Brilliant concept - a restaurant with a menu that focuses on a handful of traditional soups and…read moremakes them well, with generous portions! My favorite is the Tandir, which is a little spicy, but all the soups I've sampled here have been delicious. A menu of the day is available if you want a quality entree other than soup. Oh, and they have an amazing marble bread (zeytin ekmek, I think) that they actually sell by the loaf for 7 liras - we've grabbed a few to have with dinner after a delicious lunch here! Prices are pretty good for the Ata-blocks - you can have a very satisfying lunch here for 13 liras or so.

Nice neighborhood place with consistently great food and service that is always friendly.read more

Experienced Ayik on a food tour. We were treated to several soups, many of which we never would…read morehave dared to order or try on our own. Go for the sheeps feet!!

Visited Çiya Sofrası as it is a restaurant featured on the World's 50 Best discovery list and as…read morethe chef was featured on Netflix's Chef's Table. Menu is based on recipes collected from all across Turkey an the menu might vary daily depending on what they have available. The restaurant itself also features 3 locations all adjacent to or across from each other. Party of 7 seated upstairs. There honestly is so much space and seating between all three locations. No reservation as we just walked in. Honestly didn't look at the menu as we had friends who were local and asked if they could just order. What I would recommend though is just get whatever sounds interesting as everything we tried was delicious. The big airy bread and the beets were a must as well as the stuffed intestines. The kebab we ordered was also so good that we got a second one. It's also very large and shareable. In fact, everything should be shared. A lot of desserts to choose from and my favorite was the bitter orange.

Great place to try authentic Turkish cuisine. They have a huge variety of dishes, and thanks to the…read morecafeteria-style presentation, we were able to point to different dishes and try all kinds of things that we normally wouldn't have tried since we didn't know what they were or what they looked like. We also bumped into a local woman outside who told us what her favorite items at the restaurant were. My favorite dish was definitely the meat topped with the pomegranate seeds and the oblong falafel-looking thing shown in the first picture. I wasn't a fan of the intestines. I also wasn't a fan of the Turkish pizza with lamb, though I felt the lamb all throughout my time in Istanbul was a bit too gamey for my taste. Overall, I think this is an excellent place to get a taste of what Turkish cuisine has to offer--we came here towards the end of our trip but I think coming here at the beginning would have been a better choice, so that we could know what kinds of dishes to seek out during the rest of our time at Turkey!

Tatar Salim Döner Lokantası delivers an exceptional classic Istanbul dining experience. The…read morestandard menu -- one portion of döner with yufka bread and a delicious lentil soup is already a standout. The ayran is fresh and tasty, and while the French fries could be improved, they still add a nice touch. The highlight? Finishing the meal with their signature sütlaç and tea Tatar Salim Döner Lokantası, Volkan Demirel'in tavsiyesi. Standart menü -- yufka ekmeğiyle sunulan bir porsiyon döner ve öncesinde bir mercimek çorbası başlı başına harika. Ayranı taze ve lezzetliydi. Patates kızartmaları biraz daha iyi olabilir ama yine de menüye güzel dokunuş katıyor. En güzeli ise, yemeği sütlaç ve çayla tamamlamak.

The food is always amazing here, friendly staff, fast service, variety in menu, just amazing. there…read moreisn't always parking available but that is bearable for the quality of food here.

A must visit while in Istanbul. The kebab was incredible with amazing service and they were able to…read morehelp us English speakers as well.

Çiya Sofrası and Kebab occupy opposite sides of a busy street in Kadıköy where Chef and owner Musa…read moreDağdeviren has created a destination for not only grilled Meats and Mezze but also a lively atmosphere. Part of Istanbul's Anatolian coast, the Kebab Restaurant later giving way to Çiya Sofrası and its fame, guests here are situated across three floors where the menu offers a well-culled list of items prepared traditionally including complex Mercimek Corbası and golden Dumplings generously stuffed with ground Meat. A growing business with three locations, all a few meters apart, Ciya's Lahmacun arrives beautifully crisp with Toppings well-balanced while Spicy Lamb Kebab doesn't hold back in its liberal application of Peppers. Part of the dining scene since 1998, five men in an open kitchen working fast on the ground floor, Babaganoush is served more chunky than those elsewhere and whether one choose this or the signature Ciya Kebab wrapped in Pastry the results are impressive across-the-board.

Good quality traditional Turkish kebab dishes with a modern presentation. The interior and staff…read moreinvite youngish customers. There is an interior seating area. Professional, friendly, expedient service. I had Kimyon Beyti, cacik, and small lahmacun. All delicious. Highly recommended.

Great soups and very affordable. I had the lentil soup and it was excellent, with a squeeze of…read morefresh lemon on top. The soup came with some nice chewy sesame bread. Very cool neighborhood to check out too. Tattoo shops and t-shirt stores abound in this young and alternative area.