Ali Istay’s small, simple, anonymous köfte joint in Balat is only a short taxi ride away from the Egyptian Bazaar.

Like the gloriously named Tarihi Selim Usta Sultanahmet Köftecisi on Divan Yolu in Sultanahmet it’s an excellent representative of Istanbul’s raft of, generally, good-quality kebabçi and köftecisi, purveyors of essential Turkish fast food, which is the staple diet of the working man.

At Arnavut Köfte the lamb meatballs are tender, best accompanied with a glass of ayran. It is a place full of local flavour, as they say.