Local before arrival
When Didem Şenol opened her restaurant in 2010, she was celebrated as one of the best chefs in Istanbul. In her tiny kitchen, she takes recipes once cooked by Turkish grandmothers and transforms them into gourmet dishes that have nothing to do with the fatty grilled meats that have made their way abroad as representatives of Turkish cuisine. Şenol is inspired by seasonal ingredients instead of regional cuisine—a trend that is slow to take hold in Istanbul.
