İşkembe soup: an all-day classic all across İstanbul

Paçacılar, the name by which işkembe salons are known, are generally believed to be unkempt eateries, which is why so many people thumb their noses at these restaurants. But in recent years, this perception has begun to change. Many işkembe salons have been renovated and remodeled, with a fresh set of plates, silverware, tables and shiny new counters. Even the pots and pans used in the kitchens have been changed. And now the competition for customers has become heated. The race among paçacılar such as İstanbul’s Apik, Pangaaltı and Lale has been joined by competitors such as Vip, Kınalı and Sarıhan, each trying to draw more customers than the others to try their delicious tripe soup. These salons are open 24 hours a day, offering around 15 varieties of soup. The price per bowl of soup ranges from TL 7 to 13.

Throughout all of İstanbul, there are around 20 really famous işkembe restaurants. Interestingly, it was traditionally the Greek and Armenian residents of İstanbul who opened and ran the first işkembe eateries; one example is the Apik İşkembe Salonu, which is owned and operated by an Armenian family. This spot reached the height of its pWopularity in the 1980s, with around 30 employees. But then some of the işkembe experts who worked there began to branch out and establish their own restaurants. One of the men who worked at Apik İşkembe Salonu and learned a great deal there was Mahmut Taştan, who now works at the Tarihî Haliç İşkembecisi. He says he has learned everything there is to know about dealing with tricky tripe, including how the meat is to be cooked, how it should be cleaned and how to thicken the soup once the meat is added. “No paçacı every wants to reveal his secrets. There are those who marinate their tripe in flour, some in milk, others even use eggs. But the most important factor when it comes to işkembe soup is cleanliness. Some restaurants go as far as to use bleach to clean their tripe, but this is very dangerous. It is really enough to clean the tripe very carefully with hot water,” he explains.

İşkembe tears relatives apart

The Sarıhan İşkembe restaurant has seven branches throughout İstanbul. This restaurant belongs to a family from Bayburt. The first of the family’s eateries was opened in 1982 by Hüseyin Sarıhan, and they then quickly spread through the city, operated by different members of the family. But when one member of the Sarıhan family tried to get the Sarıhan name patented, this resulted in a huge fight with his relatives.

Talking about some of the changes he has seen in his restaurant’s customer profile in recent years, Turan Sarıhan, who owns an işkembe salon in Şişli, explains: “We used to get a lot of customers who would get out of their cars almost too drunk to make it inside our restaurant. But over these past years, youths and families are beginning to show more interest in our salon.”

Another well-known işkembe salon is that of Paçacı Mahmut Usta, in Fatih, which used to be filled with customers until the early morning. Though Mahmut Usta himself died in 2002, his son Ahmet carries on his work now. Across the street from the restaurant is another işkembe salon that was opened by Mahmut Usta’s brother, Necip Usta. So now Ahmet and his uncle compete on the same street.

An indispensable treat to be tried after eating your bowl of işkembe soup is zerde, a dessert made using saffron, rose water, rice, currants and sugar. This sweet dessert has a very refreshing flavor and gets rid of some of the heavy garlic odor that might remain after eating a hearty dinner of işkembe soup. Note that some restaurants might try to get away with using fake saffron flavoring instead of real saffron, since the spice is so expensive.

Many world cuisines have their own versions of tripe soup

İşkembe soup is made using cow or sheep tripe. Tripe is a section of the stomach. This soup is made in many countries throughout the world and often has lemon and garlic added to it. Of course, just what is added depends on the country where you are eating your tripe soup. The tripe soups consumed in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Macedonia are much like what you find in Turkey. In these countries, tripe soup is often viewed as a sort of national dish.

Some of İstanbul’s more famous işkembe salons: