Sinanation

Last updated on 11 Jan 2011

Like many other urban cities, Istanbul is dressed up with numerous popular night spots. One thing that separates the city from its other rivals is its seasonal restaurant-to-nightclub culture. Similar to European cities, Istanbul welcomes the idea of having popular high-class restaurants turn into nightclubs after dinner. The summers are spent in open air right next to the Bosphorus. The colder weather pushes the night scene indoors to hilltops overlooking the city. Dress code is business casual with dark sneakers or dress shoes for guys and elegant cocktail dresses/outfits with combed hair and make-up for girls. Entrance is guaranteed with dinner reservation and will be much easier with local friends if it is after hours. Table service is not recommended unless you are a large group. Do not forget that sea travel (with water taxi) is a much better travel option during spring and summer for the seaside clubs. You will avoid hours of traffic and crowded roadside entrances.

Here are a few of the most popular Istanbul nightclubs:

Anjelique
Set in a multi-floored villa right next to the Bosphrus in Ortaköy, Anjelique is known for its deep house music. Starting in 2009, its management, the Doors Group, opened up the lower floor to oldies and pop music lovers. Also known as a popular dinner spot, Anjelique is one of the most frequented nightclubs in the city during summer.

Reina

What makes Reina so special is how it is managed as a full-service entertainment wonder. It is one of the largest open-air nightclubs built seaside below the European leg of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. It houses multiple restaurants during summer from Turkish to Chinese cuisine, overlooking the dance floor in the center. Köşebaşı, Park Şamdan and Dragon are all recommended for dinner. Reina changes completely during winter. Multiple restaurants disappear. Everything packs up inside with only one restaurant, Reina, serving food. The nightclub heats up after dinner around midnight with mainly Turkish and foreign pop songs blasting through the large speakers surrounding the middle dance floor.

Ulus 29
Also known as one of the best Turkish restaurants in Istanbul, Ulus 29 overlooks the city from one of the highest hilltops. The restaurant and the club are separated by a short corridor. 29′s owners usually rent out a place right next to the Bosphorus for the 4-month summer season, which is equally enjoyable as the winter location. The music is a mix of oldies remixed and Turkish and foreign pop songs.

Bird
This tiny French/American bistro in Beyoğlu hit the tabloids towards the 2nd half of 2010. Not primarily for its delicious food, but its disco-style dinner setting and funky/socialite crowd. I can’t push you to go taste the food here when you have a few days in Istanbul because it is nothing extraordinary, but I can tell you that this is the place to be (especially from Thursday until Saturday) if you are looking to have dinner and let loose while doing it. Since Bird’s popularity tripled over the past few months, it is somewhat of a nightmare to get dinner reservations (which are mandatory). You need the mobile number of the owner and have to somewhat know her to get one of the few tables tucked inside her exposed-brick, simple but elegant bistro.

W Hotel

Opened in 2009, this international hotel quickly became a popular winter night spot for its Tuesday night parties. Right above the ground floor lobby, house music lovers gather to enjoy drinks in an extremely crowded scene with lots of familiar faces.

Nu Pera – Nu Teras (Nu Terrace)

This restaurant/bar located on the roof of a historic building overlooking the ancient side of Istanbul in Tepebaşı has been one of my favorite places for the summer of 2010. The restaurant, although disturbingly hot for dinner because of air-conditionless outside seating, serves delicious food from mini burgers to lamb chops. The bar becomes an amazingly fun and relax nightclub with great music (the best especially on the weekends). The dress code is expandable from linen pants, t-shirts to sport jackets and jeans. Girls are usually in fun easy-going cocktail dresses. You need to make a reservation for dinner, but should be fine for the bar after-hours if you have a lady to accompany you. Otherwise, entry with a few buddies and no girls could be tough without a table reservation.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 and is filed under EAT & DRINK, Istanbul. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.