My husband found this restaurant because it was one of the closest ones to our hotel and had gluten/dairy free options. We walked in and were told because we didn't have a reservation that there was only one table, but they were very nice and seated us quickly. It was our first meal in Istanbul and we were tired from our travels, so it was a little overwhelming when they came by with a giant platter of appetizers for us to choose from. We didn't pick any, but they did look tasty. My husband got a pide and I got the gluten free and vegan one. The kitchen was open, so it was nice to watch the guy happily making the pide. Mine was really delicious - the crust was crunchy and held up well with the pile of vegetables on it. Great way to start our trip here! My husband ordered dessert and they even made up a gluten and dairy free dessert for me - it was some type of candied pumpkin with syrup and walnuts. So thoughtful! Definitely 10/10 for the service and also 10/10 for the view. read more

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First time to Turkey and Istanbul. On recommendation from the hotel staff. Utterly amazing initiation to real Turkish food. Let the waiter make the food selections from menu. Nailed it! Have eaten a lot of other places in the world and think this rates near the top! patio dinning at night fantastic read more

Ali Ocakbaşı - Barbeque Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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The food here was amazing and the service matched the excellent fresh food. Everything was delicious from the spicy lamb kebab to the chicken leg kebab to the mezzes to the spicy atom (chili peppers). read more

Ali Ocakbaşı - Fresh bread and mezzes Some sort of walnut and cheese dip, next is hummus, and roasted eggplant in tomato sauce - Barbeque Near Me - Istanbul, 34

Lovely ambiance with a nice skyline view. Stay is friendly. If you are visiting the country do be aware the spread with hummus and other dips worh bread that they just bring to your table is not free. They just bring it to the table and charge you so refuse if you do not want it. Other than that our food was ok. We tried the chicken Kebab and turkish pizza read more

Amazing food and perfect views of the water as you dine. Superb service by all the staff, Erol was our waiter who made our experience all that much better than any place we've experienced in Istanbul. Comfortable and clean, soft jazz background music, all fresh ingredients and meats were served hot off the grill. Excellent experience all around. A must try for dessert is the Katmer! I don't like desserts, but now I've change my mind!! Omg! Beautiful beyond imagination! Not terribly sweet, hot & cold, crispy & soft...just everything you thought could not be possible...but yet it is! read more

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This is the first restaurant that I'm trying in Istanbul. Very busy, but was lucky to get a spot. Food was delicious and the staff paid special attention. My friend and I ordered the variety of meat. My favorite was the chicken and the beef. I think I might stop by again before I leave. read more

Ali Ocakbaşı - Sauces - Barbeque Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Excellent food in Istanbul!!!! Kebabs and appetizers are great!!! Great service!! Great location.

Manzarası ve yemekleri çok beğendik. Favorim gavurdagı salatası ve şaşlık oldu. Fiyatlar uygun. read more

Ali Ocakbaşı - Manzara süper! - Barbeque Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Worst management I think I have ever encountered. It was wholeheartedly embarrassing that my family and I made a reservation for 2 days in advance and drove over 2 hrs to get to this restaurant for them to "claim" we never had a reservation. Though we had a physical paper copy they still turned us down. We explained to them that if they can just seat us where we reserved and they sat us next to the restrooms. Don't waste ur time here, absolutely rude management and not worth the drive nor time. read more

This place was not obvious to find at all. But since other reviewers mentioned that, we kept looking and found it on one of the side streets that looked like an ally. The only indication you'll find is a wall sign on the left of the door and a little standing sign at the bottom of a staircase. Don't be deceived by the look of the building and keep climbing up those stairs even if it looks deserted and creepy. You won't regret it! Service was great, food too, and I loved the view. All the appetizers were amazing and the kebap were tasty too. The only negative thing I could say about this place is that it took a little while to get the check. But that might be because our server wasn't told by the busboys that we didn't want to stick around for tea or dessert. read more

Ali Ocakbaşı - Barbeque Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Loved loved this food. The beef was so flavorful ... and customer service was impeccable. Can't recommend this place enough for the view, food, sand service. Excellent!!!!! read more

