NATO is a military alliance, but in this corner of Istanbul, it also means lunch. The restaurant opened in 1952 to honor Türkiye’s accession to NATO and has fed local shopkeepers ever since. Today, NATO Restaurant keeps an old-school Ottoman-Turkish kitchen alive, with a reputation that reaches far beyond the neighborhood.. Whether you care for NATO or not, the home-style cooking is hard to resist. At the counter, you find the classics: döner, stews, rice dishes, and hünkarbeğendi. The döner gets the balance right: rich but not greasy, tender without turning dry. Hünkarbeğendi, made with silky aubergine purée and meat, also deserves attention. Order small portions, called “az” in Turkish, if you want to taste several dishes at once. Come before 3 pm; the kitchen cooks fresh each day, and the best plates can disappear by the afternoon.