This was my first night in Istanbul and I eased tired from traveling from cappadocia earlier in the…read moreday. This restaurant was close to my hotel and had great reviews on Yelp. When I arrived there was only one other customer inside. The restaurant decor was cute and I very comfortable. The staff were friendly and welcoming. This spot was a bit pricey just like most of the restaurants in this touristy area. I had certain Turkish entrees i wanted to try during my vacation. I ordered the Iskender kebab which is beef and pita bread covered with tomato sauce with yogurt on the side. I ordered a side salad to go with it. The dish was very delicious as you can tell in one of my pics. I chatted with some of the staff about life in Istanbul. I was offered some complimentary pomegranate tea before I left and it hit the spot. This is definitely a place to check out when you're in the area.

A MUST TRY. As an American, I have been SO impressed with food here in Turkey and if you are in the…read morearea, this restaurant is an absolute MUST-TRY if you're looking for great food. I had some of THEE BEST chicken kebab I've ever had in this country here. The beef kebab was also tender and flavorful. You cannot go wrong with any of these! The service was quick and prompt, and the servers were great at making recommendations. I came here in the winter so we sat indoors which felt a bit cramped however, there is also outdoor seating during the nicer weather months. If I'm ever back here in Istanbul, I would definitely come back. And if you're reading this, you NEED to try the Old Ottoman!

Everytime I come here, this place gets better and better. I absolutely love the curry chicken…read moreplate. Their pasta dishes are great as well. Oh, and dessert is good too.

The Salmon was amazing. The flavors and texture and color looked inviting. The staff were attentive…read moreand accommodating. I'd recommend this place.

I came in for dinner during my trip to Istanbul and was so happy I dined here. It was my favorite…read moremeal of the trip! I arrived around 7ish and asked for a table outside. The waitress immediately sat me and took my drink order. When she came back, I asked for her opinion on the two dishes, and we decided on the mushroom tagliatelle. It was absolutely delicious. The noodles were cooked perfectly, and the dish had a lot of flavor. The waitress also mentioned that the noodles are made in-house, which is hard to beat! Overall, I recommend stopping in for a great food experience!

Good place for a meal! Bit touristy, but food is good. They open till late so it's a good place to…read moregrab 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.

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

This place lived up to their reviews. We split the penne pasta and the seabass with mushroom wheat…read morerisotto & veggies. The pasta was good, but the seabass was spectacular.

I came here for dinner during my trip to Istanbul since I had walked past it many times. The staff…read morewere nice and attentive. I sat out in the garden, which had heating since it was a chilly night. I ordered their beef durum wrap. It was just okay. The wrap had too much sauce/liquid, making it a mess to eat and making the wrap soggy. The meat inside was also really tough. I left most of the wrap. Overall, the service was excellent, but the food could be better.

Don't be fooled by the entrance or the dark steep stairwell! The food is fresh, authentic, and…read moreamazing and the owner is incredibly friendly. I suggest sitting at the very top of the building and enjoying the views!! Oh and the cats are so cute and friendly :)

Closed in March of 2024. Walked a long way and nothing left of the place. Probably…read morepermanently closed

Everything I ate here was utterly delicious and unique. The staff was lovely and so helpful. Their…read morerecommendation of what to order was spot on. I'm already craving a second visit.

Galata Kitchen is not a doner grill and it doesn't open onto a busy street with a big outdoor…read morepatio. After two days having some great meals in Istanbul of that type, we looked for something different. Not far from Galata Tower, GK is on a side street with little foot traffic. It has a big modern sign back off the street and one of the operators saw us hesitating where to enter and waved us in from the front entrance. Inside it has whimsical and funny decorations and serious books mounted on the wall, but is not atmospheric, more like a diner. BUT the food is displayed in a case, hot and cold entrees separated, so you can see what you are ordering. You pick what you want and they assemble your choices on a plate and bring it to the table. Hot entrees included chicken bites in a tomato sauce and chicken with onions, lamb stew and beef and plenty of salad and vegetable choices in the cold display case. The group of men running the place that night were low key but personable, answering our questions about food items and Turkish literature. Service was prompt but understated and helpful. Our group of four had a great time and the menu is diverse enough that everyone found choices that pleased them. But remember, we came in expecting something very good other than doner kebap and were not disappointed!

Found this gem of a place on Happy Cow after spending a few days in Istanbul. Turkey is a pretty…read moremeat heavy culture, but you can seek out some good veggies places. This is one of them. It is a little hole in the wall place, but they serve up a traditional flavorful dish a bit like seitan basically. You can get it in a wrap and if you are staying somewhere can take a box home for fairly cheap. Also be sure to check out nearby Parsifal. This is a simple sit down affordable place that is 100 percent vegetarian and has many vegan options. The menu labels what is vegetarian and what is vegan making ordering easy.

