Some Istanbul places I: from an afternoon drink, an snack and dinner at Ortakoy

I have been lucky to spend many times in Istanbul. I first discovered the city in 1997 when I was there for 4 months working on a consulting engagement with Accenture (former Andersen Consulting). I was more of a tourist on the weekends but I really got to love the city
During the last 2,5 years we have had several clients in Istanbul and now we have a small office, so together with my turkish country manager I have got to discover both posh and local places
let me bring you some of them

For a little walk and a drink while enjoying one of the most beautiful and relaxing "water" view I always like my sunday walks at Ortakoy. Love to have a drink at one of the semi open terraces, you can always eat a potato with 1000 toppings in one of the little kiosk where the toppings are presented graciously in different figures. The view of the Golden Horn from here at sunset is just amazing. Just be aware that what it may seem as a little taxi ride may take up to an hour on a sunday afternoon. Why not walk from Besiktas to Ortakoy?

Finally if the potatoes are not your thing or you are still hungry and you don´t want to move out of the area, there is a very good oriental and green cuisine restaurant in Ortakoy, Banyan (which they also have a branch at has also a branch in Nicantasi)
http://www.banyanrestaurant.com/tr
The restaurant is on a second floor near the Radisson and facing an amazing view (check the picture on the website for an idea)
To start with the view of the Ortakoy Mosque is superb. On the background the Bosphorus Bridge, also called the First Bosphorus Bridge (one of the two bridges in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi) and thus connecting Europe and Asia, between Ortaköy (on the European side) and Beylerbeyi (on the Asian side)), which at night and since April 2007, a fully computerized LED lighting system of changing colours and patterns, developed by Philips, illuminates the bridge at night and makes it a superb show on its own
With such a view (which in the spring and summer is even better with their terrace), the food does really plays along well. A mix of Asian, thai, fushion well cook, presented and serve. The banyan plate is a good option if you dont want to think much for the starters and sample most of them a little bit and then all mains are good