Kahveci Mustafa Amca Jeans

Mustafa Amca Jeans, or Danışman as some locals call it, is the quintessential tea shop. This is a place where you sit on short stools, or the long leather divans if you are lucky, are served tea relentlessly until you firmly refuse, and spend time chatting with friends or peaking to the newspaper fellow tea-drinkers are reading.

What to order: Turkish tea. This is a simple shop. There are other beverages and snacks like toasties but it’s rather the place to take a breather and people watch over some crimson Turkish tea.

What to know: The waiters will be carrying trays of Turkish tea, asking if anybody wants one. However if you are done with your tea cup, they will simply replace it without asking unless you vocalise that you don’t want anymore. No place for shy people.

There is also another one within the Suriye Passage, towards the Tünel end of İstiklal Street. To this day I am not sure if those two shops are actually related or not. They do have very similar vibes, but this one in the Hazzopulo Passage, makes great use of the cobble stone courtyard.