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Cold appetizer dips (be sure to try the yogurt based dip and the stuffed artichoke) and hot hummous with pastrami to start. The bread with the apps was also great. So much so we were pretty stuffed by the time we ordered mains! We ordered a mixed grill which included Saslik kebap, Fistikli Kebap, Kuzu Sis and chicken. We ate this with bread (they don't have bulgur or rice) and asked for yogurt on the side. Excellent combination! For dessert I had a sort of flaky pastry stuffed with sweet cheese and ice cream after being dipped in a sugary syrup. It tasted like soft baklava stuffed with ice cream. I forget what it was called but I absolutely devoured it even after such a massive meal. Delicious dessert! Service was solid and Ali was a gracious host. Don't let the walk down the dingy street and alley to the door of the building put you off. Cozy and pleasant atmosphere inside on the 4th floor with a view of the Bosphorus (5th floor open air terrace also allows for some photos without window glare). Must visit this place when in Istanbul. I'll certainly be back. read more

This place is great...you just have to find it first! Tourists: I recommend a google map :) Love the ambiance - fully refined and yet down to earth - why can't this place be in Washington DC?! I went for a lunch and couldn't have been more pleased. The mixed kebabs, the mezzes and desserts were all made with care and attention. And the view was brilliant! I would highly recommend having dinner then going to their rooftop bar. Prices were average - a little more than a street side vendor, but for the view and quality of food - a deal. RECOMMEND! read more

A little hard to find if you are not familiar with the area, but it is defiantly worth it! We had a small family reunion in Istanbul - and that requires of course a special celebration. I read about Ali Ocakbasi in an urban guide magazine and did therefore not know much about the place - however, it turned out to be everything I expected and more! The place have such a beautiful view over the golden horn, but sadly there were no available tables with a direct view. So we go a second row table with an almost perfect view... For starters they have a small choice of meze, our waiter came to our table explaining what the different starters was and his recommendations. We ended up choosing 5 different kinds all served with freshly baked bread. Afterwards we chose our main course. We decided on sharing different stuff, so we could try as much as possible. We ended up with 4 different grilled meat. The grill is placed inside the restaurant and the taste of the meat was unbelievable good! I will defiantly recommend this place to everyone who visit Istanbul! They have a beautiful roof-top terries, with an amazing view, however it is only open during summer (beginning of may). The only reason why I do not give this place 5 stars, is due to, when we ordered the bill - they were very eager to get us out of there which was a bit annoying. read more

Awesome BBQ. So friendly. Just let them prepare what they want and you will be happy!

One of my favorite ocakbasi in Istanbul. Located near the Galata bridge, across from the Galata Pera Funicular the restaurant is on the top floors of an old building with views overlooking the Golden Horn. Their executive chef (Grill master) truly makes extraordinary kebab which takes open live grill to the next level. We had their pirzola, lamb chops marinated with olive oil -- perfectly grilled, tender and flavorsome. Their fistikli and Beyti kebab with Anatolian spices were absolutely memorable! They also have a great selection of cold meze and hot meze. We especially love the Kopoglu cold meze -- cubes of fried eggplant, potatoes, green peppers with tomato purée and yogurt on top. With their freshly baked ekmek and lavash (the oven is on your left when you enter the restaurant), Ali truly does everything right. I'm giving this place a 6 star for such high quality food and excellent service. read more

Ali Ocakbasi is one of the well known Turkish grill restaurants in town. It's located close to Galata bridge which you could have the perfect view of it sitting in the restaurant. It's really good food if you're into Turkish traditional kebap and its versions. In summer time, it would have been great to have a terrace. It's very unfortunate that you need to sit inside and look at this beautiful view thru the window. read more

The best food I've had in my 7 days in Istanbul. Great service, reasonable prices and beautiful views! Highly recommend

Very solid dinner option. Nice views if you get a table near the windows. I had house salad, hummus and the speciality grill option.

Absolutely hands down fabulous with awesome food and wonderful service! Ask to sit at the grill for a divine culinary experience and some wonderful grilling tips from Ibrahim. It's off the beaten path which adds to the intrigue and is not inundated with tourists. Service is impeccable and the wait staff is very helpful and friendly. The grill master (Ibrahim) grills every single kebab dish to perfection- not one item was anything but excellent! Great wine selection that goes well with the food. If you like kebabs the way kebabs should be, this is the place to go to in Istanbul. read more