Asmalı Cavit has been a meyhane - a Turkish tavern - on Asmalımescit Sokak in Beyoğlu since 1968. The format has not significantly changed in nearly six decades: small tables crowded together under fluorescent strip lighting, paper tablecloths, a single waiter who knows the menu by heart, and a parade of small cold and hot mezze brought to the table in the order they are ready. The drink is rakı, the anise-flavoured Turkish national spirit, taken with water and ice. The meal is the experience. A proper Asmalı Cavit visit moves through eight small plates and two rakı pours. Here is the flight.
A full visit at Asmalı Cavit runs around three hours and costs roughly 1,500-2,000 lira per person depending on the fish and the number of rakı pours. Reservations are essential on weekends; the bar takes walk-ins early in the week. Closed Sundays.