It�s a shopping mall.
No, it�s a restaurant and beer garden.
No it�s a wine and book store.
There�s a new place in Istanbul that�s actually all of these things. This new high-end gourmet food market, complete with a dozen restaurants, flower shop, wine store, fish market and more all rolled into one, just opened last week. Mahalle, which means neighborhood in Turkish, is located on the top floor of City's Mall in Nisantasi.
Last week on my way home from the metro, I popped into the top floor of City�s and checked out the newly opened Mahalle. It's strange, expensive but still kinda cool! As one of my expat friends here exclaimed, Mahalle is like the Turkish version of Eatalyin NYC!
The gigantic open floor plan contains the likes of NYCNathan's Hot Dogs (the 1st in Turkey), G�naydin Steakhouse, Wagamama for Asian cuisine, Rigatoni for Italian, Mano Burger for a hamburger and fries, Komsufirin for freshly baked bread, Namli Sark�teri (without having to go all the way to Emin�n�) and Malatya Pazari for bulk dried fruits and nuts.
It�s like they took many of my favorite stalls around the the Misir �arsisi and fancified it all! Honestly, I'd still prefer to go to the former, but it was fun to look around.
You can even get Guinness and Hoegaarden on tap at the small beer garden area in Mahalle!
To complete the neighborhood feel, you�ll also find a baklava stand, a coffeeshop by Caribou Coffee, a (pricey) d�ner stand by Yanar D�ner and a few other random stands throw in at Mahalle.
After you�ve emptied your wallet and filled your stomach or shopping bags, you can even stop by the section called Home Delivery; and what else, but have your bags delivered to your home whenever you choose. You may finally be able to have wine delivered to your front door in Istanbul!
For anyone who's a foodie, Mahalle is worth checking out in Istanbul!
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| Rigatoni Restaurant located at the new Mahalle in Istanbul. |
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| Warm and comforting ev manti for a cold wintery day! |
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| Not sure how I feel about this very odd selection of d�ner kebab being offered at Mahalle. |