Tekyön (22:30-05:00)
Sıraselviler Caddesi No: 63/1 Taksim/Beyoğlu İstanbul
Sıraselviler Caddesi No: 63/1 Taksim/Beyoğlu İstanbul
How to get there: Take the street where all the doner places start in the taksim square which is Sıraselviler Street. Keep walking thru that street after you pass the Belgium and the Romanian Consulate you will find it on your left side.
Since it was moved to its new address in June 2009 it has become the most crowded gay bar in Istanbul. It is not because tekyon has the best attractions but it has mixed crowd and non-arrogant staff made it popular in the gay scene of Istanbul.
If you are a big fan of Turkish pop you may like the music but you will be disappointed if you are expecting something more than this. There is no entrancy fee but in a normal day you will notice a waiter persistently asks your order right after you enter the place and the local drinks are around 6-7 Euros (12-14 Liras)
Sometimes you can see some simple drag shows are male dance performences. You can meet with people here but you must be careful about the escorts. After you talk a while you can notice that with whom you are talking with is a rentboy.
Chianti (16:00-02:00)
Istiklal Caddesi, Balo Sokak No: 31. (2nd floor) Beyoglu, Istanbul
How to get there: When you are walking in the Istiklal street from the taksim to the tunnel you will find Balo Sokak two streets before the famous “Çiçek Pasajı” It is in the second floor of the building.
Chianti is mostly crowded in the early evenings and right before the midnight. If you don`t like to stay awake until the late morning and you don`t like high volume underground music it can be a good choice for you. The local drinks are around 4 Euros. You can find Live Turkish music every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting around 10 pm. You can be more comfortable if you are sick and tired of seeing the rent boys around. They have a tiny terrace if you are smoker.
X-Large (23:00-05:00)
Mesrutiyet Caddesi, Kallavi Sokak, No: 12 Beyoglu, Istanbul
How to get there: If you take the opposite street of the St. Antuan Church, Kallavi Sokak is a narrow lane connecting to Istiklal on your right after Galatasaray neighborhood.
It is open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. There is a high admission fee required and the prices are higher than the other clubs. If you want to see professional shows and do not care about the money you can X-Large.
The architecture and the quality of the place is as high as many european clubs. It used to be a movie theatre (Elhamra) and now it is very qualified, spacious place to visit. The quality of the music is better than the other places and it is not ear deafening unlike the other places.
Otherside Club (22:00 - 05:00)
Istiklal Cad. Zambak Sokak No:2 Kat:5 Taksim, Istanbul.
How to get there: You need to take the zambak sokak which is between the French Consulate and Akbank Sanat. It is at the 5th Floor at the Building.
You can find it busy on Friday and Saturday nights. If you are a smoker you may like this place because of its terrace. Since 2009 it is forbidden smoking in the public areas.
It is over average club same as its prices. You need to pay around 9 euros for a drink and there is entrancy fee required on Fridays and Saturdays. You can enjoy go-go dancers and some good shows. They sometimes have some live music performences of some famous pop singers.
For more information you can visit their website: www.othersideistanbul.com/
Prive Bar (23:00-04:00)
Tarlabasi Caddesi No: 28 Taksim, Istanbul
How to get there: It is very easy to find, Prive is located across the flower shops at Taksim square.
Prive is the oldest of the present gay bar in Istanbul. Now it is combined with a trans-club called as No-Name. It is a small boutique bar with young and middle-aged people. There is also many straight and curious men. You should be careful about the rentboys in this place. It starts being busy after 1 o’clock after midnight. They mostly play Turkish Pop music.
Love Dance Point (23:30 - 05:00)
Cumhuriyet Caddesi no: 349 Harbiye Istanbul
Cumhuriyet Caddesi no: 349 Harbiye Istanbul
How to get there: It is located in Harbiye district. You may need to walk 25-30 minutes from Taksim Square but it is highly recommended to take a taxi, because there are many transsexuals and prostitutes are working in that street during the night time.
