Zencefil

Went for lunch today and the first thing you notice when you step in is how nice and relaxed it is. The décor is really nice and the ambiance is warm and welcoming. The menu is divided by vegan and vegetarian and my boyfriend and I are both vegan so we ordered from that menu. There are a several options so that was good to see. I ordered the mellow and rice which was amazing. it was so tasty and I will definitely be returning for that dish again. My boyfriend ordered the smoked bulgar and the vegan kofte, both were good but for some reason they bought a side of yogurt with it… it seemed unlikely it was vegan yogurt because you only have to be a vegan in turkey about 5 minutes to know that’s practically impossible. So we asked and obviously it was not vegan. which puzzled us because we ordered exclusively from the vegan menu so it shouldn’t be a side to anything that we ordered. What struck us as a little stranger was that our waiter seemed to have no idea why we’d asked that and looked puzzled why we were sending it away. I don’t know if it’s a kitchen mistake or waiter mistake but if you are a serious vegan it might pay to double check things here if at all unsure as they do use dairy for their vegetarian menu and things can get mixed it seems. Overall the food we got was great and we will go back. Was disappointed that there was only one vegan desert option so we chose to skip it. The place is clean and cute so its definitely gonna stay as a vegan go to for me.

I really wish I had taken a picture to go along with this review! I am a meat eater who hasn’t eaten meat in a week and hoping to continue that trend. In a city full of vegatables and veggie dishes it is awesome to see places like Zencefil. Everything from the location, to the service, to the menu, to the food was on point. I got a smoked bulgur dish with roasted vegtables. It was a nice sized portion that was not only filling, but equally as satifisying. Accompanying my awesome meal was a lot of sunlight, greatly spaced tables, and a great selection of herb teas.
I can’t say enough about this place. Carnivores and Herbavores alike, don’t stay to far away from this place, you are going to want to try it!

Hm. First of all the location is beautiful! It is one of the places where you can spend hours. In– and outside. They have many homemade stuff. Lemonaids, oils. It’s a great approach. The location is pretty fancy so I didn’t expect too low prices. They were appropriate.
They have plenty of vegan and vegetarian choices. I was pretty excited.
We ordered a soup (7TL) and I have to say it was very good! Lots of vegetables in it and the homemade bread with a whiff of cinnamon was just awesome. I was nearly full after that.
After that I had spicy chickpeas. At least they were supposed to be spicy. Honestly they weren’t well seasoned but the eggplant dolma we also had were fine.
If you are looking for a fancy place to hang out and drink something and maybe eat something it is right for you. I appreciate every place with vegan and vegetarian food and if the chickpeas were better seasoned I would give the place 4 stars for sure.
I guess I have to check it out again :)

The fallafels were good but the other food I had was just simply not very flavorful

El lugar es precioso! Amplio para lo q son los restaurants en Istanbul, pero el menú tenes q leerlo desde una pizarra donde te cuesta identificar q es una entrada, un plato o un postre! Es así q pedimos y al llegar teníamos una entrada fría y un plato caliente… Una desilusión! Pero repuntaron al recomendarnos de postre el pumpkin cheesecake ! Probarlo! Es riquísimo.

Situé au calme dans une petite rue perpendiculaire à la très commerçante avenue Istiklal, Zencefil est une vraie oasis de sérénité.
L’endroit est sublime avec ses belles couleurs vives, ses surfaces en bois, son haut plafond et c’est dans une magnifique pièce vitrée ouverte sur le ciel que nous déjeunons. Malheureusement ce jour là la neige tombe dru mais nous nous sentons réchauffés par les hautes voûtes en briques et l’aspect chaleureux de l’endroit (qui doit être très agréable en été).
La carte, végétarienne et traduite en anglais, propose des plats variés et originaux qui font tous plus envie les uns que les autres. Après beaucoup d’hésitation j’opte pour une tarte à la courge râpée (grated pumpkin pie).
Avant que nos plats arrive, le serveur (qui est effectivement un peu rustre à notre égard) nous amèné une corbeille de pain (maïs et complet) chaud, de l’huile d’olive et une sorte de beurre aux aromates que nous nous empressons de déguster. L’ensemble est simple mais délicieux.
La tarte quant à elle arrive un peu seule dans son assiette, sans aucune garniture, mais est absolument délicieuse. Servie chaude, elle est moelleuse et parfaitement bien épicée, un vrai régal.
Après ce si bon départ, je né résiste pas à un petit dessert. Ici comme ailleurs dans de nombreux restaurants branchés d’Istanbul les desserts se limitent à des classiques américains (cheese cake, brownies etc.) L’exécution de mon cheesecake, légèrement parfumé aux agrumes, est parfaite et je né regrette pas mon choix.
Seul petit bémol de ce repas chez Zencefil: l’accueil. Très froid et distant le serveur né nous a pratiquement pas adressé la parole et nous a pas proposé d’eau pendant le repas. Du coup nous avons fait sans. Pourtant ce même serveur était adorable avec les autres clients, pour lesquels la langue n’était surement pas une barrière.
Malgré tout je conseille vraiment le lieu qui n’est pas pris d’assaut par les touristes et propose en plus d’une cuisine saine et végétarienne un cadre unique !

