I ordered the plate that had chicken pulled off the skewer, 3 falafel patties, humus, tahini,…read moretabbouleh salad, pickles and pita bread. The chicken was perfectly cooked, with good flavor. Although the falafel patties were not as hot as I like them, they were still amazing. I'm not a fan of tabbouleh salad, so I can't really give an opinion on whether it was good. Given the quality of everything else, I'm guessing it was good. I did eat some of it. The people serving were very kind.

There weren't many reviews of this place when I went, but I was craving some Lebanese food so I…read moretook a chance and I was not disappointed! It was located in a nice area of Istanbul that was less crowded compared to where we were staying (which was by the blue mosque). First off, I was impressed with the huge selection in the menu! There's a general menu, a vegetarian menu and a vegan menu . I got the fattoush salad and shish barak and my husband got the chicken wrap with special sauce. We both really enjoyed our meals and one of the better meals we've had while at Istanbul!

We paid ~$85pp for this place! Overall, it's a beautiful ambiance since we were seated on the…read morerooftop and got to witness the sunset and fireworks. I didn't think the food was all-that to be quite frank. I ended up liking the drinks more than the food. Additionally, we asked the waiter for a birthday surprise for our friend, and they ended up auto-choosing the dessert without asking us and charging us as well without checking in.

Finally.... a restaurant with a great view and good food. Plus, overall a great ambience…read more Service was very attentive and accommodating! Also, very good for those with gluten intolerance - lots of options, Started with excellent sour dough bread - super crunchy (almost burnt) on the outside, and soft (nearly gooey on the inside) to soak up some peppery olive oil and very tart goat cheese. This was followed by a salad with thinly sliced winter fruit (apples, pears?), beets, and some berries (looked like blueberries without the flavor) and some things that looked like lentils but could have been mung beans (whatever, they were good). This was followed by octopus that was grilled with a pomegranate molasses, which made them a tad too soft and a bit boring, but nontheless well cooked. It was followed by grilled calamari that was nicely charred. The baby radishes were liked by some and not others. The sausage was like N'duja sausage in square logs that was sauteed. It was tasty (obliviously) but a bit too oily. It came with some mashed potatoes and the tartest/pickles ever. Odd combo. The two Turkish wines were tasty and satisfying. As of 11/11/2025, in the running for the best restaurant experience of 2025!

Great place with delicious food and wonderful views! The entrance is a little difficult to find but…read moreafter entering what may appear to be a small office building door on the Main Street and climbing to the second floor, one is greeted with a spectacular view of the ocean and skyline. The food and service were great. We had octopus and a few jumbo shrimp as appetizers. We then had grilled sea bass as a main. The waiters were very helpful in giving suggestions and recommendations. They even gave us a few small dishes and desert to try on the house. The seafood was fresh and flavors great. Would really recommended to others and will definitely be coming again.

Good, not great. The waiter seemed put off by us, not very helpful when we asked for suggestions…read more The shrimp we ordered was served on a hot skillet which continued to cook the shrimp so by the time we ate it, it was overcooked. The crab appetizer was very good. The salad was filled with parsley that overpowered the whole salad. Also be prepared for smoke filled rooms. Only about five smokers but they were non stop and made dinner uncomfortable. The positive was the beautiful view!

This is probably one of the best dinners we had in Istanbul. It's super vegetarian friendly, and…read morethe food tastes so fresh. We got the halloumi-pomegranate salad and it was amazing. By far the best thing we ate We also tried their hummus and pita, which were good. The last thing we ordered was their white pasta, which was ok. We would have skipped it entirely, as the amount of food was too much and we liked the other dishes better.

Reasonable and large portion! We went for lunch and had the…read morecrispy chicken. One beer and the price was 1500 lira with tip

One of the absolute best we had it Istanbul. My husband and I did a couple Michelin restaurants in…read moreIstanbul including Turk Fatih Tutak and Sankai but I must say Pera Antakya was certainly our top pick in its category even next to our Michelin experiences. It was our most memorable experience given the food was just so authentic and good. We were pleasantly surprised because I had found Pera Antakya in my research when planning our trip and it was first on our list to try, we then discovered when we arrived at our hotel (The Westist) on our first night that Pera Antakya was right next door. We were shocked/surprised/thrilled all at the same time. As such, we had dinner here the first night we arrived in Istanbul and was blown away. We did the meze, the wrap, farmer's cheese, and the mixed grill plate all based on recommendations from who we believe was the owner. The hospitality was lovely, welcoming, but more so the food was incredibly memorable and we found ourselves wishing we had more time in Istanbul so we could come back and eat at Pera Antakya. We did a couple other highly rated restaurants in similar concept to Pera Antakya over the week we stayed in Istanbul and ultimately though food in Istanbul is generally good, we found Pera was still the best we had out of all them in the same category. In fact, if it was only one restaurant we could go back to and have another meal at or if I could only recommend one restaurant to eat at while you're in Istanbul--- it would be Pera Antakya. We were that impressed with this place. Do not miss it if you're in Istanbul!

