Hacı Abdullah Lokantası

Overview

Hacı Abdullah Lokantası stands at Atıf Yılmaz Caddesi No:9/A, beside the Ağa Mosque, a few steps off İstiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu. It has served Ottoman-Turkish cooking since 1888. Unusually, it has never passed from father to son: masters have handed it to their apprentices, one generation after another.

The Story of Hacı Abdullah

From the Karaköy quay to Beyoğlu

The lokanta opened in 1888 on the Karaköy quay as "Abdullah Efendi", with a licence from Sultan Abdülhamid II. In 1915, it moved up the hill to the ground floor of Rumeli Han on İstiklal Avenue. Then, in 1940, it moved again, to the street now named after the actor Sadri Alışık, and took the name "Hacı Salih".

Master to apprentice

In 1958, the lokanta settled in its present place beside the Ağa Mosque, on the street then called Sakızağacı and now Atıf Yılmaz Caddesi. Each master trained his apprentices and left the kitchen to them, in the old way of the Ahi trade guilds. In 1983, the name returned to the one it began with: Hacı Abdullah.

What to Eat at Hacı Abdullah

Start with imam bayıldı, eggplant slow-cooked in olive oil, and a plate of perde pilavı, rice baked inside a pastry crust. Then order the beğendili kebap, lamb on a smoky eggplant purée, or the lamb shank. For dessert, quince with clotted cream is the classic. Before you leave, order a glass of compote, from pomegranate and blackberry to quince.

Who Hacı Abdullah Suits

We suggest it for a long lunch on a day in Beyoğlu, when you want the dishes of an old Istanbul table. It also suits travelers who like places with a long story behind the counter.

Our suggestion

Walk our Beyoğlu tour up from Karaköy to İstiklal, then sit down here for lunch. Masters, not fathers, have handed down this kitchen, so it closes our guide to family-run restaurants in Istanbul. For more of these working kitchens, read our guide to Esnaf Lokantası: Where Istanbul Really Eats Lunch.

We reserve your table at Hacı Abdullah Lokantası.

Updated: November 1, 2026.

Dining in Istanbul with Us

Lunch at Hacı Abdullah sits well in our Beyoğlu and Galata tour; choose your day.