Kale Cafe

Situated right on the Bosphorus with incredible views, Kale offers the best breakfast I’ve ever had in my life! We ordered the full Turkish breakfast and enjoyed every last bite. The servers were on top of their tea game if you’re a big morning tea drinker…
Warning: Don’t be fooled by Kale’s competitors! They even copy the same exact sign. Make sure you find your way to the right one when in Istanbul and don’t miss your breakfast here.

Great food, great views and service. Perfect for Turkish breakfast. Do go if you visit Istanbul.

Best breakfast ever in my life hands down, anywhere in the world. This is a must while in Istanbul! Visit the castle (kale in Turkish) beforehand!

A perfect Turkish breakfast spot with a view of the Bosphorous. Be sure to come EARLY if you want to get a coveted spot outside along the road. There is an indoor seating area, as well. The breakfast is mammoth. Go for the serpme kahvalti and add on a menemen or sucuklu yumurta. I LOVE the helim or haloumi cooked in butter. I love this spot.

Amazingly hearty, service was fast and attentive, and the food was amazing!!! We got the breakfast platter (cheese, olives, assorted breads, clotted cream & honey) and some egg & chorizo platters. All were delicious!

This is one of our top choices for breakfast when we are in Istanbul. The food is plentiful, just like any traditional Turkish breakfast. The tea keeps coming and the honey butter is amazing. The location is cozy, right along the Bosphorus and easy to access via the bus line from Sultanahmet. Great for small or large groups. Service is fast, friendly, and no frills.

It is my favorite breakfast spot whenever I visit Istanbul. They have a large selection of breakfast menu and they are all delicious.

Kale Café, located next to the Bosphorus, was an exquisite find for me. I was perplexed breakfast could ever be sooo good. We were a group of hungry tourist girls ready to be impressed, especially since our well-​informed Turkish friend, being a local, told us this meal was a must in Istanbul. She nailed it. In fact, I’ve declared it the best breakfast I’ve had in my life! It also had an amazing view and great service!
We had a sort of Kahvalti, which appears to be a spread of many food items. We had a variety of cheeses, olives, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, jam, gozleme and kaymak with honey. Kaymak is akin to clotted cream, but the combination with the honey was just out of this world. The gozleme is made of hand-​rolled dough and is usually stuffed with other savory ingredients. It was outrageously good. The combination of the kaymak, cheese and the gozleme had a certain je né sais quoi that enticed me; I now know heaven exists lol. We also had two types of menemen, which is an egg mixture. One had eggs, onion, tomato and green peppers. It was very good and spicy, just as I like it! The other one had the same ingredients plus sucuk. Sucuk is a Turkish sausage, which according to legend, is supposed to be very good. The rest of the girls had this menemen, and absolutely loved it! They said the sucuk was delicious and gave the dish more flavor. It also came with sigara böreği, which consists of philo-​dough stuffed with cheese rolled like a cigar. One word, amazing! There were many other borek varieties that were absolutely delicious! The Turkish tea that came with it was also divine.
If you are in Istanbul, you really really have to pay Kale Café a visit. It is extraordinary, I can’t emphasize that enough! I’ve declared my breakfast here as the most delicious breakfast in my life so far. I mean the combination of cheese, gozleme, kaymak and honey was simply spectacular.