Michelin goes nationwide and Urla shines brightest |
Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.
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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Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)
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1. Leading the week: Michelin’s new stars
Art to eat from Vino Locale (Photo courtesy of Vino Locale)
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........