¿ Que Tal - How are you or what's up ? Tapas- A Spanish word…read moreused when talking about small dishes made for sharing. This restaurant claims it's a Spanish Tapas bar. When I heard a few Yelper friends and I were meeting there, I was very excited. To think, I could be eating Chorizo ( a mildly spicy Spanish pork sausage) this very evening! I walked in around 6.45, it was cozy with bricked walls and as it was a small place - probably seats around 20-25 people - it was about half full. Happy hour was on, but it was only for selected cocktails and Sangria. I got a jug of Sangria for 65TL - normally priced at 85TL (definitely not worth it). The jug was a litre in size, half filled with ice and fruit. For the same price I could have got a decent-ish bottle of wine. Anyway I was there for the Chorizo! The menu was on the table when I arrived; my friends had gotten their earlier and were well into their Sangria :) - looking over the menu - I have to say I was underwhelmed. What I saw, and this is typical of most restaurants who advertise themselves as non Turkish, was a bunch of typical Turkish dishes, with a little twist- way way over priced! If the idea behind Tapas, is to get a bunch of dishes to share, not only would you leave hungry, but would also need to be able to burn money! (Personal thought) - I marvel over the way restaurateurs' price their dishes. I honestly can imagine how cheese and mystery meat (processed meat) toasty can be priced at 18 TL (approx. $8 US) - oh and as usual no pork products on the menu! Expect to pay upwards of 100 TL per person (with a jug of Sangria) if you plan to actually leave the place not hungry. Summary - cozy, well decorated place with tiny portions at full portion prices.

Fabulous tapas menu especially robo de toro (oxtail) and patatas bravas.. ambiance is fantastic so…read morecozy their staff is polite , friendly and helpful. They have latin nights on wednesdays and very pleasant environment I would definitely suggest for latin live music too , it is great !! Sangria also fantastic you must try they also give a tester of sangria every single guest :)

Highly recommend for a traditional Turkish meal that is fresh and clean…read more We started with the mezze platter for two which had an array of different cold dips. Accompanied by fresh baked bread which was mildly crunchy on the outside but light and fluffy inside. Every item was full of wonderful flavors. For the main course we had the Tenderloin which was so soft and tasty.

One of my favorite restaurants of the trip. We split the 8 mezze platter, minced beef kabob, and…read moreminced beef flatbread. The flavors were all outstanding. I wish I had more room to just keep ordering and eating.

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

Located in a row of Turkish restaurants we liked the look of this place and decided to stop in…read more They have a huge menu and the place was packed when we arrived. Mostly filled with locals and a few tourists for good measure. They barely spoke English here but were very friendly and helpful. They brought out the display of mezze for the day and we chose a few dishes. My favourite was the sardines and it was delicious. The hummus and baba ganoush were also quite ok. The bread however was dry and tasteless. My main was a kefta which was quite nice here but nothing really that blew me away. The meal was reasonably expensive and value for money was lacking. But we enjoyed the service and the ambience here. I am convinced they have two menus one for locals and one for tourists with different prices. Not sure why I think that, but I do. A good place for a meal if you are famished and don't want to look around a bit more. Good atmosphere and busy.

Ok. Full disclosure. We tried two restaurants across the street that were full on a Saturday night…read moreat 10:30 pm. The manager of the second one not only recommended this one, he escorted us across the street and personally handed us off to their manager. The food. Awesome. The service. Attentive. Our one gripe? We were seated in the smoking section when two tables decided to smoke anyway. What is wrong with Turkish people? So, the manager opened a window and to make up for our inconvenience - FREE DESSERTS (plural). Without asking! Now that is service. Because when your customers are a-holes, you treat the nice ones even better. 4 stars overall. 1 extra star for knowing how to placate their non-smoking guests when the other customers decide to be A-holes. Thank you for saving our night.

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!

Very nice place to have a respite! Good Turkish wine! Nice staff clean bathroom! Yayread more

We stoped in here on a whim. We had the wine tasting and cheeseboard. Both were great. The staff…read morewas very helpful.

If you're in Istanbul near Istiklal Caddesi, you have to stop here! This is a unique location that…read moreis a lot of fun to see souvenirs from all over the world. The space is huge! A lot bigger than it looks on the exterior and sprawls over several floors with indoor and outdoor sitting areas. I walked by and was intrigued by the myriad number of mugs and flags displayed. That was a couple years ago. This past summer (July 2022) I had the pleasure of dining here with my daughters. Everything we ate was very good (pizza, fries). What was even better was hearing about how the idea for this place was started by a math teacher and how students are give the opportunity to backpack all over the world and bring souvenirs back to be displayed. This spot is also awarded a white oleander award. Check out my videos!

This is such a cool concept and the decor is reason enough to stop and take a look inside this…read morefunky bar! It's location has great views on the top floor, and they also have several board games to check out. The beer selection is massive, hard to choose as I wanted to try a little bit of everything! I am so glad a local showed me this hidden gem, definitely a memorable experience during my time in this beautiful city!

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!