çukur Meyhane direct, or walk in early off İstiklal.
4.360 Istanbul
A 360-degree rooftop over Istiklal that turns from meze into a late club, chef Mike Norman's modern Turkish; book the late seating for a night out.
360 Istanbul is the late rooftop that becomes the night rather than ending it. The lift opens onto the eighth floor of the 19th-century Mısır Apartment on İstiklal Caddesi and the Golden Horn sits at eye level, Hagia Sophia and the Bosphorus filling the glass on every side, a full circle of the old city. Chef Mike Norman runs a modern-Turkish meze menu, and as the kitchen winds down the room turns toward a DJ and a late crowd, the dinner sliding into a club without anyone leaving. A meal runs roughly 800 to 1,500 TL a head, and the room has held a place on Gault&Millau Türkiye's listings for years. Book the late seating for a night that starts at dinner and does not plan to end.
Reserve through 360 Istanbul direct; the late seating catches the turn from dinner to club.
5.Zuma Istanbul
Rainer Becker's Michelin-listed izakaya at Istinye Park, the miso black cod and a late lounge; book a robata seat for a late group night.
Zuma is the polished late option, the izakaya that runs a long, loud evening at the luxury end. Rainer Becker's concept began in London in 2002 and reached Istanbul at Istinye Park in Sarıyer, carrying the format that conquered Dubai, Hong Kong and Miami, a robata grill, a sushi counter and a bar that all stay busy late. The miso-marinated black cod is the signature, the dish that earns its fame on every Zuma menu, and the room holds a listing in the MICHELIN Guide Istanbul. Plan on 3,000 TL and up a head. The bar and lounge keep the evening running well past the kitchen's first wind-down. Book a seat at the robata for a late group night that wants polish with its volume.
Reserve through Zuma Istanbul direct; ask for a robata-counter seat.
6.Ulus 29
Istanbul's grandest Bosphorus-view room, the 29 kofte and yoghurt kebab, a terrace that runs late; book it for a late dinner with a view.
Ulus 29 is the late dinner with the best view in the city. The terrace sits on the hillside above Ulus Park in Beşiktaş, the Bosphorus opening up far below with the bridge lights strung between two continents, and it has commanded that outlook since the late 1990s as the flagship of Metin Fadıllıoğlu's '29' group. The kitchen plates modern Turkish cooking, the 29 köfte and the yoghurt kebab among its signatures, and the room holds a place in the MICHELIN Guide Istanbul. A meal runs roughly 1,000 to 1,200 TL a head. The '29' group's nightlife DNA keeps the terrace and bar running late on weekends. Book it for a late dinner where the Bosphorus does the talking.
Reserve through Ulus 29 direct; request a Bosphorus-side terrace table at sunset.
7.Nusr-Et
Salt Bae's home-city steakhouse, the gold-leaf tomahawk carved tableside, open late; book it once for a spectacle, not for value.
Nusr-Et is the late spectacle, the room you book for the show and not the receipt. The golden tomahawk arrives wrapped in edible gold leaf and carved at the table by staff trained in the salt-sprinkle move that turned founder Nusret Gökçe into the internet character Salt Bae in 2017. The Etiler flagship is the home-city original of a steakhouse group that now runs from New York to Dubai, and like its siblings it keeps a late table going as the night fills. Expect the Istanbul steak around $100 and mains from $50, a price that buys theatre more than it buys value. Book it once, late, for a birthday that wants a spectacle, and go in knowing the show is the point.
Reserve through Nusr-Et direct; come for the tableside theatre, not the bill.
Where not to chase a late dinner in Istanbul
The kitchen is dark even if the city is not
The Michelin-starred tasting rooms. TURK Fatih Tutak, Mikla on its rooftop and Neolokal all cook at the top of the city, but they run set tasting menus on early seatings and the kitchen is done well before the meyhanes hit their stride. Book them for the food on a proper evening, not for a 1am table, and do not expect the full menu if you arrive late.
