Situated on the banks of the Asian shoreline on the outskirts of the city (about 40 minutes from downtown in the suburb of Kanlica, accessible by shuttle boat) this yali (a word for the wooden residences along the Bosphorus) houses an elegant restaurant with an outdoor terrace serving up Mediterranean and Italian cuisine such as lamb shank confit with the sparkling strait as a backdrop.

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Scarpetta 's comfortable, warmly lit dining room with its retractable roof offers an eye-opening Italian take on eclectic nouvelle cuisine.

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