Turkey Traveller

Black Cat Coffee came highly recommended to me as the best coffee in  Eskişehir and certainly didn't  disappoint . At first glance Black Cat Coffee is a fairly ramshackle affair in an endearing kind of way that adds to its charm. Its back street location a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre is refreshing as you can sit on a  relatively quiet pavement, chatting and smoking undisturbed.  The coffee house is filled with a collection of random objects and mismatched furniture that suggests that its primary purpose is the serving of quality coffee. The staff are relaxed and friendly and the service is unhurried in a good way, the coffee itself is superb with a decent selection of coffee beans from around the world, e ach cupful of coffee is freshly ground just before it's served (apparently this is where the magic lies).  Price wise it is also well worth a visit at just 5TL for a latte. Located in  Eskibağlar mahallesi Bayd...

Turkish coffee ( Türk kahvesi ) is extremely strong, dark and bitter. Prepared using finely ground roasted coffee beans that have been slowly heated to boiling in a small pot called a cezva . Turkish coffee is always served black and the sugar is added whilst the coffee is being boiled. If you want it with sugar order şekerli without sugar is sade or plain. Turkish coffee is sipped slowly and is so thick that the bottom of the cup is normally an undrinkable dark sludge, if your lucky enough to be drinking with a group of Turkish women they will often turn the cup upside down on the saucer allow the sludge to run down the sides and dry, ten minutes later the will read your coffee fortunes ( Falına Bakmak ) predicting your future by the patterns and pictures left in the dried coffee. If you want more European/Western style coffee order Nescafe, recently you will also find European style coffee shops selling caffe latte and cappuccino's. .

Without doubt the one thing you should not miss on any trip to Istanbul is the opportunity to grab a bite to eat as Eminönü quayside. The quayside & the adjacent Galata bridge is lined with anglers catching fresh fish which is quickly grilled and sold by the vendors who have parked their barbecues in a line behind the anglers. The grilled fish is served in a crusty bread roll with a little salad and is very reasonably priced. Unless you eat it raw this is about as fresh as fresh fish can get. You may have to stand as it’s often difficult to find a seat amongst all the hustle and bustle, but it’s normally easy enough to find a comfortable place to lean. If fish is not your thing there is also a kiosk there that sells the most fantastic to die for doner kebab in a bread roll with salad, the kiosk has some plastic tables and chairs so there is even an opportunity to eat sitting down. For those who want to take their time and eat in a more relaxing environment the base of the Galata ...