Wonderful authentic Turkish food from Antakya. Service was also solid, English speaking and good…read morewith talking through my girlfriend's allergies. We got the mezze plate with 8 different mezzes---the spicy yogurt was our favorite and it's very spicy. The bread they use is excellent, has some red spice on it that we all loved. For dinner got the lamb shish which was excellent, and the pera antakia kebab which was also very good. All around great, highly recommend

If the line to go up the Galata Tower is long or you missed their cutoff for tickets (10pm I think)…read morethen the Firuzende Galata Restaurant is a good substitute for the view. And a good place to have a drink and relax on the outdoor rooftop patio. We didn't try the food as there are so many good restaurants down at street level that have to excel with the food rather than the view.

The views and ambiance can't get any better! Friendly staff and good drinks (not amazing…read morethough...Aperol spritz was pale orange and didn't have a traditional taste). The food was just okay as well: we've tried hummus and salmon tartar. They do have inside and outside areas: outside has breathtaking views of Galata as you are literally 10 meters away from it but, of course, it can get a bit windy. We were fortunate enough to witness a proposal, and the staff did such a wonderful job with setting everything up. It was so special, even for the random witnesses, like us :) Overall, it's a great place to stop by and enjoy the views with a glass of wine!

Lovely late-afternoon lunch. Recommend!…read more First, the menu is in both Turkish and English, which is helpful for tourists like me. Second, free WiFi with the password in the menu. Third, the space is quiet, with soft music, and tastefully decorated. Fourth, and most important, the food was very good. We shared the 4-piece Bruschetta, the cheese platter, and a soup of the day (yogurt and wheat). All were tasty. If you like *really* strong, motor oil-grade coffee, get the Turkish; otherwise, the filtered will be more typical to American tastes. They were so busy during the day that they ran out of desserts by the time we arrived, which is too bad - I bet were great too.

A nice relaxing pit stop after visiting the Modern Art museum and walking under the rain…read more Cute eclectic little café where I ordered a "soupe du jour" with lentils and a nice chunk of bread. Ended with a warm cup of winter tea, reading a French manga found in the little library of the café. Definitely recommend!

The secret is out! This restaurant used to be a local favorite and it was a hidden gem. Now the…read moresecret is out. Everyone knows how delicious the potato pancakes and the shish kebabs are. Their sample platter is filled with various samples of the local cuisine and a must try for any traveler. I need to mention the potato leek pancakes again. They were my favorite. Come share in the not-so-secret secret!

Amazing food with great atmosphere. I love restaurants where people sit on the streets drink, eat…read moreand have fun in the process. This was a great example. We tired few dishes the best was the egg plant with minced meat and rice. Very similar to middle astern Musaka. There was a Turkish street singer on the next table which med the atmosphere even more enjoyable. Service was great and very friendly staff. I would definitely recommend and would come here again next time I'm in Istanbul

If you're health conscious, vegan (serve meat and fish too but also great vegan options), or just…read morewant a delicious meal that leaves you feeling more energized and vibrant then this is a great spot. The prices are great, the quality is top notch, and the atmosphere is chic. We got the salmon which was grilled to PERFECTION--crunchy on the outside and juicy and flavorful on the inside. The grilled veggies with hummus were extremely filling and delicious. The grilled chicken was also very tasty and each meal came with a colorful salad and veggies! We were very satisfied and left feeling WONDERFUL! Also i highly recommend trying freshly squeezed juices (apple and parsley was super refreshing and tasty).

The first thing I noticed is that not the restaurant, it's the area it's in. Supposedly a…read morehistorical area, it was full of homeless people and creepy looking people, it was scary to walk around at night. The restaurant is in a bad location, no matter how "historical" they claim it to be. The food is 3 stars at best, the halloumi cheese was very rubbery, the creamy pasta wasn't that good, and the pizza wasn't that great either. Greatly overrated, I only came here because it was rated as "hot and new". The view is very bad also...

This turned out to be the best surprise during our Istanbul visit. We were visiting Istanbul to…read morecelebrate NYE and the blizzard put a damper on our celebrations. We were lucky to find NOLA near our apartment and it turned out to be a wonderful spot to ring in the new year. We did not realize it is a prix-fix menu for NYE, but it turned out to be a great selection. The food was excellent (the chestnut soup was stellar), the cocktails were beautiful, and the wine selection paired well with the food. The restaurant space itself is very sleek and sexy, but the sexier part of Nola is the wait staff. Kudos to the recruiting person - they have an eye to select beautiful wait staff who are also trained well. Our server explained everything to us in English - down to each ingredient in the dishes. We never had to look around for service or ask for a refill. Everything was taken care of promptly and professionally. While I cannot speak for the rest of their menu, the prix-fixe menu for NYE was excellent and the entire evening was lovely because of the sexy wait staff. The DJ cranked out some lovely tunes while we rang in the new year with a glass of bubbly and made us forget that we were stuck with a blizzard outside. Thank you for a lovely evening.