The secret is out! This restaurant used to be a local favorite and it was a hidden gem. Now the secret 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! read more

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Amazing food with great atmosphere. I love restaurants where people sit on the streets drink, eat and 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 read more

From beginning to end the service was pretty good. Food was phenomenal and prepared quickly. read more

Fıccın - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

One of the best meals I had in Istanbul was at Ficcin. The restaurant is located in a trendy area so the restaurants are typically expensive but Ficcin keeps their prices low and the food is amazing. It's Circassian aka Northern Caucasian food along with Turkish specialties. The lamb cooked in a crock was beautifully flavored and amazingly tender. It was my favorite dish. The Ficcin special is sort of like minced meat cooked within a pizza-like dough served with salad. The look can be deceiving because it's more delicious than it appears and the salad was fresh and vibrant. The Circassian ravioli was unlike any other ravioli I've ever had. It was stuffed with cheese and meat and had this yogurt sauce on top. Incredibly good! Definitely make this a stop if you are visiting Istanbul. The servers are helpful and you can ask for an English menu. Try to visit during non-busy hours. We came just before lunch and thought, wow it's pretty empty. Within 5 minutes of noon, it was packed. Every table was filled and every time someone left a table, there was another party waiting to sit there. We were happy to have come early enough to snag a table. read more

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Ficcin restaurant was one of our two favorites during our stay in Istanbul and we liked it so much that we even planned to come back a second time but unfortunately we could not in the end. It offers a delicious cuisine from Caucasus and prices are really correct given the quality and taste. We had different dishes that we shared and it was indeed a good idea to taste more things. As dishes are quite small, you can easily take 3 or 4 for two persons. We had of course the specialty: some delicious raviolis from Caucasus (with some yogurt on top, after all we are in Turkey!) that i highly recommend. We also had a cold fish that was incredibly tasty, i was surprised because i was not betting on this dish initially.. We also had a dish of cooked cheese with peas, that can sound like a weird dish to conceive; but again: delicious!! So to sum up, absolutely go there, the cuisine is delicious. And i will not forget the dessert that was exceptional. It was a cake made of almonds and it looked like a delicious, delicious madeleine (type of French sponge finger cake). read more

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Came here with a Turkish friend on the first night of our arrival because this was one of her favorite restaurants in the area for what she called ravioli. Got here and the guy didn't have talked yet was doing what looked like he was pawning us off to another restaurant. What actually was going on was it was the same restaurant back to back for a handful of restaurants! We sit down and were handed the English menu of course. Ordered the Circassian ravioli with ground meat and stuffed grape leaves with meat and rice. They both came out fairly quickly and a side of bread and condiments were served with it. Our friend asked if we liked garlic.. And of course we said yes! Who doesn't? So out came a side of garlic yogurt to go with our ravioli. The whole meal was very delicious and flavorful and unique. Would go back just for the dumplings read more

Fıccın - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

- Outdoor seating leaves you open to cats and passing by musicl artists for money - Kick the cat in the ass, and politely telly the instrumentist no thanks - Just like the cat, another personal serenader will come by your table - We got there just before closing, they were out of a lot of stuff - the meatball and fries were delicious read more

I discovered Ficcin through one of the many travel sites. As usual, the best food was off the beaten path and you need to venture a half block off of Istiklal just past one of the many starbucks on the corner. There are three separate Ficcin dining rooms, but I was assured that all menus were the same. We ate Humus, Circassian style raviolis with meat, and a cold Circassian style chicken dip with walnuts and spices. Everything was amazing. We have never even heard of Circassian style cooking (which we later found out was a mountainous region located in the Caucasus of Eurasia, located within Russia on the Black Sea coast). If this is any indication, they eat very very well. My wife was not as thrilled with the Circassian chicken as I was, but we both agreed it was the best humus we've ever eaten and the raviolis were incredible. All in all... it is a must stop for anyone in and around the Taksim area. read more

