One of my favorite places in the world. Its like I just walked out of Turkey and into the Alps…read more Food is perfect and service is top. No part of the meal was not excellent. I hate most restaurants that have anything to do with a hotel but this is an exception.

This was a great first vacation meal! We got hummus, grape…read moreleaves, an alexander kabob, a raki and a small bottled water. The Alexander kabob was fantastic! The sauce, bread and curd made a brilliant combo and there was also a slice of potato a chili and a tomato. This is the first time I have ever felt like yogurt added anything to a dish. It was so good. The raki was awesome. The waiter insisted I add some water to it and he definitely knew best, it was sharp. And then it turned white! It is an anise liquor, like a jaegermeister, and I was glad I tried it. We ate in the semi outside seating which is always such a highlight in Istanbul. Great ambience and the wait staff and host were really welcoming. They gave us complimentary tea and baklava when we asked for the check and that was also lovely.

The accommodations were wonderful, the service was excellent, and they did everything they could to…read moremake our night incredible. Everything was delicious, and the show was spectacular. Congratulations to the whole team! Cozatmosphere, with pleasant music. Everything was very clean.

We ended our trip in Istanbul at Nicole and I am so glad we did. We came during Ramadan on a…read moreweekday so it wasn't busy at all. We got one of the best seat next to the window overlooking both the Asian and European side of Istanbul. The ambiance is romantic and classy. We opted for the smaller course menu but the chef surprised us with 3 different courses. It was the perfect amount of food. We didn't want to do the wine pairing and just ordered 1 glass for each and it was enough to last us the whole experience. We came around 6:45pm so we could see daytime, sunset, and night time from the window seats. We left around 9:30pm so I would allocates about 3 hour for your experience. This was such a wonderful experience and well worth the splurge!

Our fine dining stop in Turkey, Nicole is one of only five restaurants in Istanbul to earn a…read moreMichelin Star in 2023-Michelin guide's first year recognizing restaurants here! The seafood-focused menu offers a contemporary spin on traditional Turkish cuisine. Some favorites were the open-faced dolma and the octopus. The menu has three tasting options depending on your appetite and offers interesting Turkish wine pairings. Be sure to come for the sunset, the restaurant overlooks the city and has a beautiful view of the Bosphorous!

I really like Georgian food and was excited to try this place having heard stories of the…read morefascinating history of the building and the quirky owners. In reality I found the atmosphere a little cold and the interior actually looks oddly like someone's living room, although that had it's own charm (there's a shower cubicle in the toilet). Food wise we tried the stuffed carrots, a dish I've never had before which was absolutely delicious, refreshing but flavourful and one of my favourite things I ate in Istanbul. Along this were stuffed vine leaves, a major hit with my friend because of the slightly sweet edge given by the inclusion of sultanas. I was disappointed by the khinkali (spelled hingali on the menu) which were small and the dumpling was harder than I'm used to. Bear in mind though that I've eaten hundreds of khinkali, most people would probably be fine with this version! The other dish we had, the tatar ashi, is the owner's mother's recipe and was indeed very tasty and comforting. She also played some old tunes on the piano which were very haunting and beautiful. Overall I perhaps wouldn't recommend this if you're only on a short trip to Istanbul but if you've got a bit longer/are a local and fancy something a bit different, definitely give it a go.

For a variety of reasons, this was one of my favorite dining experiences in Istanbul…read more First, the building itself has a story unto itself. At one point, the building served as a prison for the British Empire in the 1920's. It has since had other uses prior to becoming a restaurant, however it seems that it is most apt to highlight the fact that it is a former jail. Second, the restaurant was located in the neighborhood of our apartment, our home away from home while staying in Istanbul. While the food was excellent, I will always remember the warm hospitality of the owners. The owner started playing Russian folk songs on the piano as we were winding down our dinner. One of our dining companions, whose family is Russian, was immediately taken back to her childhood, as she sang these songs with her family. She joined the woman at the piano and continued to sing folk song after folk song. Afterwards, another friend of ours sat down at the piano and we had an impromptu concert. What started off as a woman playing the piano to provide some ambiance and background music turned out to be a wonderful experience of sharing music for all of us. It's been several years since I dined at the restaurant but what I do remember is the sounds and the excellent spiced cheese. If you are in the neighborhood, this is a worthy stop for a meal. Hopefully, you will be rewarded with as lovely of an evening as I was.

This place is pretty expensive given the quality and taste of the food. It might count as a tourist…read moretrap imo.

Food poisoning!!!! Both me and my wife wound up getting food poisoning and having the worst GI…read moreevent that we have ever had. Stay away unless you want to wind up like me and be confined to your cruise stateroom for 2 days.