Welcome! Let's get this started.
or
Finish logging in.
Vegan
International
Middle Eastern
Turkish
Fully vegan Middle Eastern restaurant serving a range of traditional cuisine such as stuffed grape leaves, Turkish rice, seitan doner wrap, dumplings and more. Walk-ins accepted on Saturdays. WhatsApp 00905385032736. Relocated from Tomtom mh kumbaracı Yokuşu No 18. Open Fri-Sat 12:00pm-10:00pm, Sun 12:00pm-9:00pm. Closed Mon-Thu.
298 Reviews
First Review by Sacha
RobinBarnes
Points +64
Never knew vegetarian food could taste so much like real meat! - Edit
SO GOOD!!! We are Americans who recently moved to İstanbul for work and have found it a bit challenging to find enjoyable vegetarian let alone vegan food that we would enjoy eating on a regular basis. We were delighted when we read the many positive reviews on Google for Community Kitchen and so already had our hopes up when we visited for the first time this evening. But WOW, we were still blown away by how delicious our meals were! We had vegan meatballs and vegan doner which were served with rice, roasted potatoes, and salad. Everything was seasoned to perfection and sooooo delicious! We enjoyed sitting outside on the narrow sidewalk and watching the quite bustle of life in the neighborhood as people and cats went about their evening routines. Service was warm and welcoming and our host spoke excellent English. We also enjoyed the walk down and up this steep street where many boutiques and cafes also call home. We'll be back soon and recommend you do the same!
Read morePros: Great for non meat-eating meat lovers, Charming location, Affordable
Cons: Cats allowed inside restaurant, Located on a steep street. Difficult for some., Not a large menu. Only 3-4 things each day.
Guest
SandeeTeeroovengadum
Points +22
Awesome and welcoming - Edit
Awesome homemade food that surpasses the quality of so many restaurants. Generously served you will feel like you can't take a bit but will still keep eating😄yes it's that good! Oh and don't forget to try the desert
Read morePros: Awesome food, Generous quantity, Warm hospitality
Cons: Not an extensive menu but because it's fresh
Guest
kelseyjaynex
Points +5225
Amazing food! - Edit
Situated on a cool side street of Karaköy (vintage stores, tattoo shops, etc), this place was well worth a visit. We ended up there twice in a few days, despite it being ages away from where we staying.
Read moreThe food was so flavourful and well presented. The menu is small (only 2 or 3 items), but changes often, according to what has been made fresh. The friendly lady owner makes the seitan herself and it’s soooo good. She also looks after a bunch of stray cats which hang around the restaurant and go in the kitchen, we weren’t bothered by this though.
On our first visit I had the “meatball” plate, with potatoes, salad and tahini. The lady also graciously added in a bunch of extras that weren’t listed - a sort of butter bean/ seitan stew and some stuffed eggplants. She also brought us out a side of bechamel sauce as she was making lasagne that day. The plate was a huge portion and such a nice variety of food - everything delicious. One of the best meals I’ve had in a while! My bf had the doner kebab plate which was also great.
We ended up back here a second time as it was Eid Al-Adha holiday and a couple of other places we tried were closed. The lady owner wasn’t there this time, and though the food was still awesome, along with the different staff the portions were a bit smaller and didn’t completely fill us up like first time. Only other minor thing would be that the mezze plate didn’t come with bread. So there was a bunch of yummy dips on the plate but nothing to mop it up with.
Other than those couple of tiny things, loooooved this place and would definitely return again.
Pros: delicious home-cooked food, kind & generous owner, cool spot in a cool neighbourhood
Cons: portion sizes varied
Guest
SashaPch
Points +33
Charming, family run shop - Edit
We stopped by for lunch and enjoyed the most delicious vegan food we’ve had in Istanbul. The ginger lemonade was squeezed fresh, potatoes and rice cooked to perfection, and the saytan doner kebab juicy and well-seasoned.
Read morePros: Vegan-only menu, Donations support care/spaying of stray cats, Family-run
Guest
sheeshee1010
Points +72
Food excellent, cats excessive - Edit
We were nervous to eat here because of the overload of cats. The hygiene was in question because there are cats everywhere, even in the kitchen and the chef touches cats and food. However, the owner is lovely and the food really is so delicious. And we didn't get sick from it lol.
Read moreGuest
vikram0228
Points +47
Do NOT go here. Health hazard - Edit
I'm a 52 year life long vegan who has traveled to over 25 countries. This place is a disgrace to this list. It's unhygienic. Plywood on the ceiling, cats in cages in the kitchen. There was no food when we went except dolmas. I do not understand how they have a single good review
Read morePros: None
Cons: Many
Guest
Agill369
Points +68
Amazing!! - Edit
The food here is wonderful. Fully vegan. Try the Döner and desserts.
