T-Square, Istanbul

T Square was founded by a couple of young Turkish architects. It's a sleek, well-designed bar-cum-cafe-cum-restaurant located right in the heart of Beyoglu. Decked out in studded red leather, it's a great place for an early evening drink and dinner. The food is reasonable, once you get past the tacky names like, "Nacho-macho Beans" and "Mrs Spring Salad". The menu consists of mostly American and a few international dishes. There is also a wide selection of breakfast dishes - pancakes or vegetable and cheese omelettes are some of the better choices. In summer, there's a pleasant garden terrace out the back but it gets very crowded very fast. On the down side, T-Square's popularity with the locals can make for excruciatingly slow service at times.