I came here with my family for dinner during our first night in Istanbul. This place had been highly recommended to us by my in-laws who came last year and spoke positively of it. We did not have a reservation but we walked in around 7:45pm on a Tuesday and were seated right away. This is a super cute place with flowers and many glass lamps in the ceiling that give this romantic yellow glow to the restaurant. When we went, the partition to the outside was removed so we got to experience the pleasant air of the city and it made the place feel even more open. Our waiter was really kind and went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed. For food we tried:
- Çorbası: our first course was a small serving of lentil soup that was on the house with some freshly baked pita. The soup was creamy, and had a rich flavor of spices that was very good. The lentils had been blended so it had a smooth texture. Went very well with the pita and was very a very warming start to the meal.
- Mixed appetizer platter: we got the mixed platter of cold mezze to share as a starter. This came with four stuffed grape leaves, hummus, haydari (yogurt dip), eggplant in tomato sauce, ezme (Turkish salsa-like dip that had a little spicy kick), and plenty of veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers. They brought out extra pita for us to try all these amazing dishes. My favorites were definitely the haydari since it was thick, creamy, and refreshing, as well as the eggplant with tomato because it had a great flavor and it felt so healthy.... Highly recommend to share one with the table.
- Pottery kebab: my fiancé and I ordered a pottery kebab with chicken since we had heard it was very good! We were definitely not disappointed. They bring out the clay pots in flames and do a little show with them before they serve the sizzling meat stew in a cast iron and put it at your table. They bring you a plate with rice and potatoes as sides. I was expecting a more grilled style meat but turns out this is more like a juicy, rich stew. The meat was tender, very well seasoned with what I think was thyme, sumac, +/- paprika, amongst others I could not identify but were very good. It comes mixed with abundant bell peppers and onions too to add extra flavor. The rice this came with was delicious as well as the potato that was super crispy on the outside and still moist and fluffy on the inside.
- baklava and tea: our waiter brought out small glasses with hot tea to end our meal as well as 4 small cubes of baklava which were delicious (and complimentary!), very good end to the meal.
Overall, I really loved my experience here at The Last Ottoman Cafe. Highly recommend it to anyone who is in Istanbul given the fantastic service, great central location, amazing food, and welcoming atmosphere. This place may or may not be touristy but, that being said, the prices are very fair so I think it's worth it. Definitely come here if you have a chance! read more