Primi Ballat has a casual cafe ambience but a serious focus on food. Breakfast is Turkish (and very good), but other meals are emphatically Italian, featuring house-made pasta, eggplant parmigiana and salads (try the delectable caprese with tomato and burrata). Pasta choices include classics such as carbonara and pesto as well as filled varieties such as raviolini with artichoke. No alcohol.
Primi Ballat
Top choice in Istanbul
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.11 MILES
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
2.09 MILES
Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
0.65 MILES
İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic- and fresco-laden church. Nestled in the…
1.16 MILES
The Süleymaniye crowns one of İstanbul's seven hills and dominates the Golden Horn, providing a landmark for the entire city. Though it's not the largest…
2.05 MILES
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
2.16 MILES
İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing…
1.58 MILES
The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse)…
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1.26 MILES
There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…
Nearby Istanbul attractions
1. Patriarchal Church of St George
0.02 MILES
Dating from 1836, this church is part of the Greek Patriarchate compound. Inside the church are artefacts including Byzantine mosaics, religious relics…
2. Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
0.03 MILES
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is the symbolic headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church, and one of the most significant sites in the…
3. Phanar Greek Orthodox College
0.1 MILES
Rising Hogwarts-like from the urban jumble, this Fener landmark, known locally as kırmızı kale (the red castle) for its castellated red-brick facade,…
4. Church of St Mary of the Mongols
0.13 MILES
Consecrated in the 13th century and saved from conversion into a mosque by the personal decree of Mehmet the Conqueror, this is the only church in…
5. Church of St Stephen of the Bulgars
0.16 MILES
Known as the 'Iron Church', this distinctive Gothic Revival–style building on the Golden Horn has an extremely beautiful interior, with its gilded iron…
0.22 MILES
The sultan to whom this mosque was dedicated (Süleyman the Magnificent's father, Selim I, known as 'the Grim') is famous for having killed two of his…
0.27 MILES
Not long after the Conquest, Mehmet the Conqueror visited this 13th-century church to discuss theological questions with the Patriarch of the Orthodox…
0.34 MILES
This mosque started life as the 11th-century Church of St Theodosia. Legend has it that one day before the Conquest, worshippers filled the church with…