Tea Gardens in Istanbul: Where to Drink Tea with a View

The tea gardens of Istanbul are where the city slows down. A waiter brings tea in small tulip glasses, and you sit under a plane tree with the Bosphorus or the Golden Horn below. Nobody hurries you, and refills keep coming until you say stop. Here are the tea gardens we take our guests to, and how to enjoy them like a local.

How a Turkish tea garden works

A tea garden, or çay bahçesi, is an open-air café with low tables, simple chairs and a view. For coffee indoors, see our cafés in Istanbul. Tea comes black and strong, in a tulip-shaped glass on a small saucer, with two sugar cubes. You can ask for it açık, light, or koyu, dark. Many gardens also serve toast, simit (a sesame-crusted bread ring) and Turkish coffee. For the story behind the glass, read our guide to Turkish tea.

Prices are low, and service is relaxed. So order a glass, then another, and watch the ferries go by.

Pierre Loti Hill, above the Golden Horn

On the hill above Eyüp Sultan Mosque, the café at Pierre Loti Hill looks down the whole length of the Golden Horn. We ride the cable car up from Eyüp with you, or walk through the cypress trees of the old cemetery. Come in the late afternoon, when the light turns gold and the city lights come on below. Our Pierre Loti sunset tour times the visit for that hour.

Emirgan Park, on the Bosphorus

In Emirgan Park, three wooden pavilions from the 1870s now serve tea and breakfast. The Yellow, Pink and White Pavilions sit among lawns and old trees, with the Bosphorus below. In April, the tulip festival fills the park with color, so it is the best month to visit. On spring weekends, local families fill the lawns.

Çamlıca Hill, on the Asian side

From the top of Çamlıca Hill, you see both bridges, the old city and the Sea of Marmara in one view. Its tea gardens sit among pine trees, so even a summer afternoon feels cool. We often pair it with a walk through Kuzguncuk below.

Moda, by the Sea of Marmara

In Moda, the tea gardens face west across the water toward the historic peninsula. At sunset, the minarets of the old city stand in silhouette. Afterward, we walk to the main street for an ice cream and ride the ferry back from Kadıköy. On a morning there, a Kadıköy food tour takes you through one of the liveliest food markets in the city.

Gülhane Park and the old city

At the far end of Gülhane Park, below the walls of Topkapı Palace, a tea garden looks out over the point where the Bosphorus meets the Sea of Marmara. It is the perfect pause after a morning in the palace.

Along the Bosphorus shore

Between Bebek and Rumelihisarı, small tea houses sit right on the water, below the walls of the fortress. Fishermen cast their lines from the quay, and ships pass close enough to read their names.

Our suggestion

Plan one tea garden for each part of your day: Gülhane after the palace, Pierre Loti for the late afternoon, and Moda for sunset. Our Asian side tour ends in Moda at the right hour. If you would like a guide to plan the stops around you, write to us.