CMR Cig Kofte

[edit by staff, see tos]... did not make a good impression.
The guy tried to sell me the more expensive "portion" when I repeatedly asked him for the inexpensive "durum" (sandwich/wrap).
He finally made me a wrap, but then asked me to pay double the price that appears very clearly on the menu (6 instead of 3 TL - it's very cheap anyway, but still unfair).

Pretty much WYSIWYG here, and that's a good thing. Don't go with expectations of a high-end dining experience.

CMR is just a few minutes' walk from Istiklal street. I checked but didn't see a building number. As another reviewer said just look for the green sign - you can't miss it.

The "dürüm"- a standard serving - is a wrap with the main ingredient, pomegranate concentrate/syrup, lettuce, cilantro, and a bit of spicy sauce if you like (I definitely like). Actually, it's delicious & pretty much nails "umami." There's nothing else I've had like this so there's no way to make a comparison. It's healthy, light, simple, and at 3TL really you can't beat it if you're on the go.

It's another Cig Kofte place, there's a lot of them around but this one seems pretty hygienic, the cig kofte tastes good/healthy and it's in a good location close to Taksim (albeit down a small hill in the Cukurcuma area - look for the green sign). Price is inexpensive - just 3TL for the wrap (durum). They don't serve any non-vegetarian food.

If you get the wrap you might want to consider having it without the hot sauce (they will ask you... 'ajuh' is hot, 'beeraz ajuh' - some hot sauce, 'ajuh-suhz' - without the hot stuff) since the cig-kofte mixture already has hot chilli spices in it. It comes wrapped with lettuce and also optional pomegranate syrup (slightly sweet/sour).