Authentic Turkish Cooking at a Local’s Home in Cihangir

5.0

Reviews

Recommended by 100% travellers

100% of guests rated this experience 4 stars or higher

5.0 (15)

Recommended by 100% travellers

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5.0

Reviews

Recommended by 100% travellers

100% of guests rated this experience 4 stars or higher

5.0 (15)

Recommended by 100% travellers

Available TodayReserve your spot now and join the experience today.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

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Japan's #1 food travel platform

Trusted by 50,000+ travelers worldwideCurated by food lovers, for food loversFeatured in CNN, Forbes & NYT

Available TodayReserve your spot now and join the experience today.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

Why book with byFood?

Japan's #1 food travel platform

Trusted by 50,000+ travelers worldwideCurated by food lovers, for food loversFeatured in CNN, Forbes & NYT

Location

Istanbul

Duration

3 hours

Group size

Max 5 guests

Language

English, Turkish

Location

Istanbul

Duration

3 hours

Group size

Max 5 guests

Language

English, Turkish

Why travelers loved this

5.0

•15 reviews

US$115.16 per guest

Instant Confirmation

Guest

Adult x1

Date

Add dates

Select Options

Available TodayReserve your spot now and join the experience today.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

Why book with byFood?

Japan's #1 food travel platform

Trusted by 50,000+ travelers worldwideCurated by food lovers, for food loversFeatured in CNN, Forbes & NYT

Available TodayReserve your spot now and join the experience today.

Free CancellationCancel for free up to 1 day before your experience

Food for HappinessFor every guest in your booking, we donate 10 meals to children around the world

Why book with byFood?

Japan's #1 food travel platform

Trusted by 50,000+ travelers worldwideCurated by food lovers, for food loversFeatured in CNN, Forbes & NYT

Description

Good to Know

Join Leyla in her Cihangir home kitchen for a cook together and eat together experience focused on traditional Turkish home food. After meeting Leyla's home, you’ll settle in and start preparing a multi dish menu side by side, with Leyla guiding each step in Turkish or English. Depending on the timing, the session can be a long Turkish breakfast or a lunch or dinner spread. You’ll cook dishes like soup and a main such as karnıyarık, sarma, dolma, or an oven baked meal, plus pilav, salad, and a few meze style sides. Taste as you go, learn practical tips, then sit down to share the meal you made in a relaxed, friendly home atmosphere. If it fits the day, you can also begin with a short walk in Cihangir before cooking.

Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
By booking, you accept this waiver. This experience is not wheelchair accessible. If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, contact us before the experience at I acknowledge that participating in this LokalBond experience involves inherent risks including physical activity, travel, and interaction with unknown environments, which may result in personal injury or property damage. My participation is entirely voluntary and I may withdraw at any time. I certify I am in good health and will inform LokalBond of any health changes prior to the experience. I assume all risks involved and release LokalBond, its owners, employees, agents, and hosts from any claims or liabilities arising from my participation. I agree to indemnify LokalBond from any related claims or damages. This waiver is governed by Turkish law. I have read and fully understand these terms and agree to them voluntarily.

Lunch

If the experience is booked for 12.00pm, it will be held as lunch.

Dinner

If the experience is booked for 5pm, it will be held as a dinner!

Tea and coffee

Coffee and/or Tea

If you're looking for an authentic experience in Istanbul, come join us in our home for a Turkish cooking class filled with flavor, culture, and connection. We’ll start the experience the Turkish way—with a warm cup of Turkish tea or coffee, taking a moment to chat and get to know each other. Then, we'll dive into the art of Turkish cuisine. We’ll guide you through every step, sharing the secrets of Turkish home cooking while we laugh and create something special together. You won’t just be learning recipes—you’ll be immersing yourself in Turkish culture, experiencing the warmth of home-cooked food in Istanbul firsthand. Once everything is ready, we’ll sit down together to enjoy our homemade feast, sharing stories and making memories over delicious food. If you have any allergies or dietary preferences, just let us know in advance so we can adjust the menu for you. Oh, and one more thing—our home is shared with a friendly cat who love meeting new people! If you have any concerns about pets, feel free to reach out. Come as a guest, leave as a friend

STARTER

Soup

Mercimek or Ezogelin

MAIN

Dolma or Karnıyarık

Peppers stuffed with meat, rice, vegetables and spices or eggplant with meat.

STARTER

Turkish Mezes

The host can change the menu up to the season.

STARTER

Salad

Seasonal Turkish Salad

Meeting Point

Özoğul Sk. No:18, Özoğul Sokak, Beyoğlu İstanbul, Türkiye, TR, 34427

Open in Google Maps

Istanbul has traffic issue. I suggest you use metro, ferry as much as you can. The apartment is on the floor -1, downstairs. Ring the bell 17 or call your host when you arrive!

End Point

This experience ends at the meeting point.

Free cancellation

Cancel up to 1 day before for a full refund.

No refund within 1 day of the experience or no-shows.

5.0

15 reviews

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15 reviews

Dizzzy14August 2026 • TripAdvisor

Lovely intro to Turkish cuisine and culture!

This experience exceeded my expectations. Dinner at the home of Burak and his fiancé was absolutely lovely. They were warm and welcoming. We learned about Çiğköfte while Burak prepared it with great passion for making it authentically and perfectly. Lots of laughs and we also got to listen to some lovely live music and learn more about the culture. It was the perfect welcome to Istanbul for me and intro to the culture and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Thank you!

AnnaMaria_LJune 2026 • Viator

Awesome cooking: experiencing Turkey from the inside!

It was a wonderful experience to get to know Turkey from the inside! Turkish food, Turkish people and having so much fun together! Leyla, the host, is filled with so much joy and makes you feel at home! And the food was really good as well! I would always do it again!

Peggy_PJanuary 2026 • Viator

Cooking Class

This cooking class was so tasty and lots of fun!! Our hosts introduced us to some wonderful Turkish dishes and made sure that we all felt welcomed and comfortable in their home. The instruction was very detailed and went at a pace that all levels could follow.

Cynthia_SNovember 2025 • Viator

Experience local culture through food

Great way to learn more about the people, food and culture. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Rodja, our host, and getting to here family. We learned so much about her and her experiences as well as the local area. Loved that it was hands on and there were only 4 of us in the class. The food was delicious and Rodja an exceptional host. Highly recommend!

jillgN6971FTNovember 2025 • TripAdvisor

We had a great time!

Sezgi, her mom, and her sister were all REALLY lovely hosts. Very proactive teachers, interested in chatting, super friendly. It really did feel like going over to a friend's house on the holidays and just cooking and hanging out with their family. It was nice to see slice of real Turkish life, since the rest of our vacation is so touristy. Also, we did this cooking class on my friends birthday, and they made a special dessert and put candles in it for her and sang. It was so kind and genui...read more