Mikla

Most rooftop restaurants are a view with a kitchen attached, and the kitchen knows it can coast. Mikla, on the 18th floor of the Marmara Pera, is the exception. Mehmet Gürs built the city's most famous dining-room view and then refused to let it carry the meal. His New Anatolian Kitchen, a Finnish-Turkish chef's systematic excavation of regional Turkish produce reinterpreted through fine-dining technique, is the actual reason to come. The Golden Horn at dusk is the bonus, not the bill.

Gürs sources directly from producers across Anatolia — herbs from the Black Sea coast, cheeses from Kars, grains from central Turkey's Hittite heartland — and prints the menu daily to match what arrived that morning. The smoked lamb loin with charred endive and apple molasses is the dish to test the kitchen on; if it lands at the right temperature with the molasses cutting the fat, the rest of the menu will too. His contemporary take on balık ekmek, the Turkish fish sandwich, is the other signature worth ordering. Choose between the three-course prix fixe and the seven-course tasting at 10,500 TL, and choose the tasting: the prix fixe is good, the tasting is the argument.

The room is glass and low light with the city on every side. From May through October the open-air terrace is the only place to sit, and the terrace tables are non-negotiable — book them explicitly and arrive early enough to watch dusk turn to night over the first course. Service is polished and unhurried, dress runs smart-casual to elegant, and the noise stays at conversation level even when full. It seats a proposal and a client dinner equally well.

The terrace works for a proposal because the city does half the labour. There are rooms in Istanbul with better-protected privacy and rooms with cheaper food, but none pair genuine culinary ambition with a view this comprehensively romantic: the Bosphorus below, the minarets glowing amber, two hours of tasting menu already banked before the ring appears. The staff have staged this hundreds of times, champagne and discreet pause included, and it shows. For the same reasons it flatters a client dinner you need to win.

Not for a value-hunter — this is the $$$$ end and a chunk of the bill is rent on the view; if the skyline doesn't move you, the same New Anatolian thinking costs less at Neolokal down the hill. And skip the terrace from November to April, when the weather pulls you indoors and the whole point goes with it.

Is Mikla worth it? Yes, with one caveat: you are paying a view premium and you should want the view. The cooking justifies the rest. Mehmet Gürs's New Anatolian tasting is among the most original in the country, the smoked lamb loin is genuinely memorable, and the Marmara Pera terrace is one of the great dining views anywhere. Go for the tasting and the terrace; go elsewhere if the skyline leaves you cold.

How hard is it to book Mikla? The dining room is bookable a week or two out, but the open-air terrace tables from May through October need two to three weeks and a specific request. Ask for the terrace by name, give them your timing, and aim for a seating that lets you watch dusk fall. Winter indoors is easier but misses the point.

What is the dress code at Mikla? Smart casual to elegant. No jacket is strictly required, but this is a special-occasion room at the top of a hotel and most diners dress up. A collar and decent shoes for men, anything you'd wear to a celebration for everyone; the terrace cools at night, so bring a layer.

What does dinner at Mikla cost? The seven-course tasting menu is 10,500 TL per person, with wine pairings from 5,500 TL. A three-course prix fixe is available for less. With pairings and the cover, a full tasting evening runs comfortably into five figures in lira per head; this is the luxury end and the view is part of what you pay for.

What should I order at Mikla? Take the seven-course tasting rather than the prix fixe; it is the argument the kitchen is actually making. Within it, the smoked lamb loin with charred endive and apple molasses and Gürs's contemporary balık ekmek are the dishes to watch for. For more of the city, see our Istanbul dining guide.