Vefa Bozacisi

I love Boza, and this was the only place I’ve searched for so long and found it. It takes you back in time while you drink your Boza.

We had tried some boza when in Eyüp (poured from a bottle) & seen them in bottled form in the shops but this place is one where you could drink what they had made & the decor is really retro & a step back in time. Orhan Pamuk had written about a boza seller in one of his novels, so it was nice to see that the drink seemed to be everywhere in Istanbul when we visited. The fermented grain drink was really thick & we picked the one with cinnamon. The place was crowded but we managed to get a seat after a while. We had to get a spoon to scoop out the rest. Not sure what brand the Eyüp stall sold but the one at Vefa had a stronger flavour. Glad we visited & tried the drink at a producer's rather than a shop bought variety though they do bottle them for shops & and you can buy them to takeaway as well.

We came to Istanbul determined to taste something we have never tasted before, something strange and different, and of which we learned from a TV program about a thorough visit to the city. We wanted to taste Boza. Turkish Boza is a thick, light brownish, fermented malt drink made from bulgur wheat, some sugar and some water, typically served here in water glasses, with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas on top. It has a sweet and tart flavor and ... you may like it or you may not… Vefa Bozacisi is a minuscule, one room business which has been continuously run by the same family (now the fourth generation), since 1876, and located very close to Suleymaniye Mosque. They seem to be quite known is Istanbul and purportedly even Ataturk was here to serve their drink in 1937, as evidenced by a photo proudly displayed in the shop. The place is immaculately clean and it's like a trip back in time, more than a hundred years ago, with outdated furniture, shelves and floor...

In March 2016 I had written a detailed and positive review about this well known, but quite hidden little place. This summer I came with my wife and our grown-up grandson on his first visit to Istanbul to give him a chance to taste 'Boza', a once very popular drink from fermented wheat or millet, that now only gets sold at this place anymore. Vefa is the name of the quarter, below the Suleymaniye Mosque, where it is to be found. As before we first went to the shop just opposite, the 'Tarihi Vefa Leblecisi' (Historic Vefa Chickpea Seller) from 1922, since to put roasted chickpeas into the fermented boza is part of the tradition. All in all the experience this time was a bit disappointing, at least for me, who has known the place from several previous visits. There was a completely bored looking and unmotivated young man in charge, who just lined up the boza in white plastic cups, together with plastic spoons. In this way one couldn't see the beautiful yellow colour of the drink, as before, when it was poured in front of you into a larger glass. At least there still were on a wall a photo of Kemal Atatürk and behind glass, on top of a red cloth - like a holy relic - the glass, from which the founder of modern Turkey had tasted boza in here in 1937.

Sadly it is the only boza-maker in all of Istanbul, but they try to maintain the culture alive. Can't say it is my favorite boza, they make it much too thick, like a pudding, and sometimes they serve it prematurely fermented; true boza needs to be pleasingly sour.