Read morePros: Full vegan , Vegan desserts
Guest
raquelwychoski
Points +175
Home made turkish cooking - Edit
The meals we had were very tasty and flavorful. Very tradicional turkish cuisine. The owner was super nice to us. The only thing I have to mention is that we got sick after the meal.. maybe it was just too different for us, can’t say for sure. The baklava was delicious!
Read morePros: Vegan food
Cons: Not that clean
Guest
CuteMonkey
Points +414
Vegan in Istanbul?? Must visit! - Edit
Vegan doner kebab and more. Food was delicious. Great vegan owner. Very friendly.
Read morePros: Great vegan food., Rare find in Istanbul., Great experience
Cons: A jig out of the way, but worth the walk.
Guest
Anastasia96
Points +50
Dinner - Edit
Restaurant owned by a friendly cat-lady. We had the meatball and aubergine menu and it was really delicious. So glad we came to this cosy place! Baklava was nice as well. Not expensive at all.
Read moreGuest
AnnaJuanInti
Points +17
Delicious, we totally loved it! - Edit
Initially we overlooked this Vegan Community Kitchen as we didn’t find the initial appearance so attractive, but luckily we went back and gave it a try.
Read moreWe found three daily options which are a very generous plate, handmade juices (hibiscus, lemonade...), yummy spinach borek, hazelnut cakes, hazelnut or walnut baklava made with concentrate apple juice instead of sugar. It’s all homemade daily!
We had the privilege to have a breakfast banquet twice.
The lady owner is great and does everything with simplicity and authenticity! She also makes seitan that you can buy in bulk.
We couldn’t recommend it more!!
Pros: Excellent food and drinks, Authentic Turkish, We felt at home
Cons: Small place, Lots of cats around
Guest
Henry_Flower
Points +261
Great little place - Edit
This is a very handy little cafe in a fun area of the city. The menu is limited (there were four or five main options when I was there), but the vegan doner I had was tasty.
Read moreThis may be new since earlier reviews, but they have blackboards with the dishes (and ingredients and prices) clearly set out.
The resident cats are also a bonus!
Guest
inti777
Points +25
Buen lugar - Edit
La comida estaba muy rica. Buen lugar para probar platos tipicos turcos que habitualmente solo llevan carne
Read morePros: Nice place
Cons: Pocas opciones en el menu. Solo 3.
Guest
LolaSutton
Points +31
Fantastic! - Edit
Delicious food, friendly owner and friendly cats. Even my non vegan father was impressed!
Read morePros: Delicious food, cats, good service
Cons: A little on the pricier side but worth it
Guest
prasoonarora
Points +13
Lovely Homestyle Vegan Turkish Food - Edit
Beautiful small Cafe tucked away at a short walk from the crazy touristy frenzy. Lovely homemade humble but tasty vegan/vegetarian food. The owner is a super sweet lady and her young boy is also really sweet. Must try :)
Read morePros: Homestyle food, Not very expensive , Vegan yet tasty.
Cons: Limited options. 2 or 3 meal choices.
Guest
ChloéVegFire
Points +289
Feels like home - Edit
Everything is homemade. The lady owner is really sweet and welcoming. The cats are too. We spent a lovely dinner there.
Read morePros: Vegan homemade , Cats
Guest
maynard7
Points +5634
Good food - Edit
I have only gone here once, at dinner time. Based on the meal I had I would give them three cows for good basic food, and an extra cow for being vegan.
Read morePros: Vegan
Guest
AnaGabriela
Points +619
Delicious food and lovely people - Edit
The food they had yesterday was a vegan kebap with seitan and it was really delicious!! The cats are, of course, adorable and the staff is very nice. It's a small place, with a small terrace, but it's worth waiting for a place because, as I said, the food is really good. The muffin we had was also very, very tasty!
Read moreGuest
PiniZiser
Points +158
Very tasty food - Edit
The owner, a warm lady, makes great home made saitan. The result is a very tasty doner shawarma.
Read moreLovely cats luve there and add to the atmosphere.
Pros: Very tasty and not expensive
Cons: No wifi, Not many options
Guest
DaveL
Points +18
Join the community! - Edit
Tasty meals incorporating homemade seitan infused with herbs. Delicious. We felt welcomed by the host, the cats, and the other guests, and we enjoyed getting to know them all. Recommended.
Read moreGuest
StefanosIoannou
Points +22
Like Home - Edit
The food was so real and authentic, delicious and in the same time homy. The owner is fabulous so so so so polite.
