Neolokal is the rare Istanbul restaurant whose bar deserves its own visit. Chef Maksut Aşkar built a Michelin-starred case for modern Anatolian cooking on the top floor of SALT Galata, and the cocktail list reads the same way: regional ingredients, treated with intent, poured over one of the best views in Karaköy.
The address is SALT Galata, the former Ottoman Bank headquarters on Bankalar Caddesi at the foot of the Galata hill, a few minutes uphill from the Karaköy ferry piers. Neolokal sits on the building's upper level, and the dining room and bar share a wall of glass facing the Golden Horn and the old city beyond. Gault & Millau Turkey credits the kitchen's ten-year run here under Aşkar, and the bar trades on the same seriousness rather than treating drinks as an afterthought.
The room is quiet, modern and low-lit, closer to a gallery than a party. Aşkar opened Neolokal in 2014, and in 2022 it earned both a Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star for sustainability, a pairing few bars in the country can claim. The crowd is older, dressed and there for the cooking, so the bar carries an unhurried, conversational hum rather than a late surge.
Order from the Anatolian-inspired list, which is where the bar makes its argument. The drinks lean on Turkish produce, fermented and foraged ingredients and house infusions, so a regional signature shows the program off better than a standard classic, and the non-alcoholic options are built with the same care for tables that do not drink. Flavors and Senses called the cocktails among the best in the city, and a slow round here supports that: these are composed drinks, priced at the top $$$$ tier to match the kitchen, not a casual happy-hour stop. Pair a drink with a few bites from the tasting menu if you can, because the pours are designed to sit alongside the food.
The crowd thins early because Neolokal runs an evening service rather than a late bar, so the window is dinner hours, Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are essential, and the bar seats fill from the dining room, so call ahead even for drinks.
Neolokal is for the traveller who wants Istanbul's new culinary identity in a glass, for a serious date that values craft over volume, and for anyone tired of international cocktail templates. It is the wrong call for a big group or a late, loud night. To extend the evening downhill, the cocktail rooms of Karaköy and Beyoğlu are minutes away: compare house programs with Fahri Konsolos across the water in Kadıköy, or settle in at Münferit in Beyoğlu. For the wider map, see our guide to the best cocktail bars in Istanbul, the city's full bar guide, and our editorial round-up of the best bars in Istanbul.
What sets Neolokal apart is that the bar carries the same point of view as the kitchen. Plenty of fine-dining rooms bolt on a generic drinks list; here the cocktails extend Aşkar's argument that Anatolian ingredients can stand at the front of a glass, not just a plate. The trade-off is access and price. The bar is small, the hours are short, and a round costs what a meal does elsewhere. For the drinker who wants the view, the star and a genuinely local list in one sitting, it is worth the planning.
Best time to go is early in the evening service, Tuesday to Thursday, when you can take a bar seat with the Golden Horn still catching the last light. Reserve ahead and treat it as a destination rather than a drop-in.