Love Dance Point used to be a very classy place. Now some nights it has more straight people than the gays you can also see many girls in that place. There is 10 Euros entrancy fee and local drinks are around 7-8 euros. It is very small comparing to the other places.
Club Ekoo ( 23:00-05:00)
Tarlabasi Bulvari, No 248 Beyoglu, Istanbul
It is the right place for you if you are interested in seeing the local things. You can find various types of gay men with age mix. The type of music is mainly western dance and house music as well as some Turkish pop.
There is a second club on Istiklal avenue was opened on September 2010. This one has better quality than the old one if you are only able to choose one, the new one is more recommended.
For more information you can visit: www.ekooclub.com/
How to get there: It is easiest to take the tram from Karakoy to the Yusufpasa station. It is 1 minute of walking from the there.
In 1970`s Taksim/Beyoglu was the place for the middle class people and then taksim has started to be a place for artists and more elegant community. Now you can find middle class real community in the places around Aksaray.
It is a meeting place of bears and older/mature gay men. It is busy in the late evenings and until early mornings on Saturday night.
Club Cheeky (24:00-06:00)
Kucuk Bayram Sokak No:1/A Beyoglu / Istanbul
How to get there: You need to take Kucuk Bayram Sokak from the Istiklal street which is opposite street of Sadri Alisik Sokak.
Club Cheeky used to called as Chios bar when it was founded. It is after-party club that`s why it is not busy before 2am. You can even find a small dark room which is not like the European ones. They switch on and off the lights.
Rouge Bar (23:00-05:00)
Istiklal Cad. Ogut Sokak /Beyoglu/Istanbul
How to get there: Ogut Sokak is a small alley parallel to the Istiklal Street. You firstly need to enter Imam Adnan Sokak from Istiklal and then turn the first left. You will find it on your left hand side.
Rouge is newly opened place (late 2010) and it is trying to have elite atmosphere. The place itself is not very big nor very small. It has a small balcony and the design was inspired by the harem atmosphere. You can find some shows on weekend nights like go-go boys and male-belly dancers.
Club 17 (23:00-05:00)
Istiklal Caddesi, Zambak Sokak No:17, Istanbul
Club 17 is a place for the people who are interested in amateur escorts or young hustlers. Besides that it does not offer you anything more than the other clubs. You must be aware of the guy you met there.
Sahra Club (23:00 - 04:00)
Istiklal Cad. Sadri Alisik Sokak NO:40 Beyoglu
How to get there: You need to take the Sadri Alışık Sokak which is opposite of the Firuzağa Mosque on İstiklal.
It is originally a she-male club, definitely not the best club in Istanbul. You can find many hustlers and horny curious men coming from ghettos. You should be careful with your wallet. It can offer you something only if you want to see something not typical.
Bearphorus ( 20:00-03:00)
Abdulhak Hamit Caddesi 8/1 Tarlabasi
Abdulhak Hamit Caddesi 8/1 Tarlabasi
How to get there: The street where the place is very near the hotel district in the Taxim Area. You need to cross to the otherside of the tarlabasi bulvari
As it is seen in the name this is the place for the bears and its followers. The type of music is generally house, electronic and techno. You can enjot this place if you are not going with big expectations. The prices are affordable one beer is around 3 euros also they offer buy 3 get 1 free additionally they don’t charge for vestiary but they don’t give any receipt for your coat it is recommended to be careful with it if you don’t want to mix your jacket with another one.
The places that no longer exist:
The name of the places are either closed or they changed their gay concepts.
Shake-in Cafe-Bar, Club Barisik, Degirmen Pub, Ajda Club, Secret Club, Exit Club, Purple Club, Gabile Club, Hot Point (TT'S) Cafe, B Club, Bubble, Pincur's Cafe, Tantana Bar, Altenatif Club, Oz Club, Club 99, Hans Bar, Telve, Club 14 (Ceylan's), Machine, Club 12, Kutu Bar, Yesil Bizans, Déjà vu, Inside Café Lounge, Barbahce, Queen Bar