I was thoroughly impressed by Ficcin. In fact, I would say it's in my top 3 istanbul meals. It was packed with tourists when we walked in for dinner - about a ten minute walk from our Airbnb, so I was immediately skeptical because often touristy restaurants are really expensive and don't have great food. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The waitress spoke impeccable English and they had an English menu. She patiently went through the menu items with us, recommending dishes and answering all our questions. We opted for the ravioli (half beef, half potato), the eggplant with yogurt, the hummus, and the red pepper dip. What a flavor explosion! Everything was exquisitely delicious with great flavors, portions and prices. The ambiance itself was romantic with mood lighting, but still casual enough to have conversations at a normal volume. This place is so popular, in fact, that there are 3 or 4 storefronts, all located on the same street. Our bill ended up being less than $25 total which was amazing, considering what we ate. I really wish we'd come here another time before we left, but alas, we wanted to "explore." Highly recommend for Turkish mezze! read more

Great place, amazing food and even more amazing prices. It is the perfect place to have meze accompanied by rakı near Taksim. I don't know how they do it but this is the best food you can find for your buck. The food and the service doesn't feel cheap at all. As a person with Circassian people in my family, I found their chicken spot on. The other meze were amazing such as the pickled fish (lakerda) and cold dishes with olive oil (zeytinyağlılar). The fried zucchini paste (mücver) was done in a shape kind of similar to meatballs (köfte), which is different than the traditional thinner shape and I think it added a lot to the dish. read more

We had the borek and I forget which other dishes but it was one of the better meals we had. I'd like to try the manti.

Good value for money. We liked the circassian ravioli. The menu is available in English. Food came out quickly. This recommendation was written by Katrin S. If you enjoyed my recommendation, I'd appreciate a "helpful" or "cool" given. read more

(+) great food, lots of vegetarian and vegan options, good breakfast, lunch and dinner, varying menus, authentic food, attentive owners/staff, great for take-away (-) crowded, not many tables during busy hours (lunch and dinner), items not marked as vegetarian/vegan, read more

Calm and well decorated place with friendly stuff. Nice restaurant to have a dinner. You should, and maybe must, give a chance to "Ficcin" and try it. It's the yummiest meal on the menu. read more

We came here for dinner and this was one of my best meals in Istanbul. We had the eggplant with ground meat, assorted dumplings, pizza like pie and mixed appetizer plate. The service was super friendly and they were accommodating and had nice English menus. The price was reasonable and would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Istanbul :) read more

Wonderful and authentic Turkish restaurant featuring a variety of meze (appetizers) to compliment your meal. The shrimp güveç is sizzling and among the favorites of the locals. Ficcin has a nice wine list if the guests are not drinking Turkish raki. I highly recommend Ficcin to anyone visiting istanbul seeking a local flavor and inexpensive dining experience. read more

Menu in English was helpful. Service can be improved. I didn't enjoy the shrimp casserole.

What great food! This was my first time in Istanbul and Ficcin was recomended by a local friend . Great meze , small mains and super cheap. Wonderful vibe and staff with an english menu. I would recommend getting lots of dishes to share.;) read more

Great concept of cooking food according to the daily offer of local farmers. The food is amazingly good and made with that something special. It gives you that feeling that you spent your money in something good and not like other restaurants where you think "I could've cooked that at home." Highly recommended. Great atmosphere and service. And also in the heart of Taksim. Don't miss it. read more

