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!

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.

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.

Great service and delicious food. Inside or outside seating is comfortable and the staff very…read morefriendly.

They charge 65 lira for a bottle of water!!!! The same bottle that you can buy in store for 5 lira!…read moreThis is daytime rubbery! The food is very average. The bread is not fresh and salad is bland. Take your money elsewhere. There's a restaurant across the street that's always packed. They clearly don't overcharge their customers! If you're looking for a good Turkish restaurant with reasonable pricing I strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

This was a good restaurant and I was not disappointed with my experience here…read more The food was very good and the service was friendly and attentive. They were very flexible since they allowed all 7 of us to use 7 different credit cards to pay for the group meal, which was very helpful. We ordered a couple of bottles of red wine and they arrived slightly chilled, which was perfect for those hot evenings in the summer. I'd recommend this restaurant if you're in the area.

We ended up in Bej after planning to stop by Lokanta Maya for dinner without a reservation (on a…read moreMonday night) and learning there were no tables available. Desperate to avoid the row of tourist traps along the water, we asked the staff at Lokanta Maya if they could point us in the direction of another good restaurant in the area, and that's how we found Bej. The ambiance here is upscale/ classy/ trendy, but not stuffy. There was a huge display of gorgeous fresh flowers greeting us when we walked in, and we managed to snag the only unreserved table in the place. The menu offered a good selection of food, all slightly interesting twists on classic meals. The three of us split a bottle of wine from a moderate sized wine list, and started off with a couple of appetizers. There was a slightly spicy chicken dish we ordered that was delicious. For a main course I ordered the baked goat cheese, which was described as being served with beets and arugula. Perhaps the description in Turkish was more accurate, but I was depending on the English version of the menu, being a foreigner and all. When my meal arrived it was actually mostly a large bowl or salad, with a largish sized baked goat cheese on top. The flavor was great, and it was warm and creamy. The beets were difficult to find, but were eventually discovered hiding at the bottom of my bowl. While it wasn't the most delicious flavor combination, it was still really good, and I enjoyed the meal. We finished things off with a selection of ice creams: Rose, lavender, and chocolate. This was the perfect ending to a meal, and the unique flavors were a definite treat for the taste buds. Don't skip the chocolate because it is typical though- it paired wonderfully with the other flavors and really made them even more enjoyable. Another cool discovery at this place is back behind the bar area, there is actually a little shop which is open during the day. It is filled with cool items (from paper, prints, home decor items) that all have a unique and slightly funky flair. Much better for potential souvenir shopping than your typical tourist traps.

Awful place, I was waiting for my food for more than 40 minutes (simple chicken), but they didn't…read morebring it so I just left very hungry!!! Also the place is overpriced and staff doesn't know English! NEVER GO HERE!

Nice restaurant in the upscale shopping mall. Outside seating is possible. But quite windy,…read moreprobably at all times. I had a couple of appetizers including burrata; were good. Recommended.