Serica Restaurant at The Bank Hotel Istanbul is incontrovertibly one of the world’s finest food cities but doesn’t always get the respect it merits. Thankfully neo-Turkish restaurants such as Serica are changing perceptions with thrilling influences from Anatolia, the Black Sea and beyond. From the menu, a Jenga-esque rectangle of crisp bread comes decked in marinated anchovies, bottarga and enough garlic-rich aioli to scare off Vlad Dracul himself. Cool lettuce is then buried under an avalanche of local ewe’s cheese, before lamb shoulder cooked in the tandoor with stuffed onion and apricot purée marks the perfect crescendo. Views over the mosques of Sultanahmet add to the sense of Turkish delight. thebankhotelistanbul.com