Read morePros: Delicious vegan meals
Guest
leishmania33
Points +46
Delighted with this little find - Edit
Tasty Seitan kebab and burgers, also had a chocolate pudding type cake and coffee, very good Turkish coffee. Hosts were friendly and helpful, lots of lovely cats around.
Read morePros: Delicious food, Great coffee , 🐈 Lots of cats
Cons: Waiting time for food
Guest
satorin
Points +68
Delicious on Food, Disappointment in Hygiene - Edit
This restaurant serves the most delicious seitan ever and i’d like to continue supporting it but my last visit tells me that there have to be changes soon. There was always the problem of hygiene before but after i’ve heard that they move to a new place i thought maybe things’d have changed. But they’ve not unfortunately. First of all this is a restaurant not a sanctuary for cats (I understand the need of helping stray cats totaly by my heart). I am also a “cats” owner and so i am not a person who involves in hygiene deeply but eating near a catlitter box with lots of unpleasant smells, sitting on a bunch of cat’s hair and seeing the cats are walking everywhere in and out made be realize that it’s not normal at all. And also it’s more spacious than the last location but it’s still full of things and makes the space unusuable for customers.
Read moreA little extra cleaning and organizing is urgent for this place because the owner deserves much more appreciation for her contribution on veganism in Turkey and such delicious foods.
Pros: Delicious seitan, Sympathic owner
Cons: No menu, no price tags, Ridiculously high prices for beverages, The most importantly HYGIENE!!!
Guest
Bodysynchron
Points +419
Difficult experience - Edit
We were really happy that there was a vegan restaurant near our hotel. But as we arrived we weren't that happy anymore: cats were strolling everywhere through the location and everything seemed a little dirty. After we saw that the cook tasted the food with the same spoon he was stirring we felt a little ill. We still ordered some seitan and a burger but we didn't really like the taste of that. The only good thing was the vegan baklava.
Read moreGuest
ParsiKade
Points +96
Not recommended - Edit
I didn’t have a good experience here. They do not have a menu and the choices are limited to wrap and kebab with faux meat.
Read moreI went there in the lunch time, though it seemed like they are not prepared for customers. There were no price tags and I found the meal overpriced compared to what you pay in the touristy parts of the city.
I ordered the wrap which was too salty and I honestly didn’t enjoy it.
The toilet was dirty. At last, there is no WiFi here.
Cons: Dirty, Unhealthy food (too salty), Unprepared
Guest
Theresalie
Points +68
An Experience beyond European style for sure - Edit
Small restaurant, with a charming unperfect atmosphere. Definitely not for allergy sufferers as cats are all around and might even humble on your desk (not intended by owner, but this is how cats are).
Read moreNo written menu available for our visit, we could choose between two main dishes and chose the mixed platter (the other would have been vegan Durum).
This turned out to be a good choice. We especially liked the seitan, which the owner is preparing entirely on her own, as she explained.
(With the cats and some enterior features most probably not up to Western European standards neither for hygiene nor for technical issues. But this is part of the atmosphere and we didn't feel it was tidy.)
Pros: Offer of a mixed platter with various small things, Entirely vegan with self-made seitan, Unique atmosphere
Cons: No written menu -> no info on dishes or on prices, Might be considered unhygienic and tidy by others
Guest
chiaki8198
Points +30
Cozy place, lovely owner - Edit
As the name suggests, this place is a community for animal lovers where they can enjoy the food and help stray animals at the same time.
Read moreI would recommend you to chat with the owner/chef Oya about what to order. She speaks Italian and English.
There is a small black board where you can check the main dishes and the prices but there is always more to eat depending on the season. Main dishes are Iskender Kebab, Doner Kebab, Burger which are made of seitan or beans and some special sauces with spices. Therefore on Fridays there is a open buffet where you can find various dishes such as lasagna, meatballs and rice filled vegetables.
There are also some vegan workshops and other activities being held either in the shop or nearby places and usually the profits are used for medical care of the stray cats and dogs in the area. You can always see some cats in the shop, they are usually recovering and looking for a home to stay. You can also buy handmade souvenirs from there, again the profits go to the medical care of the animals.
You need to go downhill from Istiklal Street to reach the shop and it can be a bother to turn back from the same road when leaving the place. Instead, keep walking down then turn right at the end of the road. You can see old and beautiful architecture in the area and reach Galata Tower in the end.
Pros: Excellent food, Friendly Staff, Vegan Activities & Workshops
Cons: Lack of ventitation, Not suitable for allergics to cats, Sometimes does not have many options to eat
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business
See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 0 times.