Great service and a really good pizza. Chill place to hang out and relax. Ask for the spicy olive…read moreoil.

Great little spot for a lunch. Nice ambiance / interior decorating. The staff was friendly speaking…read morebroken English but enough that we made it work. The pizza was really good. They took credit cards. I would recommend and will eat here if in the area again.

Istanbul is a fascinating cosmopolitan city with tons of eateries spread across its massively…read moresprawling landscape. I spent considerable time researching the ONE restaurant our group of two families (4 adults, 3 kids aged 13-15) would visit during our overnight stop while on the Norwegian Viva cruise ship. I kept coming back to Gulhane Sark Sofrasi while researching and decided this was our spot. After all, it has 5,246 Tripadvisor reviews and is ranked the #5 restaurant in Istanbul. The food, service and outdoor ambience were all fantastic. Oh, the house cat was fantastic, too, and sure was protective of its turf, scaring away any other cats who dared try snagging any dropped food. My gals ordered what I felt were plain (less exotic?) chicken dishes but they really enjoyed them. My daughter chose the Sultan's Favorite. My best buddy's daughter ordered a steak which looked fantastic. His wife ordered an eggplant dish and some protein according to her strict diet (for health reasons) as well as shrimp and grilled veggies. Us boys shared the mixed appetizer plate with delicious dips and dolmas as well as, the recommended "Adana the Classsic" kebab ($16) and some kind of cheesey meaty casserole/stew (either the Dana Guvec or the Kuzu Guvec) ~$23 that was also recommended to us. The kebab was absolutely fantastic although I didn't love the casserole/stew which seemed to me to have less flavor. The dips were awesome, especially the Turkish "salsa". I felt $30 for their House Wine & $16 for a Margarita were a little steep but maybe those are common price points for Istanbul. The entrees too were a little pricier than in mainland Greece but again, Istanbul definitely seemed more advanced and modern. I highly recommend Gulhane Sark Sofrasi and would definitely go back!

Very nice restaurant with live music when we got there. The menu is varied and the staff speaks…read moreEnglish. We got a chicken kebab and a regular kebab. Both were good but a bit salty for our palate. Very friendly staff...as in truly friendly and welcoming......Nice patio dining.

We LOVED dining at this popular spot. It reminded us of eating out in New York City, one of our…read morefavorite cities. This Turkish dumpling spot is in a busy part of town in a corner building. If you can, sit outside along the sidewalk. To feed three men, we got the potato salad, bulghur salad, and the dumpling tasting plat, which came with dozens of tiny dumplings smothered in yogurt sauce. If you need more spice or flavor, use the shakers on each table. Everything was great, but we loved the wet dumplings v. fried more. The bulghur salad was so good! Service is attentive and they take card. Note that there is not restroom here.

Mantu are delicious and this place has aseveral kinds. They were out of pumpkin and lentil though…read more We tried spinach and traditional beef both boiled and fried with tomato sauce The items did not arrive at the same time , though we had planned to share so that didn't matter Beef is good. Not the best I had in Istanbul but good. Spinach Crisp

One of our favorite meals in Istanbul. The meat was so juicy and flavorful in both the spicy adana…read moreand the chicken. And mixed perfectly with the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. A wrap is not too large; most of us ordered seconds. Prices were als9 fantastic. Limited indoor and outdoor seating, but we were able to be seated easily Wednesday evening.

Mega hyped because of the Anthony Bourdain connection. I've been in Istanbul for over a month, and…read moreevery time I have visited the place has been completely packed with tourists. Many of the reviews mention the good service, but my experience has been a little different. The main guy who greets and helps everyone when they arrive seems completely over the whole thing. I can understand why, though. They still have an enormous amount of tourist business because of the Bourdain connection, and people seem to come here almost as a pilgrimage. I'm staying nearby and have visited several times because of all the hype, and the experience has been pretty much the same every time. The person in charge does not seem particularly concerned about whether you wait to order or not. If it is the afternoon, he will sometimes toss you a menu, walk away, and mumble something about waiting for a table. One time, I arrived about 15 minutes before closing and noticed that there was a table available. I was told they were closing soon and that the last orders, with about 10 kebabs already cooking on the grill, were for someone else. That was basically it. No option was offered to take anything to go either. There is certainly nothing wrong with closing when you are ready to close, but after becoming accustomed to the incredibly friendly and welcoming service at so many local kebab restaurants in Istanbul, the lack of enthusiasm here was surprising. In a strange way, it is almost refreshing. They seem to have so much business that they really could not care less whether you eat there or not. The food itself is very good, but honestly, it isn't significantly better than some of the other places nearby. There are several restaurants in the area serving fantastic Adana kebab, with more seating and much warmer service. Overall, glad I tried it because of the Bourdain connection, but for me, the hype is much bigger than the experience.

