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As the year winds down, Istanbul leans happily into its guilty pleasures: Michelin stars multiplying across the map, father-(grand)daughter exhibitions brightening the season, Turkish pop adding warmth to the cold and a national appetite that refuses to slow despite economic challenges.
Consider this our gourmandise issue: a guide to the tastes, sounds and sights shaping Istanbul at the close of the year.
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Thanks for reading,Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)
Michelin, the century-old arbiter of dining prestige whose stars can change a restaurant’s fate overnight, has entered its third year in Turkey with unmistakable ambition. Cappadocia joined the selection last year, and as of this week, the guide has opened its red book to all of Turkey, from Istanbul’s European shore to the volcanic folds of Nevsehir and the Aegean coast of Izmir.
Sorry Istanbul, but the headline this year belongs to Urla, the wine-rich peninsula just west of Izmir, where Ozan and Seray Kumbasar’s Vino Locale jumped from one to two stars, becoming the country’s second two-star restaurant after Turk Fatih Tutak in Istanbul. For New Year planners, it puts Urla firmly on the culinary map: vineyard country by day, destination dining by night.
Yet Istanbul remains Michelin’s busiest stage. New one-star entrant Araf Istanbul joins a roster that already includes Araka, Arkestra, Mikla, Neolokal, Nicole and Sankai by Nagaya. Elsewhere, stars were retained by Casa Lavanda in Sile (Istanbul province) and by two coastal fixtures further south: Kitchen by Osman Sezener and Macakizi in Bodrum. In Cappadocia, Revithia kept its star; in Bodrum, Mezra Yalikavak earned its first. Teruar Urla and OD Urla (yes, the wine country again) also hold steady in the one-star club. (P.S.: If you are a regular Al-Monitor Istanbul reader, you already know most.)
The Green Stars went to Turk Fatih Tutak (Istanbul), Orfoz (Bodrum), Teruar Urla (Izmir) and Babayan Evi (Cappadocia). At the more democratic end of the guide, the Bib Gourmand list expanded with 16 new additions across Istanbul, Izmir, Mugla, Nevsehir and Nigde. Spots like Yanyali Fehmi Lokantasi, Mahir Lokantasi and village kitchens in Cappadocia hint at a slow but welcome widening of the lens beyond fine dining.
Whether Michelin’s new nationwide sweep will reshape Turkey’s food story — which is somewhere between “Modern Anatolian” tasting menus and the country’s unruly, beloved everyday cuisine with a new twist — is the question now sitting on everyone’s table. One thing is certain: It will be tough to get a table at the Michelin-starred restaurants in the coming months.
2. Word on the street: Fathers and (grand)daughters
Aysegul İzer’s “Things that Catch My Eye” (Photo courtesy of Nazlan Ertan)
The Stay Boulevard Nisantasi continues its habit of turning a luxury hotel into an art corridor, this time teaming up with Renko London for “Trilogy of Time,” curated by Renk Erbil (yes, the Renk in Renko). The exhibition pairs three giants of Turkish art with the next generation carrying their legacies forward: Devrim Erbil, arguably Turkey’s most prolific living painter, shows both solo and collaborative works with daughter Renk Erbil; Suleyman Saim Tekcan, master printmaker and founder of Turkey’s atelier tradition, appears here through the bold canvases of his daughter, Eda Tekcan; and Zeki Faik Izer’s modernist spirit is refracted through the work of his granddaughter, Aysegul Izer, former chair of Mimar Sinan University’s Graphic Design Department.
What stands out is how these three women carry their heritage without ever being defined by it. Their voices are distinct, confident and unmistakably their own. And if I were to take one piece home, it would come from this younger generation.
📍 Where: First Floor of Stay Hotel, Abdi İpekci Cd. No:30 Nisantasi
🗓️ When: until Feb. 17, 2026
3. Istanbul diary
Hans op de Beeck’s “Celebration” at OMM (Photo courtesy of OMM)
• Out of Istanbul, Odunpazari Modern Museum in Eskisehir unveils “Wide Expanse,” a sweeping exhibition curated by Yagmur Elif Ertekin around the idea of the table as a site of memory, community and shared emotion. Bringing together artists from Fikret Mualla and Nuri Iyem to Etel Adnan, Hans op de Beeck and Tunca, the show explores how rituals of food and gathering shape both private and collective histories. On view until Sept. 2026.
• If BASE sparked your interest in emerging talent, head to Yapi Kredi Bomontiada for the 12th edition of the Mamut Art Project, running from Dec. 10 to Dec. 14. The exhibition features 33 young artists working across printmaking, bio art, photography, sculpture and kinetic installations. Admission is free.
• At artSumer, Gozde Ilkin’s “Tide,”curated by Zehra Begum Kisla, traces the movement of matter through folding textiles, shifting surfaces and fluid forms. Until Jan. 23, 2026.
4. Playlist of the Week
Nihan Belgin, artist, director, singer (Facebook/Nihan Belgin)
Faik Uyanik, a former BBC journalist, United Nations Development Program communications coordinator and devoted music enthusiast, curated a capsule of Turkish pop and indie sounds for Al-Monitor Istanbul. Here is the top six of his playlist titled “Best of 2020s Turkish Pop for GenX.“ (Do follow his whimsical playlists on Spotify.)
- “Copculer” by Nihan Belgin: The multidisciplinary artist’s reinterpretation of a song long identified with Turkish rock, with its unforgettable refrain of “damn those garbagemen who swept away our love.”
- “Onu da Hic Silemedim Bir Anisi Var” by TurkodiRom: A wistful, moody track that sounds like a nagging memory.
- “Bulsam Kendimi” by Baris Demirel: Known for blending jazz, electronic textures and trumpet-led atmospherics, Demirel crafts an introverted soundscape of self-discovery.
- “Kirmizi” by Belki Biraz: A gentle, indie-pop track that carries a soft vulnerability.
- “Yasemen” by Afra: Another classic draped in warmth and nostalgia.
- “Günah Kecisi” by Idil Mese: A dark yet compelling track that moves between fragile courage and suppressed anger, its lyrics tracing an intense inner reckoning and the quiet burden of self-blame.
5. Istanbul gaze
“Unsustainable dinner” by Omer Sedat Yenidogan (Photo courtesy of Nazlan Ertan)
More tables, again from BASE, the breeding ground of Turkey’s emerging artists. Omer Sedat Yenidogan, born in 1987, trained in physics at Yildiz Technical University before turning to visual art and photography. His family-table piece delivers its message in two sharp strokes: the crowns of food atop each head mock the inflation-shrunken identity of the household, while the empty plates drive home the cultural starvation born of collapsing purchasing power.
6. By the numbers
• Turkey has one of Europe’s highest obesity rates, with roughly one-third of adults classified as obese and two-thirds overweight, according to OECD and Ministry of Health data.
• Turkstat surveys show only about 14% of adults consume the recommended five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day, a shortfall closely linked to rising metabolic disease.
• Demand for weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide has surged sharply, prompting the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency to issue warnings and ask pharmacies to prioritize diabetes patients amid recurring shortages. »
Nazlan Ertan is Al-Monitor’s former culture editor. She is a Turkish blogger, journalist and editor who has worked in Ankara, Paris and Brussels for various Turkish and international publications, including the Hurriyet Daily News, CNN Turk and BBC Turkish Service. She served as culture and audiovisual manager for the European Union delegation to Turkey, director of the EU Information Centre in Ankara and director of communication, culture and information in Turkey’s Ministry for European Affairs. On Twitter: @NazlanEr