Tasting Notes
Çiya Sofrası is on Güneşlibahçe Sokak, in the pedestrian market streets a few minutes' walk from the Kadıköy ferry pier. Musa Dağdeviren opened the first Çiya here in 1987 as a kebab and lahmacun shop; Çiya Sofrası followed in 1998, given over to regional dishes that had fallen out of everyday cooking. Today the business runs three shops on the same street, about twenty metres apart.
A counter that changes daily
There is no fixed menu: the dishes on the counter change every day, and the day's list is printed in English as well as Turkish. Meat dishes typically include lamb and aubergine casserole, dims-e mirisk (chicken cooked with grape and pomegranate molasses), kadınbudu köfte, mumbar (casing stuffed with rice and meat), dried vegetables stuffed with rice and meat, and okra with lamb. The meat-free side has black-eyed peas, bulgur patties, courgette fritters, fried beans and falafel. Red lentil soup and perde pilaf, rice baked in a thin pastry shell, are on most days.
Kebabs next door
Kebabs and lahmacun are not part of the Sofrası counter; they come from Çiya Kebap, the original shop a few doors along. The prices on this page are only for dishes that appeared at the same price on three separate daily menus, so ask what is on the counter when you arrive.
“Go at lunchtime, pick two or three dishes from the counter that you have not seen elsewhere, add perde pilaf, and walk to Çiya Kebap next door if you also want lahmacun.”
LR Kitchen — field note