On a recent visit to Istanbul Turkey with my colleagues we had lots of business travel and finally had a night off before our departure when we decided to go to Develi for some delicious appetizers, kabobs and baklava. Develi is in the fancy Nisantasi section of Istanbul surrounded by luxury international and local brand stores and hotels

We happened to go on a night that Turkey had won a soccer match, so the restaurant was filled with guests celebrating their victory.

Develi was established in 1912 so it has a long tradition of serving an assortment of mouth watering kabobs from beef, lamb and chicken made on the grill. When we first were seated, we were greeted by the most delicious house made bread. Then we were showed an assortment of appetizers or mezza to select. We picked the yogurt with herbs, stuffed eggplant, french fries, an eggplant and tomatoes dish and chopped cucumber, tomato and onion salad with a lemon vinaigrette. I had the boneless chicken kabob since I don’t eat red meat while my colleagues had an assortment of beef kabobs.

Once we where done with the mezza and kabobs, we ordered a selection of baklava and Turkish tea or chai that comes in the small glass cups. The pistachio baklava was flaky and light with the right amount of pistachios and sweetness.

Our dinner at Develi was a great end to a fantastic trip to Istanbul!