Is cheese gözleme worth trying in Istanbul, and which Turkish flatbreads should I order?

In October 2026 participants suggested eating simit, the Turkish sesame bread ring, with thick clotted cream, soft butter or cream cheese. Hotels usually serve these spreads in portioned rolls or piled on a plate — look near the honeycomb or in the cheese section at breakfast.

In September 2026 a participant described how lahmacun is served in Istanbul: besides minced meat, the flatbread is topped with raw onion, a piece of pepper, aubergine and other extras, and is often rolled up into something like a shawarma wrap. So lahmacun here can be more filling and varied than the classic thin meat-topped version.

Cheese gözleme works even for people who are wary of cheese fillings. In late August 2026 a traveler said her son, who eats only one kind of cheese and rarely likes cheese pizza anywhere, ate whole cheese gözleme flatbreads in Istanbul and praised the filling. In her view, the cheese versions were among the tastiest.

To travelers unsure whether to order cheese gözleme, a participant replied in August 2026 that the cheese inside does not come across as plain cheese and the flatbread is very tasty — worth trying.

You cannot try everything on a short trip. A traveler who spent a day and a half in Istanbul in August 2026 skipped cheese gözleme but rated katmer as a good choice and called cold baklava the highlight of what she tried.