If you hate history, monuments and sightseeing, have a deep-seated aversion to nightclubs and bars, aren't remotely interested in shopping and are allergic to all physical activities you could still have a good time in Istanbul restaurants. In doing so you would be following in a great imperial tradition, for in the pursuit of gastronomic indulgence the Ottoman sultans led from the front, their vast kitchens, at their height, employing 1,300 staff to blend traditions, ingredients and flavours culled from all corners of the empire.

Sadly Ottoman chefs, strict adherents to the thesis that knowledge is power, never wrote anything down and the few traditional restaurants that claim to purvey saray (palace) cuisine with its unusual combinations of sweet and savoury tastes, including Asitane and the elegant Feriye, make great bones of their historical detective work in piecing together recipes.

Then there is the raft of über-stylish new restaurants that have opened over the years, offering international and fusion cuisine, which are magnets for Istanbul's brightly dressed-up young things (and their older, wealthier, sugar daddies).

The price given is for three courses and half a bottle of wine per person.