Good place for a meal! Bit touristy, but food is good. They open till late so it's a good place to grab a meal. We ordered ayran (cold, savory yogurt drink), babel special, and a mixed meze plate so we could try as much food as possible. read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - babel special, salad, ayran, and meze plate - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

It was fine not great. There was a lot of salad with some of the mains which was nice. My issue might be that I prefer the seasonings in North African or Lebanese versions of similar dishes. Beer list is mediocre and read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Kibbeh was fine. Salad good - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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What a great restaurant in the Taksim area! I'm a vegetarian and often find it difficult to get a variety of food options. My wife and I had dinner here our second night in Taksim and had to come back on our fourth and final night in Istanbul. Sukru provided excellent service and the food was very tasty. They had a nice dry white wine that went well with our food. I particularly enjoyed the vegetarian Babel Special (bulgur, green onions, walnut and spices wrapped in a filo pastry that is served with a salad) YUMMY!!!! read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Beautiful "Seasonal Salad" - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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I luckily stopped into this gem three years ago while looking for vegetarian fare in Beyoglu. This week I returned during a three-week-layover in IST, and the same three gents are running the place--a good sign. The brick interior, the low lighting, the blankets adorning the seating--it's a respite from Istanbul's winter. You can sit for hours with a novel and a tea, or enjoy a feast of choice. Yavuz and Charlie will make you feel special if the ambiance doesn't do the trick... read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

I went here for an early dinner and loved every bite of it. I started with a sour soup that was loaded with vegetables and tangy. Next came the mini-mezze platter, which had six creamy mezzes on it and I cleaned completely. For my main, I had rose mincemeat pies, which were like fried, crispy pies filled with meat and topped with a soft cheese. The cheese was rather like sour cream. I think I liked the entree best of all, but everything was yummy. They also get high marks for service; all of the waitstaff was friendly and spoke excellent English. The last thing I'll mention is a very generous pour of wine. I felt like I got 1.5 glasses for the price of one! read more

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Great hole in the wall spot the Meza was amazing & we loved the Arab Tava (minced Lamb & veggies). Super good & they speak english pretty good :) read more

Absolutely wonderful. The owner personally showed us to our seats. Inside is beautiful and has AC. The owner explained the menu to us. He's such a nice man. The food was so delicious. The sampler was so big we got filled up and had to take most of the rest of our meal home for later. Everything here was top notch. read more

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So this is one fine place to eat, drink and listen to live music! We went there on a recommendation and were very satisfied with this place! We had a mixed plate and a main dish each. All of them were very tasty. The waitress was very kind and helped us with explaining the dishes and recommending some of them. Later on there was live music, which was also very nice. All in all a very nice place to hang out in the evening for a meal or only a tea or a beer. Therefore - despite the not so clean restrooms - still 5 stars! read more

Probably the best meal we had in Istanbul! We got there late around 10:30 and they didn't bat an eye at us asking for food. They have much more than just kebabs, which was great after a lot of variations on the same sort of stuff. I think the best restaurants look like they're in this area off of Istiklal Cd. There's lots of these very hip restaurants and cafes that locals seem to love. We got the meze plate, which had great presentation and was quite tasty. It was nice to be able to try so many appetizers. We liked the eggplant ones the best, which confirmed our constantly ordering those at other restaurants. We also got the turkish ravioli with yogurt sauce and meat pizza kebab thing that's always a hit. The ravioli are very good and different from what you'll get most other places, but don't put all the yogurt in or it'll be swimming. Overall really good and very fairly priced. Their cocktails looked amazing, but we didn't get any. If you go I'd recommend trying one. read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Meze plate with humus in the middle and lots of other things around the sides - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Cozy restaurant/cafe! Lots of variety in their mezze dishes; all well-executed. Ambience is a strong plus and prices are very reasonable. On the casual end but honestly the best meal I had in Istanbul + intimate space meant that I could actually talk to my friends over dinner -- a rarity :) read more

Good music, good service, good food, good atmosphere! Vegan food was delicious. Will be back!