If you hit your limit with kebab consumption, come to this place. They have lots of pasta options,…read moreall of which are delicious and decently sized. The restaurant is conveniently located near the tram stop and across from Hafiz Mustafa, just tucked away in the alley. The interior isn't anything fancy, just very practical. Service was good overall, although it was challenging to flag down our server towards the end.

Esmer Chef was such a wonderful find! We went to a coffee shop next door and decided to stop for a…read morelunch at Esmer Chef. We were instantly drawn to all the pasta drying in the window pasta as the chef was making it right in front of everyone. The reviews are mixed but everything exceeded our expectations: despite being super busy, everyone was so attentive and very kind (special thanks to Kadir who was running around like a super man taking an amazing care of everyone). The food was absolutely delicious - super fresh pasta full of flavors. The portions are huge. Coffee was even better than at the special coffee shop next door. I definitely recommend checking out this place!

Great Turkish breakfast! 8 of us in our group and everyone enjoyed it tremendously. Service was…read morealso excellent.

This was the most life changing breakfast I've ever had in my life. Menemen is legit life changing…read moreand I'd eat it everyday if I had access to it. This adorable little joint is sheer perfection, we did two Michelins while we were in Istanbul and I still think about this place and remember it more than my Michelin experiences. It's so simple yet so unique and perfect at the same time. The breakfast spread is one of the most memorable I've ever had, though simple and straight forward, the Turks truly know how to do an incredible breakfast that's better than the rest of the world. If you're in Istanbul, come to this place, the walk up to the joint is lovely, you get to see such a special little part of Istanbul and the food experience is something you'll remember for a lifetime. The service is top notch and the ambiance is adorable, facing the cute little street outside. The meal starts with tea and the spread is truly incredible. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE!!

Went here on a recommendation from friends. Food was great. Was very busy but found a spot easily…read more Enjoyed our meal very much!

Kasabim is one of the best Steak Restaurants you'll find in Istanbul. It is very cozy and the…read moreBonfile Steak will be served perfect! The owner have also their own butchery since over 60 years! If you prefer other turkish grilled products, you will find them on the menu! Te Burger are also delicious and if you order the Steak, you should order some french fries too! They must be handmade and are the best french fries I've ever had! ( and I will compare them to those I had in one year living in NYC) You will find this Restaurant easily, when you go to the crowdy Sirasviller Caddesi and turn aft the Alman Hastani ( Hospital) and after the nice Balik Savoy left on the Yeni Yuva street and then you have to turn right at he 4th street crossing your way up! You see the butchery on the left on the YeniYuva and turn into he small street passing he parking cars and see the nice Kasabim on the left!I wrote this critic after turning back from Istanbul, so I won't get any favours!But this Steak Restaurant really saved my soul living in that crowdy loud city!

One of the absolute best we had it Istanbul. My husband and I did a couple Michelin restaurants in…read moreIstanbul including Turk Fatih Tutak and Sankai but I must say Pera Antakya was certainly our top pick in its category even next to our Michelin experiences. It was our most memorable experience given the food was just so authentic and good. We were pleasantly surprised because I had found Pera Antakya in my research when planning our trip and it was first on our list to try, we then discovered when we arrived at our hotel (The Westist) on our first night that Pera Antakya was right next door. We were shocked/surprised/thrilled all at the same time. As such, we had dinner here the first night we arrived in Istanbul and was blown away. We did the meze, the wrap, farmer's cheese, and the mixed grill plate all based on recommendations from who we believe was the owner. The hospitality was lovely, welcoming, but more so the food was incredibly memorable and we found ourselves wishing we had more time in Istanbul so we could come back and eat at Pera Antakya. We did a couple other highly rated restaurants in similar concept to Pera Antakya over the week we stayed in Istanbul and ultimately though food in Istanbul is generally good, we found Pera was still the best we had out of all them in the same category. In fact, if it was only one restaurant we could go back to and have another meal at or if I could only recommend one restaurant to eat at while you're in Istanbul--- it would be Pera Antakya. We were that impressed with this place. Do not miss it if you're in Istanbul!

This was my favorite meal I had during my visit to Istanbul. Excellent food, friendly staff and…read morereasonable prices. I asked them to make mine spicy and they did not disappoint. Don't skip the garlic cheese, sautéed, charred and melty.