The tourist meyhanes of Nevizade for a real meal. The lanes off İstiklal are lined with meyhanes that trade on the atmosphere and a man at the door, and they will keep you late, but the meze is mass-produced and the raki is the only honest thing on the table. Asmalı Cavit and Çukur Meyhane earn their places here because they cook like the institutions they are. If someone is selling you the meyhane from the pavement, the kitchen is rarely the reason to sit down.
Reservation strategy for a late table in Istanbul
For the meyhanes, book a table and plan to stay. Asmalı Cavit and Çukur Meyhane fill on weekend nights and the whole point is the long raki table, so reserve ahead, arrive around nine, and let the meze come in rounds rather than rushing a single order. Münferit takes bookings and turns into its own late bar, so you do not need to move on. For 360 and Ulus 29, ask specifically for the late seating and a view-side table when you reserve, because the panorama is half the reason to be there.
The one thing to plan around is Ramadan, which shifts every kitchen's hours and fills the meyhanes differently, so confirm the night you want if your trip lands in the holy month. Istanbul dines late by habit, a 9pm start is normal and the table genuinely runs past midnight at most of these rooms, so there is no need to book early. Dress is relaxed at the meyhanes and smart at Zuma, Ulus 29 and Nusr-Et. The meyhanes cluster around İstiklal, so a taxi home is easy enough even at the late hour.
Frequently asked
What is the best late-night restaurant in Istanbul?
Münferit in Beyoğlu is the best late-night restaurant in Istanbul, because it manages serious open-kitchen Mediterranean cooking and a bar that genuinely runs late in one room, on Yeni Çarşı Caddesi just off İstiklal. For the classic late experience, the meyhane, Asmalı Cavit is the institution: raki and meze in slow rounds well past midnight. Both keep a real kitchen going long after most cities have closed.
How late do restaurants serve food in Istanbul?
Later than almost anywhere in Europe. The meyhane culture of Beyoğlu and Kadıköy runs on a long raki table that keeps food coming past midnight, so Asmalı Cavit, Çukur Meyhane and Münferit all serve genuinely late. The newer rooms keep pace: 360 turns from dinner into a club, and Zuma and Ulus 29 keep late bars going on weekends. A 9pm start is normal here, and the table often runs to one or two in the morning.
What is a meyhane and are they open late?
A meyhane is the traditional Istanbul tavern built around raki and a long, slow procession of meze, hot and cold small plates, and they are among the latest-serving rooms in the city. Asmalı Cavit and Çukur Meyhane, both in Beyoğlu, are two of the best, where the kitchen keeps sending plates past midnight as the evening unwinds over rounds of raki. The whole format is designed to last four hours, not one seating, so they suit a long late dinner.
Which late-night Istanbul restaurant has the best view?
Two rooms compete for it. 360 Istanbul, on the eighth floor of the Mısır Apartment on İstiklal, gives a full 360-degree sweep of the old city, the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, then turns into a late club. Ulus 29, on the hillside above Ulus Park in Beşiktaş, looks down the Bosphorus to the bridge lights between two continents and keeps a late terrace going on weekends. Ask for a view-side table and the late seating at either.
Is Istanbul good for a late dinner after a show or a night out?
Few cities are better. Because the meyhane night runs late by design, you can sit down at eleven and still get a full table of meze and raki at Asmalı Cavit or Çukur Meyhane. For something that rolls dinner straight into the night, 360 Istanbul turns from a meze room into a club, and Münferit slides from dinner into a late bar without anyone moving. Zuma's lounge at Istinye Park is the polished version of the same idea.
Do I need a reservation for a late dinner in Istanbul?
For the popular rooms on a weekend, yes. Asmalı Cavit, Münferit, 360 and Zuma fill on Friday and Saturday nights, so book ahead and ask for the late seating where it matters. Çukur Meyhane is easier and takes walk-ins earlier in the evening. Plan around Ramadan, which changes every kitchen's hours, and remember the meyhane night runs past the last public transport, so arrange a taxi home.
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