Our first night, I wanted to show my friends my Istanbul, far from the touristy old city. Foolishly confident, I assumed I remembered how to find Nevizade Street because I would first look for the banner designating Balik Pazari (the "fish street"). Unfortunately, since my last visit the sign had come down, so we ended up wandering the full length of Istiklal Street twice as I felt more and more stupid. Finally Kip couldn't stand it anymore and told me—in typically sweet fashion—that he appreciated my enthusiasm but needed to eat NOW.

On one of the side streets off Istiklal, a friendly-looking young man waved us toward his restaurant. After reviewing the satisfyingly kebab-centric menu, we allowed ourselves to be herded in.

Mis Ocakbaşi was a vegetarian's nightmare. The extremely lamb-intensive menu set our mouths watering. Kebabs were prepared on a giant fiery barbecue next to our table, which was called an ocakbaşi and filled the restaurant with gorgeous aromas.

The list of mouthwatering kebabs was too long to try them all, and it was late in the evening so we weren't sure what our stomachs could handle. We ordered kebabs grilled with eggplant, kebabs with pistachios, and the favorite of the evening, kebabs Ali-Nazik.

Our intention was to order one of each to share. However, in Beyoğlu not everyone speaks fluent English. I suspected that my friends' gestures and mentions of "sharing" were not coming across clearly, so once my kebab-partner ordered, I simply told the waiter I was not ordering. We were the only ones who did not receive double dishes.

Everything was so tasty we really had no problem finishing the extras. The kebabs with pistachios were a mild disappointment for me—while the meat was smoky and grilled to perfection, I had been hoping the whole kebab would be rolled in pistachios. Or stuffed, either method would have worked for me. Instead it was lightly studded, and the pistachios didn't add enough to the flavor. But it was still juicy and flawlessly-spiced lamb, so no real loss.

The Ali-Nazik kebabs were wondrous. The ground lamb was pulled off the skewers after cooking and mixed with tomatoes over a creamy sauce of yogurt and pureed eggplant. We were more than happy to mistakenly receive two of these.

For fans of lamb like us, this was a fantastic place to unwind after a long day of travel—unwinding included plenty of wine and my friends' first taste of raki. The staff here was incredibly friendly as usual, and our waiter in particular eager to pose for photos, contributing to our first-night giddiness. Truthfully, I usually don't expect much out of any place that has staff members luring people in from outside, but Mis Ocakbaşi was a wonderful surprise.

Cost: 23YTL each, with drinks.

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