Affordable prices, friendly and cozy atmosphere, and decent food. That is how I would describe Son Gemi (Turkish for “The Last Ship”) in a sentence. It is a bar-restaurant in the center of Kadıköy, close to the port. Put in this way, it sounds like nothing special. However, there is something about Son Gemi that makes it one of my favorite choices in Kadıköy’s center. In this Asian-side district of Istanbul, cute places are usually remarkably more expensive, while this restaurant manages to keep a healthy balance between a good atmosphere and reasonable prices.
My colleagues brought me here for the first work dinner and I really appreciated their choice. Finally, I thought when we sat down, a simple but nice, not too expensive, original place to have some rakı. We shared a mixed plate of mezes and then I had a köfte (grilled meatballs) plate. The mezes were good, while köfte was unremarkable.
Son Gemi is one of the last restaurants on Güneşlibahçe Sokağı, the street of Kadıköy that starts as a fish and vegetable market and then becomes a “restaurant” street. I call it that because on this street there is one restaurant after the other, all of which offer very similar menus with very similar prices, and all of which are inevitably full every single day of the week with live music occasionally on offer. This street seems to be the meeting point for the after work crowd. Once out of the office, people hang out in one of these restaurants and have some mezes and beer before going home. Most of these restaurants look so anonymous that I have never been too enthusiastic to accept friends’ invitations to have dinner in this area. Also, being so close to each other and so busy, they get very loud and rather than relaxing your dinner turns into something similar to a picturesque village celebration. (The similitude might sound weird to some, but Italians might get what I mean).
Son Gemi is the only one of these restaurants – apart from Çiya Sofrası, which sits on the same street – with a special atmosphere: it has a retro style, cozy lighting and old pictures hanging on the walls. Being at the end of the street, it is also pretty quiet. It used to be the meeting place of the alternative leftist-intellectuals. Now it is the choice of the ones who prefers something slightly more original than the usual. It also used to be the only restaurant without television on the street, but recently they have adapted and started screening football matches just like all the others. They probably realized they were losing customers; it seems like you cannot deprive Turkish people from watching their favorite team while enjoying a cold brew.
The menu – both in Turkish and English – includes many Turkish dishes (köfte, tavuk şiş (grilled chicken kebab), güveç (Ottoman casserole), fish (according to the availability of the next-door market), mezes (classic ones and more hardcore ones, such as boiled cow’s brain and tongue), and some Turkish pub food options (sosis or börek plate). The house specialty is the liver plate, which I personally am not a big fan of, but I have been told it is delicious. If you feel like sharing they also prepare a mixed plate of meze (A big one for 14 TL and 12 TL for a small one). Portions are abundant and service quite good. Prices for a main course range from 7 to 17 TL.
You will most likely not eat the best food of your life at Son Gemi. But the restaurant offers a comfortable and inviting atmosphere to enjoy a simple, laid-back dinner and beer with friends.
Son Gemi
Güneşlibahçe Sok. No: 52
Caferağa Mh. Kadıköy,
İstanbul
+90 216 338 33 92
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Isadora Bilancino is a contributor for Yabangee.