Trouvé grâce à un avis d’Alison P., nous nous rendons dans ce restaurant végétarien du centre ville pour le déjeuner.
Nous arrivons alors qu’une tempête de neige s’abat sur la ville, et nous découvrons, une cour intérieure couverte et chauffée pour notre plus grand bonheur. Le service est rustre, comme l’indique Alison dans son avis, mais il semble que cela né soit le cas qu’avec les touristes, sentiment que nous aurons tout au long de notre séjour à Istanbul.
Pourtant, la carte est traduite donc les touristes doivent s’y rendre régulièrement, et l’établissement semble bien noté sur tous les guides. Bref, après de longues hésitations, peu habitué aux restaurants végétariens, je me laisse tenter par une part de tarte, ou tourte, à la courgettes. Le plat est servi rapidement et bien présenté, mais manqué cruellement d’un accompagnement, sans doute parce que nous né l’avons pas demandé. Rien à redire sur le plat, c’est savoureux et nous remplira le ventre pour affronter la neige l’après midi.
En dessert, une part de tarte (encore, oui !) aux pommes, avec de la cannelle et une boule de la glacé au chocolat, parfait pour terminer ce repas.
Je recommande ainsi le Zencefil, pour son cadre charmant, entre vieux bistrot et restaurant new age.

J’ai adoré ce restaurant non loin de la place Taksim qui propose de nombreux plats végétariens originaux.
On né s’en doute pas du tout une fois la porte poussée, mais le restaurant possède une cour intérieure absolument superbe, remplie de verdure et très calme, un vrai coin de paradis.
Le service peut paraître un peu rustre avec les touristes, mais il n’en sera pas moins efficace.
J’ai adoré les petits apéritifs à tartiner qu’on nous a apporté avant de passer commande, je né pourrai pas vous dire exactement ce que c’était mais par contre c’était vraiment délicieux.
Mon plat de pâte aux légumes et mon Ayran était tout aussi parfait. Vraiment, je n’ai pas été déçue.
Et pour finir, ça nous a même pas coûté un bras. Je recommande vraiment !

Finding a vegetarian spot in Istanbul isn’t the easiest thing. But this was a very nice find, at least for the food. The dishes are creative and fulfilling. Even a friend who rolled his eyes at eating at a vegetarian place really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the service is a bit lacking, but still acceptable.

Considering that vegetarian restaurants are hard to come by in Istanbul, Zencefil is a diamond in the rough for people with specifically no-​meat diets. That said, though, there are plenty of Turkish dishes that don’t have meat, so going to a special vegetarian place is a little unnecessary in my opinion, unless you don’t want to be anywhere near meat at all. They do serve 1 or 2 meat dishes here too though for any meat lover in the crowd.
The food we had was absolutely delicious and well-​presented, no question. The reason it loses a star from me because the dishes are more like fusion than Turkish. I guess when I brought relatives there I was expecting something a bit more authentic. I don’t really care though, a change of pace is always welcome when Turkish food can get a bit samey after a while. So just beware that they aren’t serving traditional Turkish foods here, and the pricetag is one indication of that.
I did really love the atmosphere though. It was calm but with very positive energy and super inviting and modern. I would go back if I’m with vegetarians who have already tried lots of Turkish food and don’t really care if it’s authentic or not, as long as it’s delicious. Which is most people :)

Are you looking for a Vegan restaurant in Istanbul? That’s your place !! Really cute and isolated café behind the French counsil in Taksim Square. My favorite of all time is their mixed salad and the really tasty quiche! You will enjoy having quality time in Zencefil café :)

Found this gem of a place on Happy Cow after spending a few days in Istanbul. Turkey is a pretty meat heavy culture, but you can seek out some good veggies places. This is one of them. It is a little hole in the wall place, but they serve up a traditional flavorful dish a bit like seitan basically. You can get it in a wrap and if you are staying somewhere can take a box home for fairly cheap.
Also be sure to check out nearby Parsifal. This is a simple sit down affordable place that is 100 percent vegetarian and has many vegan options. The menu labels what is vegetarian and what is vegan making ordering easy.