Ficcin is located in a side street of the famous Istiklal Caddesi, in the Beyoglu area. Ficcin is actually the name of a typical Circassian dish, and as I understand, the original idea of the restaurant was to serve purely Circassian food. However, the owners seem to have lost that somehow along the way. My husband is Turkish, but from Circassian descent, so when we travelled to Istanbul, we were excited to find a full-fledged Circassian restaurant (which in Belgium you don't find - you're lucky to find something Turkish that remotely qualifies as a restaurant) In Istanbul, of course, the situation is far better in that respect, but Ficcin still doesn't really go beyond the standard snack bar. First of all, there is the interior, which is quite shabby. In addition, you feel as if you're in a box of sardines since they have tried to make the most of their limited space by stuffing as many tables into the room as possible, which can leave one feeling claustrophobic. The one fun thing I did really enjoy were the little Circassian puppets in traditional Circassian attire, it gave a nice touch to the room. Since we basically went for the sake of having eaten Circassian food, we didn't really mind a too much about the quality of the food,. But if I were to be really honest, I'd have to say my husband and I are better at preparing traditional Circassian cuisine than Ficcin was. (and I think the point of going to a restaurant is eating something you can't make as good yourself, no?) I had the ficcin, which is some sort of pasta with ground beef in it. The ficcin was ok, nice and crispy, but not memorable, and not enough onion, as it is supposed to have. My husband took the Velibah, which he - to his own saying - could have made better, and he's not quick to complain. It's too bad really, because it's a really nice concept; a Circassian restaurant in the heart of Istanbul; it could really show the variety Turkish cuisine has to offer. Too bad the menu only contained some 5 or 6 Circassian dishes and for the rest all Anatolian dishes. Nice try, missed shot. read more

Ficcin is just perfection. We had a lot of great mezze at Lemontree and Karakoy Lokantasi, which were delicious and wonderful as well, however those were high-end restaurants and almost twice the price as Ficcin. The mezze here were just as good as in a more casual laid-back setting. The food was so good we came twice on our trip. There is the usual suspects on the menu, eggplant in multiple forms, kidney beans in olive oil, hummus. The chicken mezze was a surprising winner, it comes shredded almost like a rilette or pate. We had 5 mezze, enough for two of us for dinner, and managed to keep the price under 40 tl, or $20. Can't recommend this place enough! read more

Often, in places with a lot of tourists, restaurants realise that familiarity is appreciated. They do versions of local cuisines that won't challenge the clientele. I'm not being some kind of food snob who blabbers on about how experienced and sophisticated I am with food, I just don't want the stuff I get at home. Sorry... read more

Incredible menu and food. The drinks were also good, but above all the staff were superb in their service and advice on the menu.

Chock full of locals, but dishes are rather meh. Assorted cold vegetables were all overlooked, hardly fresh, and humus was the worst I've had ever, including the ones you can buy in a supermarket. Most of the street is actually the same restaurant, so there's a lot of toing and froing by staff. Staff is generally unfriendly. read more

Fıccın - Ravioli - Turkish Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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Great location. My food came out to fast and wasn't really hot. It was tasty. The Turkish tea was the worst one I've had on Istanbul. It took a whole to get service initially. Not sure if I'll return. read more

We spent four days in Istanbul and we ate tree times at Ficcin. The place is very nice and food is wonderful. We had many different soups, meet, Circassian dishes, desserts and raki that were fantastic. The guys are pleasant and available. Let's try it if you are in Istanbul and want to spend time in Galata neighbourhood. The price it's less than you can expect. I will sent my friends for sure. read more

My husband and I loved this place so much we went there two nights in a row. The restaurant is located in the Beyoglu district not far from Istiklal Cd. a very busy commercial street. The hostess was incredibly friendly and charming and she speaks English very well. The food was great, nothing fancy but everything was fresh and delicious, you could tell the best ingredients are used. We ordered cucumber with yoghurt and baked eggplant puree to start, when I tried the first one, I had this explosion of herbs in my mouth so full of flavor that they had to be super fresh. The eggplant was amazing with the slight smokey flavor that charred eggplant gets when cooked on a charcoal grill. We also had fish and stuffed eggplants that were so great we had a second order. The next day we ordered everything again but changed the fish for some lamb and chose another grilled fish, it was just as fresh and deliciously cooked to perfection as the one we had the previous day. Unfortunately we never got there early enough to try the octopus, but I'm sure it must be great as they run out of it so quickly. Will definitely go back! read more

Very friendly staff, great service, and a lovely place to people watch. I couldn't be happier.

Every time when I coming back to Istanbul is visiting Fıccın on my MUST visit list. Simply love it. Delicious food, wonderful atmosphere, so nice, warm and gentle people working there, I really feel welcome there as a guest. And, yes, I do not have to forget to say that they are having majestic sweets and in combination with traditional Turkish tea is whole experience like a poem. I highly recommend. read more