Zencefil which means "ginger" in English is located Istiklal street area and it is one of the few…read morevegetarian restaurants in Istanbul. I have been going to Zencefil for years but last time I was there was about 4-5 years ago. The restaurants has been keeping its style, quality for many years. Even the menu looks like the same except for a few new dishes depending on the season. There are several kinds of vegetable quiches such as eggplant, spinach, etc. The nice think is that before the meal they serve butter mixed with herbs accompanied with bread. There were two kinds of bread; with corn flour and whole wheat. However, the bread could be better, I didn't like the whole wheat bread. I can make batter breads and I am wondering why they do not make their own bread adding different kinds of herbs and vegetables. Although it is a vegetarian restaurant, there one or two chicken dishes on the menu. Since there wasn't so much change on the menu for years, I have already tried most dishes which were OK. I mean the tastes are nice, not heavenly but you know that all of them are healthy. This time I had warm served Aegean stew made of artichokes, faba beans and black-eyed beans. It was so light and tasty, I really like it. I had homemade ginger ale for a drink but frankly saying I didn't like it maybe because I am used to Canadian dry or other brands. But I recommend its lemonade with ginger. I hope they add more experimental vegetable recipes on the menu next time. At the end of the meal they always serve coriander and some dry herb to refreshen the breath which I really like. Lastly, the ambiance is nice, bright, colorful and the place is mostly full of young people and tourists during lunch hours. The service is not bad but I wish they smile more...

What in the world Michelin sees in this place, I couldn't tell you. Everything I got was bland or…read morejust not very good except the couple pieces of lamb kebab were great. The salad was good enough but I could have made it at home. The service was just alright. The prices have almost quadrupled from 2 years ago. The view is nice. Restauraunt is on 8th floor and bar terrace is outside through restaurant and up one more floor.

I came to Tershane for dinner with my family since we had heard very positive things about this…read moreplace and it's also on the Michelin Bib Gourmand guide. I made a reservation a few days in advance by sending a request via their website although you can also call if you have access to a Turkish phone. This restaurant is located at the rooftop of a hotel and has a very impressive view of the skyline of Sultanahmet and Eminonu. Our reservation was at 7pm so we had a very nice view of the sunset as well as the skyline at night. We were seated right away at a table by the window and when we arrived the place was not super busy. However, by 8pm it was packed. The service was really attentive and friendly. For food we tried: - bread: we got complimentary bread with our starter dishes that was delicious, fluffy, and flavorful. This was leavened bread. Generous portion for the dips below! - pistachio manca: very rich dip that had a creamy/garlicky yogurt, smoky eggplant, and the sweet nuttiness of roasted pistachios. This was one of my favorite dips that I had while in Istanbul. Super rich and decadent. Highly recommend! - hummus: another hit! This was creamy, earthy, and a little bit more garbanzo heavy than I am used to but I enjoyed it a lot. The citrus levels were low but there was more emphasis on the freshness of the parsley and the spices like cumin. Tasted very fresh! - shepherds salad (çoban salad): another wonderful dish with fresh produce that just felt so refreshing and light and healthy but full of flavor all at once. Had tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, parsley, and onions. I believe for the dressing it may have been olive oil with some balsamic vinegar vs. Pomegranate molasses but super subtle nonetheless. For our main dishes below, they brought out extra sides of tangy sumac onions, barley (?) salad that was very earthy and had lots of spices, and this delicious freshly baked flatbread. - grilled saddle of lamb: I ordered this and absolutely loved it! The flavor of the lamb was unreal, one of the best I've had! Not gamey at all and with the right amount of fat. The cut is pretty lean except for some fatty borders that you can remove if you want. Super tender! Paired really well with the bread and the sumac onions. - grilled lamb cutlets: I tried my fiancés lamb chops and they were very good too! The cut felt a little fattier to me which made me prefer my dish but still very good. Well cooked and amazing flavor. - grilled beef medallions: my parents ordered this and they enjoyed it! They said the meat was cooked to perfection and loved the flavor. All of the dishes above came with sides of grilled vegetables that were just amazing and full of that umami, charcoal flavor. For dessert we ordered the dondurma or turkish ice cream that had a creamy texture and that was almost chewy without melting easily. It came topped with crushed pistachios that added nice nutty highlights. The sweetness level was perfect! Overall, I really liked this place and think it is very much worth it! The value is excellent for the quality of the food and the experience that you get. Really great place for either a casual dinner with coworkers or to celebrate a special occasion. Highly recommend!

Super cute spot we found just roaming around on a rainy day…read more Everything was fresh and service was fast.

From the owner: En iyi malzemelerle hazırladık, evde yapılmış gibi günlük taze ve özenle. Tost / Kase / Salata /…read moreKahve