Golden Kokoreç — Restaurant in Beşiktaş

We stumbled upon Golden Kokoreç by happy accident while trying to find our way to Büyük Mecidiye Camii (Ortaköy Mosque) after getting off at the wrong bus stop—and what a great surprise it turned out to be!

We had been meaning to try kokoreç and midye dolma, and this little spot appeared just at the right moment. The restaurant is cozy and welcoming, and the staff were incredibly friendly, warm, and even entertaining—which made our short stop even more enjoyable.

We ordered the midye dolma (stuffed mussels), which were flavorful, and reasonably priced. But the real star was the kokoreç. As someone who isn’t a fan of lamb and was honestly hesitant to try kokoreç, I was pleasantly surprised—it was delicious and not gamy at all. Even the rest of our family, who also typically avoid lamb, really liked it and were glad they gave it a try.

It’s a shame we only got to visit once since Ortaköy is a bit far from where we stayed in Istanbul. But we’d absolutely return to Golden Kokoreç on our next trip.

Recommended for anyone curious to try these authentic Turkish street food staples in a casual,...

We walked into this restaurant on a hunch and had a mixed experience. We ordered mussels, kebabs, anchovies and sandwiches. The mussels were superb and the kebabs were great as well, but the anchovies didn’t feel very fresh and the sandwich was just okay. The biggest downside was an unpleasant smell throughout the restaurant, which affected the overall dining experience. Also, the waitress kept clearing small items from the table constantly, which became a...

We came here mainly to have their kokoreç. It was really really good, we loved it. Also their mussels with sauce were delicious, better than the dry ones. We would definitely come back for these 2! We also had a meat durum which was quite good as well. Also, we had soup and fried mussles. They were good but needed some seasoning ( salt mainly) Service was good and quick, staff...