Vegan Restaurants in Istanbul — 14 Spots Worth Your Time

Finding solid vegan restaurants in Istanbul used to mean settling for a side salad. Not anymore. Türkiye’s food culture has long centered on meat, yet a wave of dedicated vegan and vegetarian kitchens has made eating well here much easier—and fourteen of them, from a whole-foods kitchen in Etiler to a converted house in Kurtuluş, are worth building a meal around.

1. Zencefil—Taksim

Zencefil, right in the middle of Taksim, is one of the first names people mention when vegan Istanbul comes up—the restaurant itself describes it as Turkey’s first and oldest vegan-vegetarian kitchen. The menu comes in two parts, fixed and daily-changing. Think fennel-stewed black-eyed peas, bulgur pilaf with çiriş (a local wild green), carrot soup and freekeh (roasted green wheat) pilaf. It’s an easy, unhurried lunch stop between sightseeing. Instagram

2. Bi Nevi Deli—Etiler

Bi Nevi Deli opened in Karaköy in 2014 and later moved its kitchen to Etiler. Everything starts from whole foods—minimally processed, plant-based ingredients—with raw, gluten-free, paleo, vegan and vegetarian options side by side on a menu that founders Belkıs Boyacıgiller and Özge Şen designed around exactly that flexibility. Mixed-diet groups do well here. Instagram

3. Mahatma Cafe—Kadıköy

On the Asian side, Mahatma Cafe is one of the best-known and most central vegan spots. Breakfast through dessert, it’s all olive-oil cooking. Colorful mismatched chairs and a minimal, airy look make it a good stop for a slow coffee between errands in Kadıköy. Instagram

4. İyi Lokanta

İyi Lokanta takes Turkish comfort food—mercimek köfte (lentil “meatballs”), kısır (a bulgur salad), tas kebabı (a meat-and-vegetable stew) and karnıyarık (stuffed eggplant)—and remakes every dish fully plant-based. Despite the name, those lentil “meatballs” never had meat in them; tas kebabı and karnıyarık are the real conversions here.

One catch before you go: İyi Lokanta is takeout and delivery only. No sit-down seating. It’s the kind of detail that’s easy to miss when you’re planning a lunch stop around the menu. Instagram

5. Kikero Falafel—Beyoğlu

Need something quick and cheap? Kikero is the name most often associated with falafel in Istanbul, by now a default vegan option across the city. Best in town? That argument has no winner. The menu branches into a handful of other Middle Eastern dishes too, so there’s something beyond the obvious pick. Instagram

6. Govinda—Mecidiyeköy

Govinda’s is an international vegetarian restaurant and café chain, and this Mecidiyeköy location is its only branch in Turkey. It bills itself as the city’s first fully vegetarian Indian kitchen. The soup changes daily. The rest of the menu runs through vegetarian and vegan sabji (spiced vegetable dishes) alongside Indian staples like pakora and samosa. Instagram

7. Healin—Teşvikiye

Healin is the work of Koshlendra Pratap, a chef originally from India who settled in Turkey and built the place around a “natural, fresh and clean” approach to food. The menu covers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, and it drew regulars quickly after opening. Come for the Southeast Asian flavors. Instagram

8. Vegan İstanbul Cafe—Cihangir

Vegan İstanbul in Cihangir is three things at once: restaurant, café and small grocery store. Expect pastries, cookies, cakes, börek (savory stuffed pastry), a plant-based milk rice pudding and a full breakfast spread. Hot soup is on any time of day. Instagram

9. Helvetia—Taksim

Reasonable prices, consistently good food: Helvetia has held onto both, which makes it one of the quieter vegan-vegetarian standouts near Taksim. Build your own plate from salads, olive-oil dishes and a rotating five-option daily menu. Address: Asmalı Mescit Mahallesi, General Yazgan Sokak No. 8, Beyoğlu.

10. Vegisso—Kurtuluş

Vegisso started in Ankara in 2014, when founder Yasin Keskin, frustrated by how few vegan options existed, began cooking out of his own kitchen—first for friends, then opening his home to paying guests. The concept moved with him to Istanbul’s Kurtuluş district, where it still runs out of a converted house and occasionally hosts events. You’re a guest in Vegisso’s home, not a customer in a restaurant. On the menu: falafel, burgers, sandwiches, sautéed dishes, wraps and desserts. Instagram

11. Tight Aggressive—Kadıköy

Vegan kitchen, art gallery, studio—Tight Aggressive is all three in one space, so you can browse independent artists’ work while eating. The menu includes vegan versions of sucuk (a spiced, cured sausage), sausage, burgers and mayonnaise-based dishes. Instagram

12. Upper West Side Falafel—Şişli

Tucked inside Şişli’s Cevahir Mall, Upper West Side Falafel is a fully vegan fast-food counter—useful if you’re stuck mall-hopping and can’t find anything else to eat. It’s local and independent, not a chain. Think of it as the Şişli counterpart to Kikero: where Kikero is the quick, cheap falafel stop in Beyoğlu, this one covers you on a shopping day. Instagram

13. Community Kitchen—Taksim

Community Kitchen has built a loyal following in the Beyoğlu-Taksim area with vegan İskender (a layered döner-style dish; yes, a meat-free take on a dish defined by its meat), vegan burgers and a full buffet spread, plus desserts to finish.

Every Sunday, owner Oya Toriş runs a vegan open buffet. Instagram

14. Rulo—Kadıköy

Rulo Ezberbozan Lezzetler serves affordable, filling vegan food with a Middle Eastern lean out of a small spot in Kadıköy, running a hot-and-cold buffet built for a quick, casual meal. Another buffet, then, like Community Kitchen’s, only this one is on the Asian side. Address: Caferağa Mahallesi, Nailbey Sokak No. 15/A, Kadıköy, Istanbul.

Sources: Istanbul earned its own Michelin Guide selection in 2022, a sign of how fast the city’s dining scene—plant-based options included—has grown in profile; longtime Istanbul restaurant critic Vedat Milor has covered that growth from the inside for years.