Mitara Cafe & Art

Amazing restaurant where the owner will cook you delicious meals while you hang out with her cats and dog. The food is Turkish but far more interesting than what every other restaurant offers. Also great vegetarian options.

Amazing food especially for vegetarian/ vegans. Think Turkish flavor with an innovative twist. Tasty, stunning, and who doesn’t love seeing all the pets around? 5 stars, would 100% recommend!

One of our best experiences in Istanbul. Mitara prepares the delicious food and also serves you in her home surrounded by her pets. If you don’t like cats, stay away. But if you love them, check it out. It’s like a cat cafe serving delicious home cooked meals.

Highly recommended! It’s our best home-cooked dinner in Turkey. Usually, we’re not a big fan of vegetarian food but we tried the Imambayildi (the stuffed aubergine) which the owner/chef recommended and it was surprisingly amazing! The slow-cooked beef was sooo tasty as well. Moreover, we love the vibe a lot! The cafe is very cozy. The earthy tone decorations give the rustic and homey feel. The owner’s cats and dogs even make it more inviting. They were very friendly, it was very nice spending time with them.

Nazan is an absolute star. Fabulous place, away from the other touristy places. My son and I felt so at home. We loved the company of her cats and dogs too bonus! Thank you for the heartwarming welcome.

The owner was super kind and has so many cats! It felt like walking into her home! The food was sooooo delicious! Get the mazze plate, honestly anything will be good! The dish’s are limited so go earlier in the day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to Mitara. The food was excellent and the vibe was calm and relaxed. Apparently it had been busy during the day and so not all of the dishes were available. At the time we ate there was just one other couple there. After dinner we spent a lovely time chatting with the owner while the cats sat on our laps. The home- cooked vegan and vegetarian food was excellent, and we left full, happy, and relaxed. A lovely respite from the ever busy streets of Istanbul. We'll be back!

What a deligtful dining experience for this cat lover! The restaurant is not a cat cafe, the restaurnt owner Nazan who is a lovely and friendly host (and an artist herself) told me she has seven cats and two giant dogs living there and they co-exist peacefully with her customers. The cats also love to interact with the customers who are no doubt cat lovers if they eat there. This one calico cat was so funny too. Whenever my husband stroked his tail end area, he would bop his head around like a wind up doll, so hilarious and cute. His name is Eugene! Certainly doesn't look like a Eugene :) I was in cat lovers' heaven, that's for sure! But I must emphasize the food there is excellent too. Nazan served really good local Turkish home cook dishes. She offers a good vegetarian menu too. We had beet salad, humus with bread and my husband and I shared a lamb and a slow cooked beef dish. They were all delicious! I highly recommend anyone planning to visit Istanbul and not just cat lovers to dine Mitara Cafe & Art in the old city at least once. But I ate there three times during our trip there! Nazan the cafe owner is a very talented artist too. She made all the furnishings in her restaurant, which occupied the ground floor & 2nd floor of her home in a 4-storied town house. She even made that cool looking giant door at the entrance! Anyway, I went back to the old city on our second last day of the trip to enjoy her home cooked dishes one more time before we left Istanbul and to say hi to some of her lovely cats again. I had Lentil soup and this Turkish stuffed grape leaves (dolma), both were very delicious! This is a must go to eat place when in Istanbul!