Orient Express Cafe

Located next to track no. 1 of Sirkeci station, the Orient Express Cafe -- a real find -- is proof that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for white tablecloths, good food, and nostalgia. The elegant niches with their large stained-glass window insets and the handsome clapboard ceiling take you back at least a century, although the decorator would have done well to scrap the enormous Shining Time Station oil painting on the wall. The limited but satisfying menu relies heavily on lamb, with a tender lamb shoulder as the chef's pride. If you're craving eggplant, order the begendili kebap, cubes of flavorful beef atop a bed of eggplant purée (or was that ambrosia?). The crème caramel was a formidable substitute to an empty coffer of rice pudding, and the black-tie service was flawless.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.