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• Tasty Indian style food

This is the cafe of a Yoga centre in Besiktas on the European side of Istanbul (not far from Taksim). They've just recently opened the cafe part, so they're still working on the menu. You can get pure-vegetarian style dishes such as samosa, veggie burger, seitan plate, curried spaghetti, dhal and a thali plate. They also make their own soya drink which can be bought for takeaway. I tried most of the dishes, and everything was quite good. However the portion size of some dishes such as the seitan or veggie burger may be a little small if you're hungry. The thali plate is probably the best option here, since it has a combination of savoury rice, dhal, poppadoms and different cooked spiced veg. It's unusual to have this type of food in Istanbul, so it's a nice change from some of the other veg. places which often stick to local or generic dishes. The interior is small but very nice and relaxing, and the owner is very friendly and speaks fluent English. (To get to Besiktas from Taksim, you can get a dolmus a minute or 2 walk down Inonu Cd. past the Marmara hotel, or bus/walk it to Besiktas center from Kabatas tram stop. From the Asian side, you can get a ferry directly from Uskudar or Kadikoy.)