Cafeography
Istanbul · Eminönü & Sirkeci

Cafés in Eminönü & Sirkeci

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi's window on Tahmis Sokak, terraces on the Süleymaniye slope and filter coffee around Sirkeci station.

Photo: Fatih Ekmen, Pexels License

Eminönü takes its name from the emin, the Ottoman customs official who worked these docks, and it still lives off boats and goods: several ferry lines start from the waterfront and the T1 tram stops beside them.1 The Spice Bazaar, or Mısır Çarşısı, went up in 1660 to sell what arrived from Egypt.1 Istanbul's first coffeehouse is said to have opened close by in Tahtakale, started by two Syrians.2

The coffee here splits by altitude. At the waterline you buy it to carry home. Up Fetva Yokuşu, below the Süleymaniye Mosque, you pay for a terrace and a long breakfast. In the streets of hotels and offices around Sirkeci and Cağaloğlu, espresso counters open from 07:00.

Local tip: Queue for packets on Tahmis Sokak on your way back to the ferry, not on the way up to Süleymaniye, or you will carry them up Fetva Yokuşu.

At a glance

93Cafés listed
5With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Apples Cafe, from 06:30 (Daily 06:30–21:00).
  • Closes latest: Husnu Ala Cafe, until 00:00 (Daily 10:00–00:00).
  • Most listed streets: Fetva Yokuşu (3), Tayahatun sokak (2), Yalı köşkü caddesi (2).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (9%), outdoor seating (4%), open late (4%).

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Coffee chains in Eminönü & Sirkeci

Tahmis Sokak and the line at the window

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, at Tahmis Sokağı No. 66, dates from 1871, when Mehmet Efendi took over his father's herb and spice shop and began roasting; it was the first firm to sell coffee roasted and ground instead of as raw beans.2 A 2021 Hürriyet column still found a queue at the corner of Tahmis Sokak, a street that smells of the roast.3

The building rewards the wait. Zühtü Başar designed the two-story Art Deco shop, commissioned in 1932, and Han Tümertekin added the three-story annex in 2019, with coffee-themed goods on its ground floor and a terrace in the alley for a freshly brewed cup.4

The same column sends you to Beta Yeni Han, a restored han (merchants' inn) where, it says, Yemeni coffee was roasted from 1554. The oldest known roasting oven lies under a glass floor there, and the courtyard serves coffee from a copper cezve (long-handled pot) set in sand.3 On Yalı Köşkü Caddesi, toward the ferries, Tarini Eminönü kahvecisi and Kurukahveci ölabi stand a few doors apart.

Fetva Yokuşu and the Süleymaniye slope

Most cafés on this hill sell the view first. Kubbe-i Ask describes itself as a place for serpme kahvaltı (a breakfast of many small plates), nargile (water pipe) and Süper Lig matches on a big screen, with a terrace looking over the Golden Horn.5 Ağa kapısı and Sefa-i Hürrem Kafe share the slope, and Mimar Sinan Teras Kafe has Wi-Fi.

Coffee Gutta, on Süleymaniye Caddesi, is built around the cup instead. Its founders started in 2016 after a decade in the food trade and chose Süleymaniye for their first branch because the historic peninsula was short of good coffee; they import beans, roast them to suit Turkish tastes and now run seven branches.6 Husnu Ala Cafe, nearby on Efendi Sokağı, stays open until 00:00.

Sirkeci, Hocapaşa and Ankara Caddesi

Eminönü runs into Sirkeci to the southeast, where the Orient Express from Europe ended its journey from 1888.1 The cafés here serve people passing through. Coffeetopia, on Arpacılar Caddesi, belongs to Şerif Başaran, who entered the trade running a café in Sydney and has since trained thousands of baristas.7 It opens at 07:00, among the first in the area.

Fiyeli Coffee Sirkeci, on Ebussuud Caddesi, is the second branch of a garden café in Levent. Fiyeli is Amharic for goat, after the legend of the Ethiopian herder whose animals ate coffee, and the menu runs to Kalita and Chemex.8 Cafe Sabor Cağaloğlu, on Ankara Caddesi, opens at 07:30 and Root'inn, on Mimar Vedat Sokağı, at 08:00; both have Wi-Fi and outdoor seats, and Cabra Loca sits nearby on Büyük Postane Caddesi.

Sources

  1. Eminönü, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  2. Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi: the true story of Turkish coffee, The Guide Istanbul (updated October 7, 2019), accessed November 2026
  3. İstanbul'da mis kokan kahve rotası, Hürriyet (Ebru Erke, November 21, 2021), accessed November 2026
  4. Where Coffee Meets Design: An Art Deco Coffee Break in Istanbul, Guiding Architects (Zeynep Kuban and Zeynep Erdeveci, May 30, 2025), accessed November 2026
  5. Kubbe-i Aşk, Kubbe-i Aşk, accessed November 2026
  6. Hikayemiz, Coffee Gutta, accessed November 2026
  7. Coffeetopia, Time Out Istanbul, accessed November 2026
  8. Fiyeli Coffee Co., Fiyeli Coffee, accessed November 2026
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In Eminönü & Sirkeci, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late

FAQ

Eminönü & Sirkeci cafés: questions

Where is Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi in Eminönü, Istanbul, and what is the building?

The shop stands at the corner of Tahmis Sokak in Eminönü, where people queue for roasted, ground coffee. The business dates from 1871. Zühtü Başar designed the two-story Art Deco shop, commissioned in 1932, and Han Tümertekin added a three-story annex in 2019, with a terrace in the alley.

Which cafés on the Süleymaniye slope in Eminönü, Istanbul, have a view?

Kubbe-i Ask on Fetva Yokuşu has a terrace looking over the Golden Horn, along with serpme kahvaltı, nargile and Süper Lig matches on a big screen. Ağa kapısı, Sefa-i Hürrem Kafe and Mimar Sinan Teras Kafe share the slope, and Husnu Ala Cafe stays open until 00:00.

Which cafés near Sirkeci in Eminönü, Istanbul, open earliest?

Coffeetopia on Arpacılar Caddesi opens at 07:00. Cafe Sabor Cağaloğlu on Ankara Caddesi follows at 07:30 and Root'inn on Mimar Vedat Sokağı at 08:00, and those two have Wi-Fi and outdoor seats. Fiyeli Coffee Sirkeci on Ebussuud Caddesi serves Kalita and Chemex.

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