In Istanbul, Turkey on an amazing food tour with Culinary Backstreets (Gonca, our guide) and Milk…read moreStreet. On our first night in town, we ascend a walking historical tour through the streets of Upper Beyoglu. We are walking uphill for our meal, meaning our meal will taste even better. In a quiet neighborhood, we arrived at an unassuming building with no sign, named Cuma. This old house is separated into individual dining rooms with exposed concrete walls, small hallways, creaky wood floors and floor to ceiling heavy drapes. The feeling is that this is going to be an amazing night. I under estimated just how great it could be. Ten worldly travels are joining us this culinary adventure. As we are seated for a fixed service, the dishes, start coming out of the kitchen. The description of what we are having is causing me the salivate. The first dish was lightly steamed snow peas with a dusting of hazelnut taratore. Simple and amazing! Our next dish was Turkish pastrami with roasted eggplant, tahini yogurt and crispy onions. I don't like eggplant but there is nothing left on my plate and my senses are on high alert. Simply delicious! Our next dish is minced kibbeh, tahani and fresh herbs. A new dish for me and over the top, again. Georgian dumplings with salted antakya yogurt and porcini mushrooms are up next. What a beautiful dish and packed with a smooth creamy flavor. We finish off the night with baklava, quince paste, pistachios and kaymak. It was light, savory, crispy and delightful. Hands down, one of the best evenings of dining I have experienced. The presentation, flavors, portions and experience were INCREDIBLE. If you are in Istanbul or planning a trip, please place Cuma on your list. To the staff and chefs, thanks for making our first night in Istanbul and great memory.

TLDR: Cuma offers great bistro-style food with Turkish flavors in an intimate indoor/outdoor…read moresetting alongside a quiet alleyway. Recommend the signature cocktails, ceviche, friend oysters, and chicken. They accept credit card and speak English. I'd highly recommend Cuma. We booked a reservation via phone for 8pm on a weekday. The restaurant was about half full. Most of the seating is outdoors in their cute garden courtyard. You can smoke out there. If you wanna avoid the smoke, sit indoors which has roughly 6 tables with 2-4 seats per table. The food is best described as French bistro meets Turkish flavors. We had the fried mussels, ceviche, duck, and chicken. All were cooked perfectly. Lots of citrus flavors. We didn't have dessert. You won't find traditional Turkish desserts here if that's your thing. However they have the standards you'd expect from a bistro like apple crumble and carrot cake.

Food was delicious, service was fast but more than fast, they take your plate even before you…read morefinish, dessert and tea was gifted to us. Ambience is mediocre. If you are only looking for taste and big portions this is the place to go

Wow what an experience! I sampled the whole menu in small portions and Ugur accommodated me…read moreincredibly even though I was a single guest. You can see very quickly why they are a Michelin star restaurant with TOP TIER service! Wow again! Keep it up ! Ugur made the experience that much more incredible with a tour of the menu.

Very decent place with tasty grilled octopus (ahtapod) and levrek meze. Near the sea, it has a very…read moreopen, away-from-the-city vibe, and it was quite a nice place to enjoy the sunset. It can be a little hot on the terrace if you're there before sundown, but it cooled right down for a very quiet and enjoyable meal. Prices are very reasonable for a place with such expert service. They are very friendly, very nice people who don't hesitate to warn you that you've ordered to much or offer half a fish instead of a whole fish if you ate every appetizer imaginable. I would go back on a special occasion.

Just an amazing seafood resturant, most of attendees are locals. Busting with people in and out …read more Excellent and friendly service. The manger goes around greeting people. The best fish is the anchovies as an appetizer. The sea bream and seabass were fresh and tasty. We had freshly cut watermelon for dessert. You finish the meal with Turkish tea.

It is a popular fish restaurant in Bostanci neighbourhood, so I highly suggested you to make a…read morereservation in advance, you cannot expect to drop by at weekend and find free table. There is only one brand of raki served there, the brand name is Tekirdag. I find the meze and fish quite fresh.