Ahmet Yılmaz
Head chef
Reinterpreting Ottoman cuisine over wood fire for twenty years.
1453Story
From the Matbah-ı Âmire
A restaurant carrying the name, recipes and patience of the palace kitchen.
From ledger to plate
Topkapı’s kitchens were called the Matbah-ı Âmire, a city cooking for thousands a day. We cook recipes left in its ledgers with today’s season.
Our wood is oak, our salt Aegean, our lamb Thracian. The menu changes with the season; our signature plates stay.
On Friday and Saturday evenings our fasıl ensemble begins with dessert.
19:00Kitchen rules
Three principles
- In season
Tomatoes in July, quince in October.
- With fire
Oak wood and charcoal, not gas.
- With patience
Lamb smokes for 12 hours; no rush in our kitchen.
20:00Kitchen
At the fire
Our kitchen is open; you see the fire from your table.
Elif Demir
Pastry chef
Measures every dessert down to the syrup.
Mert Aydın
Head sommelier
Expert in Anatolian vineyards; finds a local pairing for every plate.
21:30The venue
Scenes from the evening
22:30Guest notes
At the end of the night
An evening in the candle corner. We won’t forget the hünkâr beğendi.
Twelve of us in the private room; the fasıl started right at dessert.
Sunset on the terrace, then künefe and a candle surprise.
20:00Your table
Your table is ready
Book online or by phone. Call us for groups over 8 and the private room.