Es ist schwierig in Istanbul das vegetarische Herz zu beglücken…
Das Zencefil unternimmt einen guten Versuch. Die Location ist absolut stimmig. Höhe Räumlichkeit im Innenbereich in Verbindung mit den restaurierten Originalstücken sind wundervoll gelungen. Der kleine Innenhof lädt zum Verweilen ein und schafft eine Ruheoase im Großstadtdschungel um Istiklal.
Das Essen ist nicht außergewöhnlich … aber solide. Der Service gut, freundlich und schnell. Wir haben unseren Aufenthalt dort sehr genossen.

Wir waren 2 x zum Mittagessen im Zencefil.
Die Tages– /​Wochenkarte biedet ein vielfalt an Getränke & Speisen die relativ schnell nach bestellen serviert werden (wird nur nochmal warm gemacht).
Alle Speisen haben sehr gut geschmeckt und die Bedienung hat uns immer gut versucht zu erklären was genau die Gerichte ausmacht.
Die Preise sind allerdings ziemlich hoch (z.B. 1 türkischer Kaffee = 7 TL) im vergleich mit den anderen Lokalen wo wir (vegetarisch) gespeist haben.

Ich kann die schlechten Bewertungen meiner Vorgänger absolut nicht verstehen. Das Essen war hervorragend, richtig gut gewürzt und keineswegs langweilig. Viel Auswahl, kreatve, gesunde Gerichte für einen geringen Preis. Die Atmosphäre war auch sehr gemütlich und der Kellner nett. Einzig und allein der Nachtisch (versch. selbstgemachtes Eis, was aber alles gleich geschmeckt hat) war nicht so toll. Aber wohl eher eine Ausnahme, der Rest war super und bei den vielen Gäste (vor allem Einheimische) im Restaurant muss man davon ausgehen, dass es berechtigterweise beliebt ist.

Haaaa Zencefil! Super comfortable and stylish with its courtyard surrounded by glass. Has a very bright platform and the vegetarian menu is quite varied. Surprisingly, the prices are low. Try gingery lemonade and lasagne.

The food was fine, but nothing special, but the service was lacking. We sat right next to the outdoor patio on a fairly cold evening, and the servers kept letting the door slam, even when their hands were empty, which was noisy and cold. The server was also downright rude when we explained that our credit card didn’t have a pin/​password (and therefore couldn’t be processed by their machine). If this were the only vegetarian restaurant in town, it might be worth putting up with the bad service, but with so many other fantastic food options in Istanbul, I’d skip it.

Zencefil which means «ginger» in English is located Istiklal street area and it is one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Istanbul. I have been going to Zencefil for years but last time I was there was about 4 – 5 years ago. The restaurants has been keeping its style, quality for many years. Even the menu looks like the same except for a few new dishes depending on the season.
There are several kinds of vegetable quiches such as eggplant, spinach, etc. The nice think is that before the meal they serve butter mixed with herbs accompanied with bread. There were two kinds of bread; with corn flour and whole wheat. However, the bread could be better, I didn’t like the whole wheat bread. I can make batter breads and I am wondering why they do not make their own bread adding different kinds of herbs and vegetables.
Although it is a vegetarian restaurant, there one or two chicken dishes on the menu. Since there wasn’t so much change on the menu for years, I have already tried most dishes which were OK. I mean the tastes are nice, not heavenly but you know that all of them are healthy. This time I had warm served Aegean stew made of artichokes, faba beans and black-​eyed beans. It was so light and tasty, I really like it. I had homemade ginger ale for a drink but frankly saying I didn’t like it maybe because I am used to Canadian dry or other brands. But I recommend its lemonade with ginger. I hope they add more experimental vegetable recipes on the menu next time. At the end of the meal they always serve coriander and some dry herb to refreshen the breath which I really like.
Lastly, the ambiance is nice, bright, colorful and the place is mostly full of young people and tourists during lunch hours. The service is not bad but I wish they smile more…

We loved this little spot. It’s beautiful and so colorful inside and the vast menu of vegetarian dishes was exactly what we needed after flying in from Africa. We will definitely be back during our stay!

After 2 weeks of Istanbul street food, step a few blocks off Istiklal, sit down in this very pleasant courtyard, and order the mixed salad of beets, arugula, cucumber, chickpeas, bulgar and parsley with olive oil. It felt like living twenty years in that sanitarium John Kellogg founded. With the breathing exercises and the calisthenics and the cereal and such. Of course, I ordered a glass of wine, but you can pretend that it’s the milk of a jersey cow if you close your eyes and have a very, very good imagination.

Liebloses würzfreies Essen. Service hat kein Wort gesprochen. Auch Vegetarier können gutes Essen machen. Trotz Anpreisung in manchen Reiseführern: großen Bogen herum machen.

Ende 90er ein vegetarisches Hit mit ihrem vegetarischen Lasagne leider in Jahren ist der Geschmack der Gerichte anders geworden. Trotzdem für alte Zeiten, ein Besuch wert.