We had a delightful, delicious mezze platter for breakfast! The hosts were very kind and made our experience special. We look forward to returning soon! read more

Hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Istanbul. Their fare is traditional Turkish cuisine and very earthy. The staff is extremely friendly and attentive and the ambiance is very casual and warm. My wife and I stop by at least once a week. I'd recommend the Babel Special. One also can't go wrong with any of their mezzes. Aside from food the restaurant also has one of the best bartenders in Istanbul. Their cocktails are top notch. read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Babel Special - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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A quaint, two storied "tavern" with fast, friendly service and a live band playing modern jazz music upstairs. It has a college, casual atmosphere, located in a central part of the Cihangir neighborhood. It's very lively and nice to be able to seat 7 of us for such a tight space. The food was more familiar and tasted good. Between the 7 of us, we shared the meze plate ( a bunch of dips including: hummus, tzatsiki, lentils, baba ganhoush, carrots in sweet yogurt sauce and a red and green pepper dip), a sausage plate, meat filled raviolis in spicy yogurt sauce and eggplants stuffed with rice and spices. It was a lot of food for cheap. There's wifi, so ask for a password to use it. read more

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Great atmosphere and staff. Great music. The food is also good. I liked the spicy meat, the one that they say it's very spicy is quite spicy but maybe not the spiciest that I had, which is very good :) read more

We ordered a large mezze plate to share for 2. It came with 11 different Turkish style appetizers. In my opinion, some flavors were just average, 3 stars. The 4th star is for the bread, Turkish tea, and friendly staff. For mezze, I would opt to go elsewhere but other dishes must be worth a try! Also, this restaurant was pricier than we expected, around 40 lira on an appetizer plate (28 lira) and 2 Turkish teas (5-6 lira each). read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Large mezze platter with bread, and Turkish tea. - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

Great food, great service, great live Turkish music. My husband and I had an awesome experience here on our last night in Istanbul. If you're looking for something truly authentic and Turkish, this might not be it. It seemed like more of an ex-pat tavern, with most of the service staff speaking perfect english and several non-Turks in attendance. That being said, if you're looking or something familiar in a foreign place, this is it! They are very busy and fast paced, so we had to remind them a few times of the mezze we had ordered, but everyone was pleasant and helpful. We loved our experience here and will absolutely return. read more

Wow, this place. Atmosphere, food, people...it's one of my favorites. The choice of music is awesome, spinning an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, rai ...anything/everything that's good. The food is Turkish home cooking, lots of fresh ingredients, delicious. But the staff really make the place. Down to earth hipsters, warm and welcoming. Good for dinner, lunch or just to hang with a cup of tea. read more

Babel Cafe & Restaurant - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Delicious. Don't know why this little cafe doesn't have more reviews, but this time TripAdvisor steered me right. I didn't know what one thing was on the Small Meze plate I ordered, but it was all delicious. Warm and inviting to travelers, meal plus beer and tip was around $12US. read more

Excellent food, service, and environment. Highly recommend! We had a great sampler plate here and sat on the top floor of the restaurant overlooking the street. Very charming and would absolutely come here again. read more

I came for the Manti. I got it and I loved it. I also came, because I read somewhere the place plays good music, and they do. They mostly play cool Turkish music, which is what I preferred. Every now and again they would play some American tunes too, but I enjoyed the Turkish songs more. It wasn't live music on the night I happened to be there, but that would have been a treat. The servers are really on point with their service, and the atmosphere is cool and cozy. I got a glass of I think just the house red wine, and it was tasty. read more

Very nice place, lovely music, waiters are very polite, give nice food recommendations. Found this place on Yelp, very surprised that it was almost empty when we visited it. I wouldn't call it small restaurant, there are 3 rooms to sit. read more

Great hidden place with awesome food, atmosphere and staff!! Tried it twice in one day :)

Wonderful place for breakfast in a fun area of town. They place great music, serve fresh food, and the staff is very friendly. A great place for international travelers to come to. Good vegetarian options, as well. We'll be back! read more

Love it! Amazing food and ambiance, any person with good taste will fall in love with the decor and the service and of course, the food. Amazing! read more

Just have to write a quickie on this restaurant as we (brother, sister and me) went there a couple of nights ago braving the cold and rain, but licking our lips at the prospect of a 5 star joint, only to be disappointed. The place (ambience) is pleasant, the music (not live that night) was different and enjoyable, the service was good, but sorry to say the food was very mediocre, as was my cocktail (Mojito). My falafel was tasteless and greasy, my brother's kofte was "unrecognizable in appearance or flavor", and my sister was equally unimpressed (sorry, don't recall what she had). Maybe they just had a bad night, but I wouldn't hurry back there! read more

I have been remiss is filing this review. We visited Turkey mid 2013, and rented an apartment in the Istikal area. Found this little cafe one evening and it was just a wonderful experience. We took the waiter and proprietor's advice on the food which was so fresh and tasty! Before the dinner was over, I was plotting my return! We had the mezes plate and a wonderful spicy lamb dish. If you are ever in this section of the newer part of Istanbul, give them a try! read more