Iced Coffee in Istanbul: Cold Brew, Iced Latte and Beating the Sultanahmet Heat
The best iced coffee in Sultanahmet in summer is the one you drink in the shade between monuments: at Roots & Roasted on the Hippodrome, a Cold Brew is ₺340, an Iced Latte ₺350 and an Iced Americano ₺340, all made with Calibre Coffee beans and served on a terrace under the plane trees, a minute from the Obelisk. Istanbul in July and August is hot, the squares are stone, and the queues are in full sun. This is how to get through a sightseeing day with your energy — and your coffee standards — intact.
What the heat does to a day in Sultanahmet
Summer afternoons in Istanbul regularly pass 30°C, and Sultanahmet makes it feel warmer: the square between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia is open, paved and reflective, and the ticket lines stand in the open. The Basilica Cistern is the one reliably cool interior. The rest of the day needs planning, and most of that planning is about shade, water and timing.
Cold brew, iced americano or iced latte?
They are three different drinks, not three names for one.
Cold Brew (₺340) is coffee steeped in cold water for many hours, never heated. The result is smooth, low in acidity and slightly sweet, and it is the drink to choose if you want something you can sip slowly for half an hour without it turning bitter.
Iced Americano (₺340) is a freshly pulled espresso over ice and cold water. It is brighter and sharper than cold brew, and because the espresso is made to order, it shows the roast more clearly. If you want to taste what Calibre’s roasting does, cold, this is the one.
Iced Latte (₺350) is espresso poured over cold milk and ice. It is gentler, and it photographs well in our cups. Iced Mocha and Iced White Mocha are ₺370 if you want chocolate in it, and the Iced Strawberry Latte (₺460) is the pink one you will see on other tables. Oat or almond milk is ₺90 extra, syrups ₺90, an extra espresso shot ₺120, and a larger size ₺30.
If you do not want coffee
Our lemonades are made in-house: Homemade Lemonade is ₺320, Strawberry Lemonade and Mango Lemonade ₺370. The Iced Chai Tea Latte (₺390) is spiced and milky, and our matcha range starts at ₺540. We also serve Mövenpick Ice Cream at ₺280 per scoop — and if you cannot decide between ice cream and coffee, the Affogato (₺420) is a scoop with a hot espresso poured over it, which is the correct answer to that question. Everything is on the menu page.
Timing the day around the heat
We open at 09:00, and the coolest, quietest hours on the square are the first two. Walk the Hippodrome and the Blue Mosque first, while the stone is still in shadow, and go to Hagia Sophia before the late-morning lines form. Save the cistern for the hottest part of the afternoon; it is six minutes from our door and a different climate.
Then come back. The terrace sits under the trees on the square, shaded in a way the open stone around the monuments is not. A cold brew, a lemonade and an hour of watching the square is the most useful thing you can do between two and five. We close at 19:00, so there is time for one more when the light turns gold on the minarets.
Cold brew at home
Cold brew is the easiest specialty coffee to make without equipment: coarse grounds, cold water, a jar, and patience. We have written the method up — ratio, steeping time and how to serve it — in our recipes. Make a jar of it at home and the square will follow you back.