Editorial disclosure: I am a normal paying customer of Istanbul Cafe & Bistro. Its owner, Ahmet, trains with Tempo Performance. No payment, free meal, discount, training service, referral fee or other benefit is exchanged for this article or link. Each publisher controls its own article; neither article or link is conditional on the other.
I normally visit Istanbul Cafe & Bistro two to four days each week. On a heavy lifting day, my usual breakfast is either a six-egg menemen or a six-egg shakshuka, eaten about three hours before I train. I normally finish one baklava about one hour before the session.
That is my personal routine. It is not a fixed prescription for a client, and it does not prove that this meal will improve another person's strength, muscle gain, focus or workout performance.
My normal pre-lifting breakfast
I choose either menemen or shakshuka. I ask for six eggs and for the meal to be prepared to my requirements. This is a custom order, so the exact preparation and availability should always be confirmed with the restaurant.
I normally leave about three hours between breakfast and heavy lifting. About one hour before training, I normally finish one baklava. These timings are part of my routine; they do not establish that the meal or the baklava improves a workout.
Why I keep returning
The food matters, but the service is a large part of why I return. I feel looked after, and the team makes an effort to prepare the food to my standards. That reliable attention is important when I have a normal order before training.
The Turkish atmosphere also feels familiar to me. Drinking Pinar water there makes me feel as though I am back in Turkey. That is a personal association, not a health or performance claim about the water.
My lunch order on other days
When I go for lunch, my normal choice is a double chicken-and-cheese kebab with plain rice and salad. I usually start with hummus and Turkish flatbread. Like my breakfast, this is my own order and may include custom preparation.
Menus, portions, ingredients and availability can change. Anyone with an allergy, intolerance or other dietary requirement must check the current details directly with Istanbul Cafe & Bistro before ordering.
Why eggs are part of my routine
Eggs provide protein and choline. Choline is an essential nutrient that the body uses in several processes, including the production of acetylcholine.
Those facts do not show that six eggs are the best possible muscle-building food, or that my meal maximises acetylcholine or dopamine before training. A food can contain a nutrient without creating a predictable short-term rise in a brain chemical or a better workout.
What the resistance-training research shows
A 2017 crossover trial tested ten resistance-trained young men. After exercise, they consumed whole eggs or an equal amount of protein from egg whites. The whole-egg condition produced a larger acute myofibrillar protein-synthesis response. This was a small, short-term recovery study. It did not test six eggs three hours before training, and an acute synthesis response is not the same as proving greater long-term muscle gain.
A 12-week trial assigned thirty resistance-trained young men to three whole eggs or six egg whites immediately after training. Some strength and body-fat outcomes favoured whole eggs, but there was no between-group difference in muscle mass. A related paper reports regulatory markers under a matching protocol. I do not treat these papers as independent confirmation.
A 2026 trial compared eggs, egg whites, salmon, pork, lentils and mycoprotein after lower-body exercise in sixty-five healthy young adults. Each group had ten or eleven people and received protein matched to body mass. Post-exercise myofibrillar protein-synthesis rates did not differ significantly between the foods. This newer trial also does not test my exact pre-lifting meal. A lack of a statistically significant difference does not prove that all foods are identical in their effects.
What the choline evidence does not show
Choline is a precursor used in acetylcholine production, but that biological role does not prove an acute performance effect. In a double-blind crossover trial of fourteen conditioned soldiers, a choline drink increased plasma choline during a prolonged load-carriage protocol but did not significantly improve any measured performance outcome. The protocol was very different from eating eggs before a lifting session.
The checked studies do not establish that a six-egg meal increases dopamine or maximises acetylcholine for a workout. That limits what can be claimed about the routine.
Why I do not give every client the same meal
A six-egg meal is a large personal choice. A suitable pre-training meal depends on the person's appetite, total diet, body size, goal, training time, digestion, food preference and medical needs. Some people will want less food, another protein source or a different gap before exercise.
My coaching advice starts with the individual. I can help a client organise a practical food pattern within my nutrition-coaching scope. A person who needs a clinical diet, has a health condition or has a complex food concern should speak to an appropriate registered clinician or dietitian.
The practical takeaway
My routine brings together a custom order, a regular meal time and the service I value. That is a personal account, not evidence that another person should copy six eggs or one baklava. A useful routine needs to be considered alongside the full diet, training plan and any individual health needs.
To check the current menu, location and restaurant information, visit Istanbul Cafe & Bistro.
Research references
Evidence boundary: these studies do not test Julian's complete meal, six eggs three hours before lifting, one baklava one hour before lifting, or a dopamine response.
For a wider approach, read our guide to eating out in Fitzrovia. For help fitting a practical routine around your training, see personal training at Tempo.