Montag Coffee Roasters

Montag takes its name from the German for Monday — the idea being that great coffee can rescue the worst day of the week. It has been doing exactly that on the Asian side since 2014, one of the small group of roasters who started Istanbul's third wave, and has run its own roasting facility since 2016.

Finding it is part of the ritual. Follow the roasting aromas up a narrow staircase past a repair shop to a second-floor room of black-and-white minimalism and a dreamlike wall mural. Filter and V60 lead the menu, you can choose your bean at the bar, and even the Turkish coffee is made with specialty beans — a neat bridge between the city's two coffee cultures.

The balcony is the secret weapon: a calm perch over Kadıköy's most chaotic intersection, the perfect contradiction to sip an Ethiopian natural through. Come for the clarity in the cup, stay for the view.