Where do locals actually go for aperitivo in Istanbul?
Istanbul doesn't have an aperitivo culture in the Italian sense, and locals wouldn't use that word or frame an evening around it. What exists instead is the meyhane tradition: you sit down around 7 or 8 p.m., order a bottle of rakı or a carafe of house wine, and the evening unfolds through rounds of cold and hot meze with no particular rush toward a main course. Nevizade Sokak in Beyoğlu is the well-known cluster of meyhanes and draws a genuine local crowd despite its reputation; Asmalımescit, a few streets over, tends toward a slightly quieter, older Beyoğlu regulars demographic. In Kadıköy on the Asian side, the streets around the market pull a younger crowd doing roughly the same thing at lower prices. A glass of rakı with a small plate of white cheese and melon before dinner is the closest functional equivalent to aperitivo you'll find, and it happens inside the meal, not before it.
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